Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[Traum]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

For singles or couples that are likely to occupy a 500 square foot apartment, they need space for clothing and won't likely use their kitchen much, aside from re-heating food. Prior to the pandemic, I understand the development industry was looking hard at whether or not ranges were needed in new apartments because people who live the condo life are spending most of their food budget on prepared meals or dining out. It certainly would save quite a bit of money in construction and permitting costs - no 220V or gas fitters and no venting would be required for a simple microwave.

Check out this article for further background: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opin...ewing-machine/

I am certainly not blind to people turning more to food delivery / take home / take out / re-heat only meals, but the concept of not having a proper kitchen (or even just a kitchenette) is so foreign to me. I am not expecting a full size range or oven, but if it doesn't even have a kitchenette where you can cook up some instant noodles, then the space just becomes the workplace pantry, and it is more of a hotel room than a home.

Esp with the shift towards WFH as a result of COVID, not having a kitchen where you can make your own meals make even less sense.

[Great68]

I can't imagine ever living without a full kitchen either. Having to rely solely on prepared, or semi-prepared food seems so expensive and less than tasty or nutritious.

But if I had to, and I was just cooking for 1-2 people, I could probably do quite a bit with just an induction burner and a toaster oven. Still would probably need an hood/exhaust fan of some sort though.

[bcedhk]

The tiny kitchen/no kitchen model works in Asia because you can actually find a diversity of 'affordable' meal options.

Until we have more <$15 canteens or diners around Metro Vancouver, a standard kitchen is a must.

[CivicBlues]

Imagine being so out of touch that thinking most people living in 500sq foot places do it for the urban lifestyle and not out of necessity.

[EvoFire]

Originally Posted by carsncars

No joke, some of the new building layouts are atrocious. Helping my cousin find a 1 BR apartment and saw this one the other day:

• Living/dining is tiny. There's nowhere really to put a TV in a position where you can put a couch without running out of room for a kitchen table.
• Bathroom is completely across the apartment from the bedroom
• Zero counter space
• Wasted like 50 sq ft on the WIC. I'd much rather have more space in the living/dining and a regular closet.
• Weird place for the washer/dryer as well, not to mention that the hallway in front of it is also wasted space...

I know it's a 500 sq ft 1 BR so there's only so much you can do, but I'd argue it's even more important to have an efficient, well thought out layout with small apartments. I had a 500 sq ft when I was training in Toronto that was actually quite functional... unlike this abomination.

Maybe you don't do a couch. I would imagine a lot of single guys probably would find a large desk with their computer/laptop much more useful than a couch.
The TV can go in the bedroom instead. And if you need to bring a girl home... well you started on the bed already

I've noticed in the last few years furniture stores have started to bring on tiny couches which work in the more "Asian" like layouts we are starting to see. I remember remarking many years ago that the "sample layouts" Ikea was doing on their showroom didn't reflect well to North American tastes and needs. They are starting to become more and more relevant now.

Originally Posted by Traum

I can forgive couch issue, given that this is a 500 sq ft unit. At that size, something has got to give, and not being able to fit a couch in there without making the rest of the unit completely useless seems like an acceptable compromise to me.

On the other hand, I really dunno why developers are so hell bent on having WIC. The dreaded hallway that leads to the WIC seems to be frequently used design as well, as I've seen that in quite a few units. A variation on the theme is to have the hallway pass through the WIC leading to a washroom / bathroom.

Originally Posted by donk.

Because women.

What donk said. Wife was hellbent on having a WIC. It was a BIG deal.

What bugs me is the placement of the W/D. That's a horrible place to put it other than maybe it's now easier to put clothes away. All the humidity would have no where to go but into your closet.

Originally Posted by Liquid_o2

Yah I can tell you most millennials are not making $250k combined. People who post to Revscene and Reddit's PFC are outside the norm.

But I agree with that thread. My wife and I make a good combined income but feel poor as hell in this city.

I don't know how uncommon it is. RS and Reddit audiences can't be THAT out of touch. There's also a lot of hidden income from people in the restaurant jobs (maybe not anymore due to covid). Just because their tax sheets say 80k total income doesn't mean they actually only made 80k pre-tax. There's SO MUCH under the table shit going on in so many different industries.

[Euro7r]

Originally Posted by 68style

I have done this for all the same reasons you're thinking... been in my place for 10 years and using my parent's address for all my mail the whole time and even my driver's license/insurance.... never changed anything.

I'm having a hell of a time with CRA now proving that it's my principle residence though. Fuckers are threatening to not recognize my status. I've got 10 years worth of cable bills and utility in my name, but to them its not good enough. Also, if I was ever in an accident I think ICBC would be pretty displeased with me.

So, be careful... or maybe change your shit but just don't deliver to your condo only.

CRA dbags. What constitutes sufficient documentation to satisfy you occupied the home as principle residence? Even if you changed documents like Driver License or Employment pay to new address, it still doesn't really show you physically occupied the home lol

[Hakkaboy]

Originally Posted by carsncars

No joke, some of the new building layouts are atrocious. Helping my cousin find a 1 BR apartment and saw this one the other day:

• Living/dining is tiny. There's nowhere really to put a TV in a position where you can put a couch without running out of room for a kitchen table.
• Bathroom is completely across the apartment from the bedroom
• Zero counter space
• Wasted like 50 sq ft on the WIC. I'd much rather have more space in the living/dining and a regular closet.
• Weird place for the washer/dryer as well, not to mention that the hallway in front of it is also wasted space...

I know it's a 500 sq ft 1 BR so there's only so much you can do, but I'd argue it's even more important to have an efficient, well thought out layout with small apartments. I had a 500 sq ft when I was training in Toronto that was actually quite functional... unlike this abomination.

