Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[punkwax]

Thanks for not lumping me in.

I do understand the challenge for this generation and the generations ahead. I have 3 kids to worry about so I'm doing my best as a father to ensure they start off on the right foot.

[fliptuner]

Originally Posted by Harvey Specter

So I was following the house below which got listed a few weeks in south Surrey, it was listed for $2.4ish and now they've dropped the price to $1.9m. That's a massive drop so you're already seeing price drops.

https://www.realtor.ca/Residential/S...olumbia-V4A3Y8

Asking price/= property value. Looks more like the seller is being more realistic.

[Ch28]

Originally Posted by MarkyMark

If I'm getting outbid by people that work and live here then maybe I need to take a step back and rethink my career choice.

The reality is me and my girlfriend both make more than the average wage here and we couldn't go and buy a house in Langley right now, or if we did a very high percentage of our income would be paying the mortgage.

Originally Posted by UFO

Odds are though, it's actually locals who you would be getting outbid by if your eye is on Langley.

[Tapioca]

Yeah, it sucks for those in their 20s. You were sold a lie that hard work and being risk averse could afford you the same life as your parents had. It's a brave new world out there.

As a parent myself, I'm foregoing a car payment and instead putting that money into an RESP. Hopefully, at some point, we'll have enough money to pick up an investment property for the kids.

[meme405]

Originally Posted by westopher

Thats the part that disgusts me the most about this situation, is people refuse to understand that there is absolutely no hope for a younger generation, no matter how hard they work or how smart they are. You still get the same assholes talking about how entitled they are, when in reality, its the guy who's built up equity from doing absolutely nothing other than having money at the right time thats showing their entitlement.

I typed up multiple different responses, long responses, even by my standards, seriously i have been in this thread for the last two hours. But in the end it's not worth it.

I'm just gonna stop posting in this thread.

I see a lot of stuff which I can agree with, and I hear a lot of stuff which I agree with. But then there is just those who want something for nothing as per always, those who are hopping aboard this RE destruction bandwagon, just because they think they might stand to get something out of nothing.

@west this has nothing to do with you or what you have posted.

Also I would want to point out one last thing: Nothing is permanent people. The market always fluctuates, even without intervention by the government. It's not like without intervention we all would have been fucked with rising prices forever. The world is a forever changing place, and this behemoth currency and economy system we as humans have created is so complex that there is nobody who ultimately understands it fully.

[yray]

Wanna fuck the market over?

1st home regular tax 2nd home 10-15% tax on top 3rd home 50% on top 4th 5th.. well good luck...

Based on family, not single person ownership.

No worries, no one will implement something this crazy. Not even Eby will.

But seriously... 15% tax ain't so bad when China market crashes. Those foreigners who buy overseas properties can afford the 15%, those who couldn't get an immediate family member to become a permanent resident.

[Manic!]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

Yeah, it sucks for those in their 20s. You were sold a lie that hard work and being risk averse could afford you the same life as your parents had. It's a brave new world out there.

As a parent myself, I'm foregoing a car payment and instead putting that money into an RESP. Hopefully, at some point, we'll have enough money to pick up an investment property for the kids.

It's not a lie you just have to be willing to change the location of where you live.

Everyone has a right to a roof over there head but the location you live in is not a right.

[4444]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

I think some people in this thread seem to not be able to just simply wrap their heads around the idea that people WANT to be here..

No one i know has moved away.. No one i know whether they rent or own is talking about moving away, even people who have problems finding work or dont have much in terms of job security.

it's a minority who leave the lower mainland, and there's plenty of people waiting to take their spot

what kind of industries are your friends in?

reason I ask is that your experience is completely opposite of mine - a large number (at least 15 in the past 3 years) of people in my close professional network have left vancouver for Asia, TO, SF, and some other places, but these people are mostly in finance.

Professional mobility is a big part of this, so whether they want to stay or go may not be the issue, they may not be able to go or have a realistic opportunity to leave.

don't get me wrong, within canada i wouldn't want to live anywhere else either - but i'm comparing mobility globally, not just federally.

[Hondaracer]

Construction, finance, nursing,engineering, and a few in public sector jobs.

Amongst my fiancé's friends though, a lot of them have carved out good livings in Vancouver starting their own companies in things like consulting, clothing, etc. hell even yoga studios and things of the like. Most of them are kind of the yuppy Vancouver milenials with huge social circles, but it's amazing how many of them (many who you would never expect to have the know-how to do well on their own) have developed nice little niches for themselves.

Most of my own personal friends however don't have too much experience traveling outside of North America so I think it would be too drastic of a change for them to uproot anyways, but as you said, they also work in industries which may be hard to relocate to begin with. My brother and a few friends who are engineers are lucky enough to make a good living and travel a bunch for their work already, so there's not much incentive to make slightly more money and go elsewhere

[MarkyMark]

Originally Posted by UFO

Odds are though, it's actually locals who you would be getting outbid by if your eye is on Langley.

