Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[Tapioca]

My dad bought a condo for about 5% off the list price before the pandemic. This is in Burnaby.

I'm seeing discounts between 3 and 9% for various homes in the Tri-Cities. Getting into double-digit territory in terms of discounts means there's probably something fundamentally wrong with the home.

I personally would welcome a steep discount on my next home. Not because I can't afford buying a home at current prices, but because I'd rather spend my hard earned money on other things, like vacations, diversifying my portfolio, another university degree, or a new diamond for my wife. I personally think it's ridiculous that strata property is coming in over a million dollars in many areas of the Lower Mainland, but that's the market.

[BIC_BAWS]

Viewing a house in Poco tonight, if all goes well, will likely be putting in an offer tonight as well. Place looks good. They just got an offer, so our window to beat it is literally tonight.

Reminds me of how I bought a car last night too.

[fliptuner]

A lot of the houses in my area (Citadel), are getting multiple offers.

[Traum]

Originally Posted by BIC_BAWS

Viewing a house in Poco tonight, if all goes well, will likely be putting in an offer tonight as well. Place looks good. They just got an offer, so our window to beat it is literally tonight.

Reminds me of how I bought a car last night too.

Good luck with the viewing, but don't feel compelled to make an offer on something that doesn't live up to your standards. The last thing you want to happen is the I-gotta-outbid-the-other-offer mentality to set in.

[BIC_BAWS]

Originally Posted by Traum

Good luck with the viewing, but don't feel compelled to make an offer on something that doesn't live up to your standards. The last thing you want to happen is the I-gotta-outbid-the-other-offer mentality to set in.

I have a firm offer in mind. The seller's realtor is trying to play hardball, unfortunately for her, my team and I deal with this all the time haha. She's messing with the wrong person. AND SHE'S NOT EVEN HOT SMH.

Originally Posted by fliptuner

A lot of the houses in my area (Citadel), are getting multiple offers.

Looking at Glenwood. This specific one has a single offer, but with a subject to sell. I'll be going in with probably subject to inspection and subject to financing. A subject to sell might as well not be an offer.

[Traum]

Originally Posted by BIC_BAWS

Looking at Glenwood. This specific one has a single offer, but with a subject to sell. I'll be going in with probably subject to inspection and subject to financing. A subject to sell might as well not be an offer.

Good luck with the offer! I'm guessing everyone involved has until the end of the evening to make those decisions, right?

Man... that reminded me of the times when I was doing the same...

[hud 91gt]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

My dad bought a condo for about 5% off the list price before the pandemic. This is in Burnaby.

I'm seeing discounts between 3 and 9% for various homes in the Tri-Cities. Getting into double-digit territory in terms of discounts means there's probably something fundamentally wrong with the home.

I personally would welcome a steep discount on my next home. Not because I can't afford buying a home at current prices, but because I'd rather spend my hard earned money on other things, like vacations, diversifying my portfolio, another university degree, or a new diamond for my wife. I personally think it's ridiculous that strata property is coming in over a million dollars in many areas of the Lower Mainland, but that's the market.

A new diamond? I thought you had a good head on your shoulders. Lol.

[68style]

Originally Posted by Ch28

Anybody else in the market for a new place and struggling to decide whether to pull the plug on it or not with all the uncertainty going on?

It feels like I'm reading new reports and articles every day about how it's either a great time to buy now or it's better to wait until after summer when the mortgage deferrals will end.

Dude you been saying this or variations of it in this thread since 2016.

Shit or get off the pot already!

[JDMDreams]

I hear this all the time, I'll wait for prices to drop then I'll buy, then 2016 oil tanks,2018 empty home tax, 2019 China trade war, 2020 Coronas roll by and they are still sitting on cash and not investing

[Ch28]

Originally Posted by 68style

Dude you been saying this or variations of it in this thread since 2016.

Shit or get off the pot already!

You’re right. I should just make the biggest purchase of my life so I can appease a complete internet stranger that I give zero fucks about

[Sw0op]

yah well 4 years have gone by and you havent moved on with your life and it may be a bit cheaper for you depending on your price point but damn a lot of people are already 1/4 paid off their mortgage by now assuming average payoff is ~18 years

sometimes you just need to bite the bullet and make a commitment and then deal with the consequences later...besides...if this is your first home its likely not gonna be your forever home

if youre waiting for newspaper and article reports to tell you what to do you're never gonna come to a conclusion because there will always be 2 sides since they just want readers attention...its never gonna be handed to you in a silver platter

[Hondaracer]

Think of it this way, has anyone who has bought a place in the last 5 years (as an actual place to live not an investment) regretted it? Prices fluctuate but I can’t say I’ve run into virtually anyone who has gotten into a “home” and been like fuck I regret it due to timing etc.

You’ve got a place to settle down in, start paying down, and fuck it if the prices goes up or down a bit, as long as you do your due diligence worst case scenario is it’s worth what you paid.

