Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[G]

Originally Posted by Ch28

You're in a different neighbourhood, though.

The Lougheed/Gilmore area has no residential areas anywhere close to where the complex is being built. Everything in that area is already metered parking, so what happens when you have 20 floors worth of residents trying to find parking?

Even at Wall Centre Central Park, 3 towers, only like, 6-9 visitor parking stalls shared between all....

Originally Posted by yameen

pm'd.

but why would you move from east vancouver to royal oak/edmonds? i have a friend that lives in edmonds and its development is amazingly slow compared to other parts of the tricities. they built the new kings crossing towers which might help increase activity but it's super dead and quiet.

only reason you would move from east van to east burnaby is if you're upsizing and can't afford vancouver otherwise i'd keep the unit you have in the wall centre tower.

That is exactly the reason. I am upsizing and can't afford $1,000-$1,200 per sq.ft. for a 2 bd/2 ba. I am actually eyeing either older Gilmore/Brentwood or Edmonds area. Kings Cross in Edmonds actually looks like a decent place... 3 towers built on top of a podium mall which includes a 24,000 sq.ft. grocery anchor tenant, 29,000 sq.ft. fitness anchor tenant, a bank tenant, and also 8 stories of high quality office space. Not to mention the build quality of Cressey is probably one of the best in Vancouver IMO. So overall, not bad for $850-$875 per sq.ft. price point.

[Ludepower]

Originally Posted by westopher

They are regulated, but it’s clear that they treat their fines as the joke that they are. The fact these homes can be 80% sold out before even being offered to the public is no different than insider trading. It’s all just people with all the money changing the rules of the game to suit them.

With cash in hand its not hard to get your desired unit. Knowing the right realtor will get you VIP access.
The general public are window shopping who dont have enough to pull the trigger.

What needs to stop is the bulk buying and verification on who's buying for record purposes.

[JDMStyo]

Originally Posted by Ludepower

With cash in hand its not hard to get your desired unit. Knowing the right realtor will get you VIP access.
The general public are window shopping who dont have enough to pull the trigger.
What needs to stop is the bulk buying and verification on who's buying for record purposes.

Correct - realtors and groups that have access early ALWAYS get first dibs (hence VIP) before public - just like any sales event, friends and family gets first pick at Sports Check sales, Ford family pricing, etc etc. Nothing surprising here.

Verification
FINTRAC , ID tracking, and AML is done like with any large financial transactions by any real estate group. Having worked at banks before as well, CREA (Canadian R/E Association) is also a self regulated industry.
In terms of record, FINTRAC is interested in anything with regards to drugs, trafficking, criminals. Insider trading unlike equities and publicly listed companies - isn't a good analogy for real estate deals.

If a transaction is done at deemed fair price for both parties, it doesn't matter if its pre-arranged and doesn't get to public rounds. Unfortunately demand still far outpaces supply when it comes to presales.

Mass buying - clearly units are marketed overseas but alot are still local buyers. Butterfly was #localfirst here, but does that really matter if $1.3M 1br 500ft was sold here first - how many can actually afford it?

[JDMStyo]

Originally Posted by G

Kings Cross in Edmonds

The marketing group we worked closely with was marketing all 3 back in 2016... had to convince people Edmonds was a buy at $450/ft. #facepalms now LedMac has Southgate a massive 10-15 tower build coming up. Expect $950/ft there. Kings Crossing assignments regularly fetch $900/ft.

C/D plan 1+den are popular around $520-600K.
E 850 2BR plans are great buy at $720-780K.

Lift is pretty staggering at $250-340K though. Hefty profits.
One instance we decided to drink the Koolaid ourselves, good call

[westopher]

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opin...-needs-to-end/

It wasn’t long ago, people lined up overnight for a chance to put a deposit down on some yet-to-be-built condo, in some yet-to-be-built condo tower. They’d crawl out of their tents at dawn to chat with sidewalk neighbours also hoping to land what was often their very first home.

We now remember them as the good old days.