It's the domino effect. The people that used to afford Vancouver were outbid by foreign millionaires. That trickles down and pushes everyone out further to the point where I'm competing with people who would normally be buying a place much closer to Vancouver.

Anyways, for the people who bought in at the right time what is your beef the government doing something about housing prices? You already won. You already bought your house at a great price, and are paying a mortgage that you are comfortable with. If you bought two years ago and gained 200k on paper, and that suddenly disappears who cares? You never earned that money to begin with.

Unless your plan was to sell and move to the interior soon that money you gained didn't mean shit. Enjoy your house and your low mortgage payments and enjoy the fact that you don't have to worry about getting in the market at the shittiest time in history.

[Tapioca]

^ I don't think you'll find anyone here who doesn't agree with the need to tame the market

The thing is that if you and your partner are really above average earners and have good credit, you can get into the market. No, you won't get a house unless you move to the deep Fraser Valley, but you can get in. Of course, it's risky, but so is driving your car to work every day.

I owned a shitty (but modern) condo in Brentwood for 9 years. I didn't think prices were going to blow up when it came time to sell, but they did. When you're in the market, you ride the good times and bad, but the key is to be in the market . The longer you wait, the fewer years you have left to pay off a mortgage (because, do you really want to pay a mortgage off at 70?).

I get the rent and invest the difference bit. This makes sense for some, particularly if you're mobile, are single or in a relationship with no kids. However, it sounds like you really want to own, so I suggest you consider my tidbit of advice.

It sucks that you can't have a house in the location you want, but such is life in Vancouver.

[Ludepower]

Whats your issue with the people that made that big leap and bought this year during the peak? How do you time the market?

Im not looking for any great returns and Im fine that if it flat lines .
Yes the prices need to cool and stabilize. But Its very cowardly to wish a crash on your fellow neighbours. It helps no one at the end.

[GLOW]

Originally Posted by yray

Wanna fuck the market over?

1st home regular tax 2nd home 10-15% tax on top 3rd home 50% on top 4th 5th.. well good luck...

Based on family, not single person ownership.

No worries, no one will implement something this crazy. Not even Eby will.

But seriously... 15% tax ain't so bad when China market crashes. Those foreigners who buy overseas properties can afford the 15%, those who couldn't get an immediate family member to become a permanent resident.

that's why they have those birth houses here. pop out a baby, that baby is now the new owner of a 6 million dollar home registered in their name

[MarkyMark]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

^ I don't think you'll find anyone here who doesn't agree with the need to tame the market

The thing is that if you and your partner are really above average earners and have good credit, you can get into the market. No, you won't get a house unless you move to the deep Fraser Valley, but you can get in. Of course, it's risky, but so is driving your car to work every day.

I owned a shitty (but modern) condo in Brentwood for 9 years. I didn't think prices were going to blow up when it came time to sell, but they did. When you're in the market, you ride the good times and bad, but the key is to be in the market . The longer you wait, the fewer years you have left to pay off a mortgage (because, do you really want to pay a mortgage off at 70?).

I get the rent and invest the difference bit. This makes sense for some, particularly if you're mobile, are single or in a relationship with no kids. However, it sounds like you really want to own, so I suggest you consider my tidbit of advice.

It sucks that you can't have a house in the location you want, but such is life in Vancouver.

I still plan to get into the market early next year either way, at the end of the day I want a place where i don't have to answer to someone else's rules. I'm not upset at anyone other than the government for letting it get this out of hand before doing anything. Two years ago I could have bought a house for around 450k, and now that house is worth 700k and I'm gonna have to line up to get a presale for a townhouse that's a fraction of the size for that same 450k, more or less.

If we all just said 'such is life' then this 15% tax would have never come to fruition. The squeaky wheel gets the grease and I hope people bitch long and hard until the government does right by its citizens. I don't agree with people that say that's life deal with it, when we have the power to make changes.

[Tapioca]

^ Then I hope that you get out and vote for people who will destroy the equity that people have. You want house prices to where they were 3 years ago, then you would in effect screw over a lot of people who probably took big risks. If that is what you're saying, you're no better than the people who gloat about the risks they took and are riding paper gains.

I personally believe that foreign ownership represents just one cause of a perfect storm that is the real estate market here.

[MarkyMark]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

^ Then I hope that you get out and vote for people who will destroy the equity that people have. You want house prices to where they were 3 years ago, then you would in effect screw over a lot of people who probably took big risks. If that is what you're saying, you're no better than the people who gloat about the risks they took and are riding paper gains.

