Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[originalhypa]

Uh oh.....

Sudden rise in interest rates could cause home prices to drop 30 per cent: CMHC

TORONTO - A sudden rise in interest rates could cause house prices to plummet on average 30 per cent nationally, according to stress tests performed by Canada's federal housing agency released Thursday.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said it studied the impact of two interest rate hikes — a one percentage point increase over one quarter this year, followed by a 1.4 percentage point rise during one quarter next year.

CMHC said its mortgage insurance business would incur $1.13 billion in losses in such an event but that it could withstand the hit. A spokesman for the agency stressed that the scenario is an "extreme case" and would be unprecedented.

Interest rates have started to go up this week as a sell-off in the U.S. bond market has driven bond yields higher, making it more expensive for banks to access capital.

Two of Canada's biggest banks — TD Bank (TSX:TD) and Royal Bank (TSX:RY) — have hiked their fixed mortgage rates, anywhere from 0.05 percentage points to 0.4 percentage points.

There are concerns that as interest rates rise, some Canadian homeowners could encounter difficulty making their mortgage payments and face the risk of default.

"Households are so leveraged right now and house prices are at such incredibly high levels relative to household incomes," said David Madani, senior Canada economist at Capital Economics.

"Even a moderate doubling in interest rates — which sounds like a lot but we're talking about maybe 200 basis points (two percentage points) — could potentially pop the housing bubble."

http://www.vancouversun.com/business...470/story.html

[ForbiddenX]

What sites, if any do you guys use to view new developments and information about it? We won't be in Vancouver next month and we're trying to figure out the whether or not we want to rent or buy. We figure it might be easier to rent for a year while looking for a place but we'd like to see more options although difficult since we're not in the city yet.

I see there's a Developments section for rew.ca but was wondering if there were any other sites.

[Tapioca]

Originally Posted by ForbiddenX

What sites, if any do you guys use to view new developments and information about it? We won't be in Vancouver next month and we're trying to figure out the whether or not we want to rent or buy. We figure it might be easier to rent for a year while looking for a place but we'd like to see more options although difficult since we're not in the city yet.

I see there's a Developments section for rew.ca but was wondering if there were any other sites.

BuzzBuzz Home is one of the main sources of information for new developments.

[ForbiddenX]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

BuzzBuzz Home is one of the main sources of information for new developments.

Great thanks, will check them out!

[imp>dom]

Guys how much should I expect to pay for a basic home alarm system (non-monitored)? Any company recommendation? Thx in advance.

[Adorkami]

Wife and I are soon looking into one, you will need an assessment to see what you need/want which will impact the price

[N8]

^^^

Just went with samsung's smartthings. You should expect to pay around $250 CDN for a decent setup with a couple door sensors and motion sensor. So far I like it, there is a lot of community support behind it (people can create custom code for device support, and publish the code so others can use the unsupported devices). Good android support, can't speak for iphone.

What I don't like is I can't use my existing dlink 5020 camera properly. Doesn't support recording during incidents, which is useless. So I need to buy a supported cam; either the smartthings camera or the arlo wire free cam -- ~$200

[pure.life]

Originally Posted by imp>dom

Guys how much should I expect to pay for a basic home alarm system (non-monitored)? Any company recommendation? Thx in advance.

I use the iSmart Home Alarm system. Love it!

The bundle comes with a hub, two contact sensors and one motion sensor. Easy to set up and the app works perfectly fine. It took less than an hour to get everything up and running. I love how you can label each sensor with it's own name and receive notification each time a door or window is open.

The system came to about $230 after tax at Best Buy and we bought two additional contact sensors for the garage and an extra window upstairs.

[hotshot1]

Originally Posted by Ferra

I really think it depends on the situation...
If some rich corporation started buying up every gas station in Vancouver and charging $5/L...are you okay with that?
They brought the gas station and supply chain, so they own it. By your logic, they should be able to do whatever they want and charge whatever price they want with it...right?

Fair or not, I think the empty house tax is a great policy (if it can be implemented well). It leads to less wasted resources and better efficiency. (A house sitting empty is a wasted resource)

Corporations don't have unlimited capital to spend. If someone thought that was a good idea and actually started doing it, there would be other companies getting into the gas industry because if you charged a lower price, you'd get all the customers. That company would eventually go bankrupt because of competition. But YES they should be able to charge whatever they want. What do you think is an acceptable price/litre? The market should determine the price, not some arbitrary number that sounds fair.

