The gov have to change the mindset of people that they don't need to own a house (apartment/townhome) are ok. Even renting is fine.

^gov changing peoples mindset wouldn't make sense to them. Renting doesn't really make them money, giving out mortgages does...but I say "giving" them out with a grain of salt. They are making it difficult for people to get mortgages with the stress test and bank interest rates..

first time home owners,

5% down, government backed mortgages

kill all helocs

dont you worry guys

The mindset of permanently renting as OK is possible, but to do it there would have to be enough inventory of units that aren't co-habitation with the landlord (IE Full houses, condos, townhouses to rent, not basement suites)

so what happens when millennial/gen Y hit retirement age? Traditionally renting is always cheaper than buying, trends have proven otherwise. CPP/OAS would not support anyone at all.

who cares, by then we'd all have died from smoke inhalation.

I didn't know buying a house was the only investment vehicle for retirement?

It is pricey but this one is pretty damn nice..

stfu u pleb, i'll rock my canned air till I'm 105 years old

Well if you're blowing 60% of income to rent, how can you save :lawl:

oh wait, forgot about parents, they are a investment vehicle too

well update #2 doesn't look like we are getting any offers today as per my realtor. Who knows things could change but he also said out of all his listings we are the ones that are getting any traction whatever that means. He has said our listing is getting calls everyday and no offers as of yet. It hasn't been a week yet but does suck just waiting...I guess the waiting game will continue!

Just be patient Nabatron.. if you're house is competitive and nice then it should be a matter of time. Don't show any panic or anything to your realtor or buyer realtor as it could affect your price. Unless u of course want to move asap

^thanks my dude! yeah we aren't in a huge rush to move wife still has to work a few months for her matt leave starts. Somewhat disappointing on no offers but I guess still have to realize how the market is right now, also that it hasn't been on the market for a week as well. He said just to stay the course and not worry. The place shows well and is move in ready, just need someone the right person haha

Maybe I'm skeptical and a prick but the realtors in sales he probably tells everyone of his clients that. It's like when I follow up on a bid we made on a project, they like to tell you that it was close you were second to keep you bidding no matter where your bid really was.

Maybe I'm wrong, I hope I am. I'm just a jaded miserable old man.

^true true rather here that to keep my hopes up lol

I think if you are really looking to sell, just be realistic with the pricing and everything.

Truth is, we are in a buyer market. Or at the very least, buyers have that slight advantage when it comes to negotiation.

So, market it accordingly to your situation.

Nah, I see it in the same way as well. The realtor's job is to help him sell his place. If he's not getting any solid offers, then his best bet is to give him hope and string him along in hopes that he doesn't ditch him for someone else.

I was one of the "lucky" ones that bought a (now) $1M townhouse in Richmond in 2011. I seriously thought about upgrading to a house this year, but there's a number of factors to consider.

Yes, there are houses for $1.2M, but they tend to be the same size as my townhouse or they need a TON of work. Anything livable would be around $1.5M. While that doesn't sound like a huge jump, that would still be a $1M mortgage for me and more than double my current mortgage.

I have seriously considered buying a place with a mortgage helper, but there are not that many options in Richmond at that price range. I also am somewhat picky about what neighborhood I live in.

At the end of the day, we've pretty much decided we're going to stay put for now. It would be nice to have extra space for my kids, but they've never known anything different from my townhouse so they won't complain. My wife and I have decided we're pretty content with what we have. Also, having a smaller mortgage payment is considerably less financial stress and gives me flexibility to take vacations and buy nicer cars. This is Revscene, right?

That's exactly what I mean a few post back.. if u were lucky to buy before on the cheap end..I don't see a reason to upgrade (unless u are in a condo and end up having kids etc). But in your situation, I'd stay put as well and just try to pay off the house sooner and just enjoy haha.

Or move to Okanagan with me and Nabatron

Realistic? The RE market as a whole needs to be realistic! I have priced mine accordingly compared to all the other places around us..

This is the best approach, imo.

I'm going to assume you have young kids, so I've always been in the mindset that it'd be better to have a 'smaller' space if it meant you weren't anchored to a massive mortgage. The amount of money and stress that it frees up for you to spend with the kids going on vacations and enjoying life is well worth it.

My parents paid off their mortgage really quickly when I was a kid, but that wasn't without any sacrifices. We never really went on any family vacations, except for the odd road trip down to Seattle or Victoria. I was always very jealous of all the other kids that would go on their annual summer vacation with the family, while I was stuck at home watching tv/playing in the backyard/video games. I don't really hold any sort of resentment towards my parents because of it, since they just wanted to get rid of that mortgage ASAP. I do wish they lessened up a bit on the mentality that the mortgage had to be done ASAP and spend some money doing other young family things like vacations.

Lol @ thinking any government, NDP, Conservative, Liberal, Green, whoever, cares about any future beyond their 4-year term. If the government thought about the long-term impacts of a hugely inflated housing market, they wouldn't have let things get this bad in the first place. Hell, Christy Clark didn't just play with fire, she soaked the matches in gasoline by actively travelling to China to sell BC as an investment opportunity. To pull a quote from Tokyo Drift...

Did we have the same parents?

Furthest my parents took us was camping on Vancouver Island or the Okanagan. They threw everything on the mortgage, paid off their house in 10 years or something like that.

My parents aren't the outdoorsy type, so we stuck to cities that had Chinatowns 4Head

I think my parents paid off their mortgage around that same time frame as well. My parents were always really proud of the fact that they got it paid off so quickly through their own money without any financial help whatsoever.

Maybe it's the new reality, but I just presumed I would have a mortgage a fairly long time. Also, this is a a different era than when our parents had mortgages in the 80's.

I just renewed at 2.45% variable. In the 80s, they were approaching 20% so it made a lot of sense to pay off your mortgage as fast as possible. The rate is sufficiently low these days I feel fairly comfortable with a large mortgage.

My mom was telling me how they bought their first house in 1980 for $60,000 and my dad only made $29,000 and she only made about $10,000 and we shouldn't complain because mortgage rates are so low ...

$39,000/year in 1979 is equivalent to $130,000/year today according to Bank of Canada's inflation calculator ... and $60,000 is equivalent to $200,000 today ...

Yeah, I'm pretty sure if my SO and I made $130k/year combined (with no post secondary education) and were buying a $200k house, we'd have paid it off by now, regardless of interest rate.

Boomers, man ... they need to get their abacuses out before judging ...