I personally believe that foreign ownership represents just one cause of a perfect storm that is the real estate market here.

Let's be honest here, prices are most likely not going back down past what they were a few years ago. So what if your house goes back down to what you paid for it, heaven forbid. What big risk did they take? They bought a place to live in. If their plan is to live there then that's not a risk, unless they decided to buy a place they couldn't afford the payments on, and then that's on them .

Over the next 20 years prices will go up for sure, population isn't going to decrease, so demand will increase the prices everywhere in the lower mainland if you're willing to stay where you live.

I'm not a villain for wanting prices to reflect what people earn in this city. Say what you want about it not just being foreign ownership, but one in ten houses being sold to foreign "investors" isn't peanuts, its the biggest factor bar none.

[fliptuner]

Oh man, if prices went down to what they were, even 18 months ago, it'd put me in a great place.

[GLOW]

Originally Posted by fliptuner

Oh man, if prices went down to what they were, even 18 months ago, it'd put me in a great place.

i can picture your face now...

[fliptuner]

Prepare the milk crates cause I'm moving in next door and I'm parking in front of your house.

Spoiler!

and I can always use some extra milk crates

[Hondaracer]

Originally Posted by fliptuner

Oh man, if prices went down to what they were, even 18 months ago, it'd put me in a great place.

i dont see it happening, but if there was somthing i could get into in whistler for like 250, that would be fuckin sweeeeeet

[GLOW]

Originally Posted by fliptuner

Prepare the milk crates cause I'm moving in next door and I'm parking in front of your house.

Spoiler!

and I can always use some extra milk crates

we could use more OG's back in E.Van. yo...move down the street from your uncle

[CivicBlues]

Originally Posted by SumAznGuy

What is "a reasonably priced place to live"?
Basic need is shelter. One could always rent.

I'll use CivicBlues as an example since she posted it. Her rent is so low, that the landlord is paying her to live there while she invests her money elsewhere.

WTF? Am I giving off some feminine vibes in my recent posts or something?

[kr4l]

Originally Posted by MarkyMark

Let's be honest here, prices are most likely not going back down past what they were a few years ago. So what if your house goes back down to what you paid for it, heaven forbid. What big risk did they take? They bought a place to live in. If their plan is to live there then that's not a risk, unless they decided to buy a place they couldn't afford the payments on, and then that's on them .

Over the next 20 years prices will go up for sure, population isn't going to decrease, so demand will increase the prices everywhere in the lower mainland if you're willing to stay where you live.

I'm not a villain for wanting prices to reflect what people earn in this city. Say what you want about it not just being foreign ownership, but one in ten houses being sold to foreign "investors" isn't peanuts, its the biggest factor bar none.

so if you know housing is going to "to up for sure" in the next 20, why don't you get into it right now? stop calling it "luck" that people got in before and made a profit and on it. ITS GOING UP FOR SURE!

edit: also you mentioned 2 years ago you could of got a house for $450k, now its at $700k. honestly, that sounds like a great deal still depending on type, location etc etc

[MarkyMark]

Originally Posted by kr4l

so if you know housing is going to "to up for sure" in the next 20, why don't you get into it right now? stop calling it "luck" that people got in before and made a profit and on it. ITS GOING UP FOR SURE!

edit: also you mentioned 2 years ago you could of got a house for $450k, now its at $700k. honestly, that sounds like a great deal still depending on type, location etc etc

Why don't I get in now? Cause I'm priced out of a house, duh. Just because I know a house that's 700k will most likely go up over the next 20 years doesn't mean I can afford a mortgage for 700k.

Sorry but it is luck. No one ever imagined prices would increase 30+% in a year. They might have knew it was a sound investment and wouldn't go underwater, but gaining 200+k in a year or two, get out of here.

[kr4l]

Originally Posted by MarkyMark

Why don't I get in now? Cause I'm priced out of a house, duh. Just because I know a house that's 700k will most likely go up over the next 20 years doesn't mean I can afford a mortgage for 700k.

Sorry but it is luck. No one ever imagined prices would increase 30+% in a year. They might have knew it was a sound investment and wouldn't go underwater, but gaining 200+k in a year or two, get out of here.

Can't hate on a lucky man if your unlucky yourself I guess

If you're priced out, buy something you can afford? Everything seems to be all about want want want and if cant have it, it's not fair.

Don't get me wrong, I feel your pain and I too hope the rising house prices stop, and it does go down and levels itself out a bit, but you gotta listen to what you're saying because you're getting called out on a lot of it.

Gain $1 and it's a sound investment. Gain $100 and it's luck. The only lucky thing in the world that I can think of is paying $5 for a lotto max winning something. Most of us who got in are not using the house for an investment anyways so we haven't gained shit all