You rarely hear about those types of buying frenzies anymore and there’s a reason: Today, the most sought-after presale units are being offered exclusively to speculators, industry insiders and friends of developers who are profiting handsomely from this privileged access. In the process, this form of insider trading is driving up prices and wreaking havoc on the housing market.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT


That this has been going on for some time now has been an open secret in the industry. However, thanks to the investigative efforts of The Globe and Mail’s Kathy Tomlinson, we now have intimate knowledge of how it works and the incendiary impact it is having on the hopes and dreams of first-time home buyers in major centres like Toronto and Vancouver.

The scheme is pretty simple. A developer gets approval for a project and then has to go out and raise money to satisfy the banks. He does this through presales of his project. Most of the units are being offered to select realtors, who have investor clients, many from China, who are willing to put down whatever it takes to get a piece of the action. And they are getting this access ahead of young people desperate to get into the market.

Often what many of these realtors and others are then doing is selling their contract to buy a unit to someone else – known as assigning or shadow flipping. And they often hawk it for more than what they originally paid in the form of a deposit. A contract can sometimes be flipped multiple times at an ever-escalating price before the condo is ever occupied by a living soul. Of course, this fuels the kind of debilitating price escalation we’ve witnessed in the last few years.

The insiders who are flipping their properties are often not paying tax on their financial gains and not paying fees and levies (like property transfer tax and foreign buyers’ tax) that others do. And they are often making hundreds of thousands of dollars through these transactions. The developers are happy because they get a cut of every deal that takes place. They want to see price escalation take place because it means more profit for them. There are whole towers being built and designed with the speculator and investor first and foremost in mind.

The practice is unconscionable and the fact that it’s been done with the real estate industry’s knowledge makes it even more egregious. Now that it’s been exposed, many in the field are ducking for cover.

Get ready for all the excuses, and the condescending talk about how we don’t understand how the business really works and how developers need to be able to sell to speculators. Don’t buy it – any of it. It will be self-interested nonsense from people who once filled the financial coffers of the political party previously in power in B.C., likely banking on that government to not change the rules of the game.

With single-detached homes out of reach for many, condos have become the housing option of choice. Developers need to make their units available to all buyers, at the same time. There can’t be a lower price for insiders and another for the general public, as there often is now. There can’t be any secret deals. There can’t be flipping. Yes, people sometimes need to get out of their presale contracts because their personal circumstances have changed. Fine. But they should only be able to resell those contracts at the same price they originally paid for them, which would help prevent the crazy inflationary price spiral we see being created today.
There needs to be far, far more transparency in the condo market, as much as there is for single-detached homes.

The fact the NDP government in B.C. is indicating it is prepared to halt the deceptive practices Ms. Tomlinson revealed is encouraging. But it should be prepared for a major pushback from an industry that understands the house of cards it has built around the current system. It likely wouldn’t take much for it all to come crashing down, either.

[originalhypa]

Most of the units are being offered to select realtors, who have investor clients, many from China

but ludepower said.........

Originally Posted by Ludepower

Just blame the foreigners doe

I love when they pull out the race card, then look like fools because the xenophobes were right.

[yray]

We should all buy condos in china... oh wait, we can't do shit.

they don't even let their own citizens buy condos outside of their city unless they lived+file taxes in that city for 4-5+ years.

Maybe we should pull the same shit.

[Mr.HappySilp]

Originally Posted by originalhypa

but ludepower said.........



I love when they pull out the race card, then look like fools because the xenophobes were right.

I don't know I many people who purchase from VIP sales that's aren't from China (me being one of them) and many of them aren't investors. Is funny coz some people have connections to get into the VIP sales. It ain't hard if people who are into market and wants to get in the VIP sales. Just look for a realtor who have access.

[Badhobz]

Fucking foreigners. Fucking investors. Fucking developers. Fuck everyone who is apart of this horseshit industry. I hope this shit crashes and they end up regulating it so bad that you can't even look at a listing without having a provincial regulator asking you disclose the source of your funds.

[dapperfied]

Fuckin *insert bcrduke favourite word*!!!

[Ch28]

Originally Posted by Badhobz

Fucking foreigners. Fucking investors. Fucking developers. Fuck everyone who is apart of this horseshit industry. I hope this shit crashes and they end up regulating it so bad that you can't even look at a listing without having a provincial regulator asking you disclose the source of your funds.

Problem with the market crashing is the fact that our parents would probably be screwed out of their retirement funds. I know it sucks for those of us trying to get into the market, but there's something nice about knowing that my parents could always sell their house and live off that until they pass.