Originally Posted by originalhypa

bullshit.
When your rights and freedoms start affecting a whole community, then it's time to remove those freedoms.

example one: 104 Avenue Centre


After years of being a hideout for asian investment dollars, the building was bought and sold numerous times. The Fraser health authority tried to lease, and it was shut down. Then the RCMP tried to lease it, but that deal fell through. Way back in 1998, they had multiple lessees for the asian mall. But the landowner wanted the easy money. Even today, the current owner had this to say,


In the meantime, it's a hothouse of drug activity, and an eyesore in an area that doesn't need more eyesores. Plus, at 275,000' it skews the real estate data for Surrey.

But it's the landowner's right to leave it empty, right?

Yes it's the owner's right to leave it empty. If he breaks any laws, conduct the appropriate action but if he doesn't break any laws, leave him be.

This is a matter of principle. If you give an inch, they take a fucking mile, ESPECIALLY the government. Here's an example: Prior to WW2, we didn't have any personal income taxes - they implemented it "temporarily" to pay for the war and the rate was about 5%. That "temporary" seed has now blossomed into 45%.

This is what happens with government EVERY SINGLE TIME. I'm not even surprised that this went through. We have a ton of socialists in this city who act immorally in the name of equality and have no idea how the economy works.

[Jmac]

If they bought every gas station in the area, how would another company get in? Do you think the city is going to allow a company to purchase land, tear down buildings, and build gas stations on every block when the monopoly can either price it into bankruptcy or buy it out?

Your analogy is retarded because that's exactly why we have competition laws to begin with; because private entities were given an inch and took a mile.

In Hypa's example, those are taking miles.

[Adorkami]

I think the example of 100% ownership of gas stations isn't really a good comparison to someone wanting to own <0.0001% of properties available. Also in Canada monopolies are illegal(with the exception of Crown Corps). People should be free to do what they want as long as it doesn't harm others.

[MarkyMark]

Yeah well it's kinda harming others when it drives prices to unaffordable levels is it not?

[Ferra]

Originally Posted by MarkyMark

Yeah well it's kinda harming others when it drives prices to unaffordable levels is it not?

I would find it perfectly acceptable if they are driving price to unaffordable level if the people actually needs and use the goods (i.e. living in the house)

Having a house(or houses) sit empty on the other hand, is like ordering 10x more food than you can eat at a restaurant, then throwing all the excess away.
Yes, you ordered the food and paid for it. Doesn't mean it is right for you to waste it tho. Especially if the goods in question is very limited, so your needless waste drive prices up for everyone else who isn't as well off.

[westopher]

I think in laymen terms people need to realize, being rich doesn't give you the right to be a piece of fucking shit. Wastefulness is an absolute cancer in our society.

[Digitalis]

See being earning financial freedom doesn't earn you the right to do what you want with your aftertax income.
Socialists will always tell you what to do with your money.

[westopher]

Originally Posted by Digitalis

See being earning financial freedom doesn't earn you the right to do what you want with your aftertax income.
Socialists will always tell you what to do with your money.

Try writing an actual sentence.
9 out of 10 rich people didn't earn fuck all. You don't earn who your parents are.

[Hondaracer]

That's kind of a stretch..

Personally, I'd say 90% of the wealthy people I know through family/friends are self-made.

[westopher]

I'm not talking about wealthy people. I'm talking about RICH people. I bet none of your wealthy friends have empty homes and cars they don't drive, which are the problem that was brought up and argued for by the idiots.
Wealthy people deserve to enjoy the fruits of their labour. Wastefulness is not a necessary part of it.

[Digitalis]

Weathly Rich whatever you call it.
If you mean people that dont earn money themselves, then explain to me why they would care about buying up homes in vancouver to "drive up prices" or whatever.
If I had that kinda cash I would be buying a different place in different cities.
Not trying to buy 10 in one city and cash out later on trying to make a buck.

[UFO]

Originally Posted by Digitalis

Not trying to buy 10 in one city and cash out later on trying to make a buck.

What if its a millions bucks, per property?

The system is and has always been about making the rich/wealthy richer. And no reason for that to change anytime soon I'm afraid.

[Hondaracer]

I highly doubt the percantage of people who are buying 3 or more million dollar homes is double digits.

In my experience just in "lower end" real estate, lol the 900-1.6 range every house I ever saw purchased has someone living there. Whether it be a tenant or the owner

[IGTBAR]

Has anyone in this thread actually bought a house recently (last 6 months)?

Or currently actively looking?

[westopher]

Do you mean house house? Or a place to live in general?

[IGTBAR]

Condo/Townhouse/House - primary residence.

[donk.]

Been on the watch since last winter.

Only interested in a townhouses, was looking last winter, tri-city area / pitt meadows had a few options with garage for 300-350K, did not have even have 5% down-payment at that point. (1000-1400sqft)

Now there is not a single townhouse for under 430K (not even including garage), regardless of having 10% down.... (same sqft)

Ugh