[Sw0op]

We (myself and wife) bought in 2016 right before the foreign buyer tax..people say that was the peak of the market......sure.......if i fast forward to Feb 2020 i'd argue we'd break even on our purchase if not maybe make a bit...but then Covid happened and looking at sales now i'd say probably lost $60k if we were to sell now? (not including the transfer tax and all that comission stuff)...but whats $60k if im going to live here for 10+ years..thats like not buying starbucks everyday and eating out 1 or 2 days less a week...so that you can have a roof over your head...welcome to adulthood! besides if you cant handle a 3-4% swing in "market correction" then you're either looking at it wrong or you should just 100% stick to renting...

unless youre buying as an investment or looking to spend 2.5M+...those are different markets...anything under 1.5M for now should be on solid footing as there'll always be a market for that

[Tapioca]

Originally Posted by Ch28

You’re right. I should just make the biggest purchase of my life so I can appease a complete internet stranger that I give zero fucks about

I don't want to tell you what to do, but I would encourage you to think about where you are in life, where your career is going, and what your projected earnings are going to be over the next 10-15 years.

There's a saying that if real estate is going to be part of your portfolio, you want to be in the market by the age of 40.

If you're just a regular household with typical salaried jobs, I think it will become more of a challenge to be mortgage-free by the time you retire the longer you wait, unless you are certain you have an inheritance or other significant financial windfall coming your way at a determined point of time. Your typical entry level home in the Lower Mainland these days is about 500K, so over 25 years, that's approximately 650K at current interest rates.

If you stay in that home until you retire, that's about $26K per year minimum in housing costs. If you're following the advice of the internet, you shouldn't put more than a third of your income towards housing. So, your household is going to have to earn just over $2 million over the next 25 years. If you plan to trade up over time, you'll have to earn more.

Just something to think about...

[bcrdukes]

Buy now. Think later.

[68style]

Originally Posted by Ch28

You’re right. I should just make the biggest purchase of my life so I can appease a complete internet stranger that I give zero fucks about

That’s sad, I gave at least 3 fucks about you

[JDMDreams]

Yea I'm really glad I looked into property in my 20s, I can't imagine being 30+ before getting your first place on a 30y mortgage. You will be near retirement before you pay off your first home assuming it is something entry level. This is assuming no marriage or kids to add to your liabilities. No Tesla's or type r unless your income goes up significantly. Unless you're some high rolling professional or Asian parents throwing money at you.

[Sw0op]

Originally Posted by JDMDreams

Yea I'm really glad I looked into property in my 20s, I can't imagine being 30+ before getting your first place on a 30y mortgage. You will be near retirement before you pay off your first home assuming it is something entry level. This is assuming no marriage or kids to add to your liabilities. No Tesla's or type r unless your income goes up significantly. Unless you're some high rolling professional or Asian parents throwing money at you.

well most people these days do stay at home or save up enough until theyre around the 30 mark since everything is so expensive but if youre gonna wait and wait and then buy when youre at 40 you're pretty much buying to hand it off to your children cuz you'd be like 60 before its paid off or whatever? like i guess your children will be happy that you "waited and bought it cheap"

i'd rather be paying down most of the mortage when im 40 so that i would have upgraded and/or start consolidating my retirement funds when im like 45 or 50...not when i just started paying down my mortgage!

control your own lifestyle...dont have the process of buying the house control 5-10 years+ of your life!

[bcrdukes]

Originally Posted by JDMDreams

No Tesla's or type r unless your income goes up significantly. Unless you're some high rolling professional or Asian parents throwing money at you.

But...that's 99% of people on Revscene...

[underscore]

Don't forget to factor in whatever you're paying for rent when waiting for prices to drop. If you pay $20k in rent while waiting for the price of the places you want to drop $10k you're not actually saving money.

[twitchyzero]

what's the median loan value in vancouver if average servicing is 18 years?

[Gerbs]

Originally Posted by Sw0op

sometimes you just need to bite the bullet and make a commitment and then deal with the consequences later...besides...if this is your first home its likely not gonna be your forever home

To be fair, some of my friends that are dropping $600 - 900k on their first family home will likely be settling into their forever home unless they start making more money or receive a fat inheritance.

They said it's pretty hard to increasing their household income beyond $250k with their SO. So with that said, make sure you actually buy a home you like. Instead of buying a property just because everyone around you is doing it.

[Jmac]

Originally Posted by twitchyzero

what's the median loan value in vancouver if average servicing is 18 years?

If you're looking at a $1M property with a 20% down payment and a rate of 2.49%:

Accelerated weekly payments (20-year amortization paid off in 18 years): $1058/week
Monthly payments (25-year amortization) and a supplementary payment every July: $3580/month + $12167/year

Median sale price in Vancouver is currently slightly over $1M ($1.036M)

[twitchyzero]

but rates were higher and homes more affordable in 2002
east van detached were 350-400k all day

[Jmac]

Well, that's at least what it would take to pay it off in 18 years if you purchased January 1, 2020, anyways.