Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[jing]

Originally Posted by Y2K_o__o

Some concrete townhouse in Brentwood & Metrotown are about 1.3 mil. The strata fee is like $600+ / month.

Annual Strata = $7200+
Property Tax = $5k+

That's nearly the cost of owning a detach property.....
i noticed that these units have been up on the market for months

https://www.rew.ca/properties/250818...type=Geography

https://www.rew.ca/properties/249698...type=Geography

Those strata fees are a bargain compared to Kensington Gardens.

https://www.rew.ca/properties/266764...erty_click=map

784sqft
$604/mo
$0.77/sqft

lulz

[Fafine]

buy a duplex in van
or something like this https://www.rew.ca/properties/273422...ad-richmond-bc in richmond and rent out whatever you decide if needed

personally i dont like the layout, but it sure has a lot of bedrooms

[Phozy]

Originally Posted by quasi

To be fair I didn't understand the importance of good grades when I was in school I wasn't dumb but I just did the bare minimum because that was the easy route it wasn't until I wanted to go to university and then realized I was nowhere near where I needed to be. My parents weren't involved in my education at all, they never asked me about it, never helped me choose my classes or asked to see a report card they had any idea how I was doing or even if I went to school or ditched that day to go to the beach with my friends. I always worked and had a car in high school I could go where I wanted when I wanted this was early 90s.

I didn't realize that in order to get certain professions you need special prerequisites, I want to make sure my kid knows what he wants and what he has to do to get there.

This resonates with me. I'm not even that old yet, not even a father, still coming to terms with my own career, but as an older brother with a 12 year age gap, i'm looked up to as a role model whether i like it or not. Wasn't until my second year in university, after flunking 1st year, i realized i needed special pre-requisites and had to pick a path. The goal is to instill good habits to the youngster for the reasons you stated.

Thanks for sharing.

[Y2K_o__o]

Originally Posted by jing

Those strata fees are a bargain compared to Kensington Gardens.

https://www.rew.ca/properties/266764...erty_click=map

784sqft
$604/mo
$0.77/sqft

lulz

I don't get it
built in 2019 strata fee is already $604 / month for 784 sqft.......
This building probably has alot of insurance claim or very poorly managed

[Alpine]

A lot of the cheaper detached inventory in Van is pretty shitty. Anything in that 1.1-1.3 range is likely in pretty bad condition, 2 beds up / 2 bed down (basically 2 suites), < 2000sqft, 80+ years old and/or or facing a main road / skytrain tracks.

If you want a decent place with more flexibility (ie. 3 bed/2bath up and > 1200sqft), in a nicer neighborhood with curb appeal you're going to need 1.4+ and that's before another 300k in renovations.

To make matters worse, 1.1-1.5M detached is the hottest market segment.

Adding: An unrenovated, average 40-50 year old Vancouver special will run you 1.4-1.5M before renos.

[hi-revs]

Originally Posted by Alpine

A lot of the cheaper detached inventory in Van is pretty shitty. Anything in that 1.1-1.3 range is likely in pretty bad condition, 2 beds up / 2 bed down (basically 2 suites), < 2000sqft, 80+ years old and/or or facing a main road / skytrain tracks.

If you want a decent place with more flexibility (ie. 3 bed/2bath up and > 1200sqft), in a nicer neighborhood with curb appeal you're going to need 1.4+ and that's before another 300k in renovations.

To make matters worse, 1.1-1.5M detached is the hottest market segment.

Adding: An unrenovated, average 40-50 year old Vancouver special will run you 1.4-1.5M before renos.

Well, that's fucking depressing, ain't it? Trading a 10yo home for one thats 80+.
Dont know what to do! Another million bucks in my back pocket would surely help

[Hondaracer]

Hey, a lot of 80-100 year old homes are better built and, and in many cases, better condition than the ones built in the 60’s and 70’s

[Alpine]

Originally Posted by hi-revs

Well, that's fucking depressing, ain't it? Trading a 10yo home for one thats 80+.
Dont know what to do! Another million bucks in my back pocket would surely help

Totally. I spent the last 9 months trying to find a house in van east/bby and in hindsight I totally underestimated how fast the detached market was recovering in 2019. If you’re thinking about it, just start poking your nose as a buyer even before you list your house to get a feel for how insane this segment is right now. You can also follow selling prices on zealty.ca.