[Ch28]

Originally Posted by JDMStyo

Bordeaux by Solterra
Boutique European builder brings a luxury high-rise right beside Juneau (sold out) on Willingdon across from Costco turn in. Expect $1000/ft and better South side view towards Metro/Richmond.

Attached are the floor plans for all of our homes at Bordeaux as well as our starting prices.

http://mylasso.com/FileWarehouse/Pro...loor_Plans.pdf

http://mylasso.com/FileWarehouse/Pro...loor_Plans.pdf

http://mylasso.com/FileWarehouse/Pro...loor_Plans.pdf

http://mylasso.com/FileWarehouse/Pro...20Bedrooms.pdf

http://mylasso.com/FileWarehouse/Pro...s-Bordeaux.pdf


One Bedroom homes starting from $519,900
Two Bedroom homes starting from $825,900
Townhomes starting from $1,518,900

All homes at Bordeaux include at least one parking stall and one storage locker. Completion is estimated to be mid 2021.

We are now booking Preview Appointments to view our Presentation Centre and Display Homes. We have had an overwhelming response and our appointment times are filling up quickly so please contact me as soon as possible, I'd be happy to help.

[Mr.HappySilp]

Originally Posted by Ch28

Problem with the market crashing is the fact that our parents would probably be screwed out of their retirement funds. I know it sucks for those of us trying to get into the market, but there's something nice about knowing that my parents could always sell their house and live off that until they pass.

Or how about those who got into the housing market in the past 3 to 5 years. With mortgage rate going up/up sizing/moving/selling their house. With a crash those people are screw coz their property might not even worth how much they sell it for. Also what if they can't pay the increase mortgage rate and are force to sell at a lose.

We might have what happen to the stats back in mid 2000s or even like HK in the late 90s crash. Tons of people lost their house and never recover.

[yray]

only way to gradually slow this down is to make vancouver unappetizing investment wise

of course, no one would do it because its flushing their own money down the drain

[Digitalis]

Why is vancouver appealing? Cuz people are fleeing from the invasion. Dont worry tho Trudeau will fix that

[highfive]

Originally Posted by Badhobz

Fucking foreigners. Fucking investors. Fucking developers. Fuck everyone who is apart of this horseshit industry. I hope this shit crashes and they end up regulating it so bad that you can't even look at a listing without having a provincial regulator asking you disclose the source of your funds.

Supply and demand buddy. Who cares if it's foreigners or developers. Developer will sell to whoever that can pay. It's the realtors who's tearing apart the industry. They're the gatekeepers and price setters of the industry.

[MarkyMark]

In the end I think the interest rates rising will make the biggest difference. Add to the fact that mom and dad can't just give you 20% of the down payment to exempt you from the stress test anymore and that's a hit on how much you're pre approved for.

[DA9ve]

https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Cu...icId=121166713

have a hear at this podcast. it may be from cbc but some points hold true of foreign investment flooding Vancouver

[!LittleDragon]

Originally Posted by Mr.HappySilp

Or how about those who got into the housing market in the past 3 to 5 years. With mortgage rate going up/up sizing/moving/selling their house. With a crash those people are screw coz their property might not even worth how much they sell it for. Also what if they can't pay the increase mortgage rate and are force to sell at a lose.

We might have what happen to the stats back in mid 2000s or even like HK in the late 90s crash. Tons of people lost their house and never recover.

They should've known the risks of buying overpriced assets. I mean, it sucks but they shouldn't expect to be bailed out when mistakes are made. If they just wanted a place to live, they could've rented but chose not to. They could've bought elsewhere but chose not to. During the era of bidding wars, people weren't thinking when they bought the most expensive thing they'll ever buy. They took more time to choose a car than a home.

[lowside67]

Originally Posted by Ch28

Attached are the floor plans for all of our homes at Bordeaux as well as our starting prices.

http://mylasso.com/FileWarehouse/Pro...loor_Plans.pdf

http://mylasso.com/FileWarehouse/Pro...loor_Plans.pdf

http://mylasso.com/FileWarehouse/Pro...loor_Plans.pdf

http://mylasso.com/FileWarehouse/Pro...20Bedrooms.pdf

http://mylasso.com/FileWarehouse/Pro...s-Bordeaux.pdf


One Bedroom homes starting from $519,900
Two Bedroom homes starting from $825,900
Townhomes starting from $1,518,900

All homes at Bordeaux include at least one parking stall and one storage locker. Completion is estimated to be mid 2021.