Ended up giving up and buying an old house in west Coquitlam last month that we are now going to fully renovate...

[Alpine]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Hey, a lot of 80-100 year old homes are better built and, and in many cases, better condition than the ones built in the 60’s and 70’s

Agreed. My sisters 20 year old duplex has already had several leaks and my SIL’s 5 year old house is really poorly built (some walls aren’t straight, sunken floor, corners cut everywhere you look, etc.)
Sometimes these old homes have that old house smell, lower ceilings, narrow/steep staircases, smaller doors and hallways, etc... it’s fine if you don’t mind the whole old character house feel but it’s definitely an adjustment if you are coming from a more modern condo/house with tall ceilings, open concept, etc.

[Peturbo]

Me and the wife started looking at duplexes and detached in the 1.2-1.5m range few months ago. Went to see a few duplex's but it just wasn't for us; Too close to busy roads.
We ended up finding a detached in east van listed at 1.35m, built in 60s, >2000 sqf and well taken care of with some renos already done sometime in the past. quiet neighborhood and right across street from elementary school my wife went to. closed the deal 2 weeks ago.
Managed to get it under asking since seller got overwhelmed with inquiries and took last offers few days after listing and before the scheduled weekend viewings.
Wife and I were lucky to not being stuck to sale subject.

Just gotta look everyday and be ready to buy as soon as something good pops up. Some luck as well

[DA9ve]

Originally Posted by hi-revs

Wife and I are thinking of selling our 10yr old, detached house, on Burke Mountain, in coquitlam, in order to move back closer to Vancouver/burnaby.

Lifestyle in Coq is great for the years we lived there. However, commuting downtown everyday was tiresome.
We've moved back to my inlaws now for the past couple of years, and we love it! Both of us grew up in E.Van so our life had always been out this way.
Plus with having a dog and a baby, its great to have family help, with even the smallest tasks.

Our Coq property is in the $1.3-$1.6 range based on current market value and what the area is currently selling for.
To buy a place in van/burnaby, we're not planning on taking on too much more mortgage. Maybe around $300k tops.

I'm estimating we'll sell around the $1.5range, +/- $500k.
So with around $1.5mill to shop with, and in factoring in the style of interior/reno-styles we like (new and modern), options left are really just new duplexes.
Or if we wanted detached homes in that range, it'll be an old house which prob needs about $300k in renos.

What would you personally do, and why?
Anyone able to share horror stories of owning a duplex?
Is it a bad idea to drop $300k to reno a house listed around $1.1mil?

Family will likely grow with another child, but they could share rooms for the next 10yrs or whatever... so I'm thinking about this as well. But dint need the extra space immediately, although more space would be great.

for 1.5 i think you'd have some decent options. a starter entry level detached in e van would be 1.2-1.3 but as others mention, its gonna be pretty bad shape. i honestly dont care as long as the layout is decent (sq footage, enough rooms, etc.) and there arent too many big ticket items to fix all at once (drain tiles, roof, plumbing, electrical, etc.).

in terms of renos, this is where i think a lot of people vary immensely on price and expectations. i personally would not be throwing in anything more than 100k on a good guts van special late 90's early 2000s. i know some people would think that era is dated, but i would be perfectly fine with a nice coat a paint and maybe knocking down dining/living room/kitchen wall and updating the aesthetics like new flooring, finishes, countertops, etc.

Here's another thing, a reno done with permits from a company at a home show (with the bells and whistles of outstanding google reviews) is going to run you wayyyyy more than an Asian owned but reputable renovation via referral. Just to put into perspective, i had 3 quotes for demo and rebuild on a 200-300 sq ft deck. 2 were companies with stellar reviews on google (1 was at a home show) and 1 was an older Asian dude who had a truck i saw on the way to work. Needless to say it was done by the Asian fellow with a cost 60% less than the other 2 companies. Warranted, it is a risk and i would never trust someone who doesnt know wtf they're doing in my house but this person was recommended to me from a friend.

at the end of the day, yes you can drop 300k on a reno, but you can also spend a lot less if you narrow down your priorities on a reno (fixing/replacing things so you can sleep well at night or walking into a show home which ends up getting trashed when you have kids anyway)

[DA9ve]

Originally Posted by hi-revs

Well, that's fucking depressing, ain't it? Trading a 10yo home for one thats 80+.
Dont know what to do! Another million bucks in my back pocket would surely help

It doesn't matter how old the house is, but rather whether its worth your time fixing/updating based on your budget. Once you figure out your timeline for reno and budget, everything else can be narrowed down.

For me, it must have a rental suite, 3 bed up, standard 4000 sq ft lot for room on future build or laneway and of course location. Bonuses would be a nice deck, back yard, garage/carport. If the seller never mentioned if anything in the house was updated, I always assume everything needs to be replaced so I would always factor that into my budget.

Flip side is that yes you will always have things to do or fix on a older home no matter what. For me I keep on top of preventative maintenance but for others, I can see they just want to move in, not worry about anything except mowing the lawn.

[Hondaracer]

Paying Somone to do the work 100k doesn’t go very far imo. We spent almost 150k to do a basement suite, bathroom, and kitchen. I also put in structural beams myself without permits etc Which would have added up to the point of being not doable if I had to pay Somone to do it. I also leveled my entire main floor with a laser level and shims which would have been insanely expensive to pay Somone to do. . We Paid to get out bathroom done because we only have one bathroom in our portion of the house and it would have taken wayyyy too long to do it myself.

But yea..I basically did almost everything myself, got deals through accounts I had access to, re-wired my entire house with a 1 man electrician company, etc etc and it still cost me almost 150k. I think it would have been double or more if I had to pay Somone to do all the work I did and that’s in a 2200sq ft house.

I definitely agree with the above statement of finding that right guy to do the work though. My electrician was a good example of this as I found him through a referral, he was his own one man company. I paid just over 13k to rewire my entire house adding outlets everywhere I needed for code, we added 60 LED pot lights, all wiring for radiant heat and the bigger circuits, a secondary panel to split the suite up etc.

Where as on the flip side I contacted some of the “bigger” companies like nightingale and some other companies who do old house re-wires and they were starting at 15-18k to simply replace what was there. Ie. if there was a light there, we replace that light. Any additions or new circuits were between 100-200 each.

[unit]

my gf lives at fraser and kingsway. a developer wants to buy that plaza where sal y limon is and also the adjacent houses including hers. there are 4 houses there that they are interested in. of course she's going to go to the meetings and get some advice from some professionals, but does anyone else have any advice for how to handle such a situation? apparently the typical amount offered is about 1.5 - 1.8x assessment.

[Hondaracer]

If she is friends with the neighbours the best case of action is to get everyone on board and agree on an amount they will settle at.

My wife’s dumb aunt was in this predicament in North Van and they stuck to their guns saying this is our dream home etc. We aren’t selling even though it was just a dumpy mid 60’s build and silos had been built to block their view. Now they are one of 3 houses that remain and the developer is just building low rises all around them..

[Hehe]

Originally Posted by unit

my gf lives at fraser and kingsway. a developer wants to buy that plaza where sal y limon is and also the adjacent houses including hers. there are 4 houses there that they are interested in. of course she's going to go to the meetings and get some advice from some professionals, but does anyone else have any advice for how to handle such a situation? apparently the typical amount offered is about 1.5 - 1.8x assessment.

The valuation depends heavily on the FSR (Floor Space Ratio), or basically how many floors the developer is going to be allowed to build.

If they are going to build a fucking skyscraper, don't settle for anything less than 8x or even 10x. But if it's just for a low-rise/duplex kinda thing... I think up to 1.7-3x (depending on how big the project is) is reasonable.

I'd suggest your GF to get their neighbors on board and find a lawyer who specializes in land assembly deals to negotiate in their behalf.