We are now booking Preview Appointments to view our Presentation Centre and Display Homes. We have had an overwhelming response and our appointment times are filling up quickly so please contact me as soon as possible, I'd be happy to help.

Seriously - tiny galley kitchens in every private collection 2BR? Do people not cook anymore?

-Mark

[westopher]

Originally Posted by Mr.HappySilp

Or how about those who got into the housing market in the past 3 to 5 years. With mortgage rate going up/up sizing/moving/selling their house. With a crash those people are screw coz their property might not even worth how much they sell it for.

My condo dropping to a reasonable level would make upsizing more financially viable.
I'd rather sell my place for 300k and move somewhere for 400k than make the same transactions at 600k and 800k.
The people who a crash would truly affect are
A) downsizers (baby boomers, retirees with their retirement fund based on their real estate)
B) investors (people with multiple properties purchased at high levels with expectations of higher levels)
C) "investors" (people who think they know something about investing so they HELOC a down payment on an investment property, with the knowledge that real estate goes in a perfectly steady line up for all of eternity.)
D) real estate agents (commissions that are percentage based)
E) developers (lower margins for new developments based on increased construction cost to land value)
F) government (taxes collected as a percentage of inflated prices)

Dropping real estate doesn't affect people who simply live in their homes.

Obviously you are right about higher rates, but there are ways of softening the market without higher rates.

[DA9ve]

with all this hot demand for condo/apartment, i've opted to cash out and buy a detached home with the equity i built. in the long run, i cant say how condo prices can keep rising but rule of thumb is that real estate will continue to rise but to what level and how fast. its all about timing too. my agent tells me the east van market isnt as hot as it was before with the detached homes so hopefully i dont get too much bidding but having said that, i am looking forward to seeing bidding wars on my unit

[Great68]

Originally Posted by !LittleDragon

They should've known the risks of buying overpriced assets. I mean, it sucks but they shouldn't expect to be bailed out when mistakes are made. If they just wanted a place to live, they could've rented but chose not to. They could've bought elsewhere but chose not to. During the era of bidding wars, people weren't thinking when they bought the most expensive thing they'll ever buy. They took more time to choose a car than a home.

That's so hypocritical.

Claiming "Sucks to be them, they made their choices" to people who might go underwater is just as bad as people who currently own saying "Sucks to be them, they should pull up their boots" to people who currently can't afford to own.

There's gotta be a middle ground somewhere.

The reality is, the people who will be most hurt will be the locals in the middle who simply want to own a home to live their lives in the city, somehow making it work, not speculating on shit, and they would have never expected the government to pull the bottom out from under them. The truly rich, foreign investors aren't going to get hurt at all.

[!LittleDragon]

Maybe it's just me but I don't expect the government or anyone to bail me out when I make mistakes. I lost $35k on Nat Gas these past few years. It was a bad investment, I knew the risks when I bought it. I thought I caught the bottom but I was wrong. My losses are my own fault. Why should the government bail me out? The only help I get from the government is the ability to claim the losses against future gains.

Some may have just wanted to own a home in the city but did it have to be at the height of the market? They had no patience, they fell for the "buy now or never" rhetoric. Whatever situation people are in, whether it's good or bad is because of the choices they make. Being underwater on your mortgage when you bought a home at the peak of the market is not because of bad luck.

[Nlkko]

The only sketchy thing with the market right now is that rates will continue to go up to fight inflation because economy is in late stage of the cycle. A few points in rates will fuck a lot of people who are on the edge of their leverage. Bank of Canada will try to soften the landing as much as possible and if there's anyone to do it, it would be Poloz. So I think we are in good hands.

If you are worried, start setting some funds aside to cushion your mortgage payments. I think most people on this forum (middle class) will be fine. Decent jobs, not living paycheck to paycheck.

Unless you refinance at higher rate and blow the excess on toys like some dude advised a few pages back... that's just irresponsible. That's another form of leverage by the way.... Leveraging your house to buy a car... That's a terrible financial decision.