[Liquid_o2]

I agree that she should work with a real estate lawyer that has experience in land assembly.

The City of Vancouver won't allow a tower to go on the corner of Fraser and Kingsway, but depending on the size of the site - probably 4 to 6 stories based on precedent of the Fraser corridor and what would be allowable based on density.

[Bonka]

Get the neighbours together regardless of whether or not you are friendly with them so you can get everyone's point of view laid out. In a lot of land assemblies there's usually one voice that tends to override above all and you don't want any outliers.

Rely on your own due diligence, get as much information you can about the seller, verify the project proposal, city's official community plan, etc. In many cases, the "buyer" ends up holding it before flipping it again (common with small developers) with no intent to build out. The Fraser St./Kingsway corridor will be seeing a lot of future development.

A commercial broker would be quite helpful given the area - even just on a consultation basis. They'll be very familiar with the pulse of city hall and future development moving east.

[underscore]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Paying Somone to do the work 100k doesn’t go very far imo.

It'd have to be a pretty small place with no hidden surprises (ie asbestos or sketchy previous reno's) and very cautious selection of materials to get much done for $100k. We DIY'd our kitchen/dining room/living room with nice but definitely not high end stuff and that ran about $20k just in materials. Two small bathrooms we supplied the materials and labour was $10k. If we paid someone to do all of it that would've been an easy $60k.

Then there's all the consumable stuff to keep an eye on like the roof, furnace/AC, hot water, etc.

[buhdeh]

Originally Posted by Alpine

A lot of the cheaper detached inventory in Van is pretty shitty. Anything in that 1.1-1.3 range is likely in pretty bad condition, 2 beds up / 2 bed down (basically 2 suites), < 2000sqft, 80+ years old and/or or facing a main road / skytrain tracks.

If you want a decent place with more flexibility (ie. 3 bed/2bath up and > 1200sqft), in a nicer neighborhood with curb appeal you're going to need 1.4+ and that's before another 300k in renovations.

To make matters worse, 1.1-1.5M detached is the hottest market segment.

Adding: An unrenovated, average 40-50 year old Vancouver special will run you 1.4-1.5M before renos.

Man that is dire. I guess I’ll re-think my move back to Vancouver... carrying such a big mortgage for a 40-50 y/o Van special + a huge cut in earnings potential might be too much of a sacrifice.

[CivicBlues]

Fucking hell, Sal y Limon better not close down. BRB going to convince one of the homeowners not to sell

[Alpine]

Originally Posted by buhdeh

Man that is dire. I guess I’ll re-think my move back to Vancouver... carrying such a big mortgage for a 40-50 y/o Van special + a huge cut in earnings potential might be too much of a sacrifice.

Definitely take a look at the market before making any plans... the restrictions on open houses are lifted so go take a look if you are able to and connect with a realtor that you trust to get a good idea of the lay of the land before making any decisions. Each segment of the market moves differently, and from what I've noticed over the last year, condo prices are relatively flat while detached under 1.5M is up 5-15% in the last year.
(I'm not a realtor but here are my reference points: Selling my Olympic village condo in June 2019, my mom selling a house in East Van in May 2019 (in hindsight, a total mistake but it was to free up cash to help my sister (who also wanted to move), studying the market daily for 9-12 months, to finally buying a house in June 2020.)

[donk.]

Spent 1 month bidding on 400-650sqft in the 400k range condos in vancouver area, market has definitely not slowed down since 2017

Bid on 10 and 16 year old 430sqft condos oversold by 48 and 85k

Bid on a few older units:
One with 60k of upcoming building work required over 5 years undersold by 25k
One under current renovation undersold by 12k in west end

Managed to pick up a renovated unit 540sqft in mt pleasant (older building) take possesion next week, 18k under ask

[Gerbs]

Mount Pleasant is a really good area for $400k!

[Hondaracer]

How much does everyone pay for home insurance?

Just got our renewal from BCAA and it went up from 2400 to 2700 wtf..

We have a bit of a premium due to our suite but that’s only $300 extra