Another strange thing about the bathroom is that it has both a shower stall and bath tub. Not saying it wastes a lot of space, but that is odd in a 500sq ft space

[roastpuff]

Originally Posted by Hakkaboy

Another strange thing about the bathroom is that it has both a shower stall and bath tub. Not saying it wastes a lot of space, but that is odd in a 500sq ft space

That plus the WiC makes it seem "fancy" - it's more of a flex than actually good space usage.

Originally Posted by EvoFire

What donk said. Wife was hellbent on having a WIC. It was a BIG deal.

What bugs me is the placement of the W/D. That's a horrible place to put it other than maybe it's now easier to put clothes away. All the humidity would have no where to go but into your closet.

The W/D would probably have a fan that runs for 30-40 minutes after the dryer is done - that's what my apartment's unit has, along with a HRV fan. It vents out the closet so there's no leftover humidity.

[vitaminG]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

~$250K in household income for millennials in Vancouver is not so far fetched these days. So, maybe the problem isn't income, but it's expectations?

https://www.reddit.com/r/PersonalFin...eb2x&context=3

They're also balking at the thought of a mortgage helper so that gives you an idea of how entitled they feel.

[Gerbs]

I wonder what the house to total dwelling ratio is. This old doc from 2016 suggests 15%?

That means the top 15% of household income are fighting for all the houses.

[Eff-1]

Originally Posted by carsncars

No joke, some of the new building layouts are atrocious. Helping my cousin find a 1 BR apartment and saw this one the other day:

• Living/dining is tiny. There's nowhere really to put a TV in a position where you can put a couch without running out of room for a kitchen table.
• Bathroom is completely across the apartment from the bedroom
• Zero counter space
• Wasted like 50 sq ft on the WIC. I'd much rather have more space in the living/dining and a regular closet.
• Weird place for the washer/dryer as well, not to mention that the hallway in front of it is also wasted space...

I know it's a 500 sq ft 1 BR so there's only so much you can do, but I'd argue it's even more important to have an efficient, well thought out layout with small apartments. I had a 500 sq ft when I was training in Toronto that was actually quite functional... unlike this abomination.

Floorplans are hard to figure out unless you have the accompanying measurements (which you can ask the developer for btw, they don't like to share but they have them, but if you're serious buyer they might, keep in mind they are subject to change of course).

TV obviously has to go up on the wall that separates bedroom from living room.

Loveseat then goes across from TV, with one edge up against the window. MIGHT have room for a small coffee table but unlikely once you put a TV bench/storage unit under the TV.

Dining room table goes to the right of the couch. Probably just a high-top table with 2 barstools.

What's kind of nice is the direct path from the kitchen to the patio door where the bbq will be.

The kitchen counter space is non-existent, I think that's the biggest problem here. Solution could be an mini portable IKEA kitchen island, but once again it depends on the space available.

The other thing I don't like is the patio door in the bedroom. Once a bed is placed in there, it will be kind of useless.

Instead of the standup shower, I would have put a linen closet there.

The WIC is a good thing! You can never have too much closet space, especially since storage lockers aren't guaranteed anymore. Most floorplans I see have a serious lack of closets and storage.

And agreed, I'd hate to have my W/D in my bedroom. Sometimes we run the dryer after having gone to bed. But, others might like having it so close to your closet?

[FOREVER]

Originally Posted by jerche

Does this happen a lot? Did many of you get an audit for your first home years later? I can see a lot of ppl using their parents address for a lot of things since it's easier.

Apparently it is really common.. I claimed both new home buyer + newly built home exemption. I just dumped them everything I could find and they said I was GOOD 2 GO. Won't lie but I panicked and pepper my agnus for tax fucking though LOL

Originally Posted by Euro7r

I'm thinking of doing the same when I take possession of my condo in a few months. Hassle of changing address and also my parent place is a house, so shipping things is easier as someone is home to take delivery, rather than condo (where shit just get left at lobby depending if your mailman is a dick or not - my buddy condo they just leave shit at the lobby and you pretty much "find your own package"; your neighbor can just take everything at the lobby LOL....)

But this was pretty much my reasoning for never changing my info and my parents place was a 10 min walk away.

[Ch28]

You condo dwellers should just call up your CC and have them add a secondary shipping address to your card. They may or may not ask the reasoning behind this so just tell them you're doing it cause you live in a condo and would prefer to get online purchases shipped to X address as there's always someone there to receive it.

I have expensive packages shipped to my parent's house periodically and I've never had an issue cause their address is also on file with my CC.

[bcrdukes]

Originally Posted by Ch28

You condo dwellers should just call up your CC and have them add a secondary shipping address to your card. They may or may not ask the reasoning behind this so just tell them you're doing it cause you live in a condo and would prefer to get online purchases shipped to X address as there's always someone there to receive it.

I have expensive packages shipped to my parent's house periodically and I've never had an issue cause their address is also on file with my CC.

Did you finally buy a place?

[cafe22]

Originally Posted by Eff-1

The other thing I don't like is the patio door in the bedroom. Once a bed is placed in there, it will be kind of useless.

Not if you fit a single bed.

[Great68]

Originally Posted by Euro7r

What constitutes sufficient documentation to satisfy you occupied the home as principle residence? Even if you changed documents like Driver License or Employment pay to new address, it still doesn't really show you physically occupied the home lol

So if you didn't occupy the home, then it's not your principle residence right?


Legally (yes legally because it's a ticketable offence if it's wrong) your DL is always supposed to reflect your principle residence. Being that it's, a) a government issued document and b) illegal to be incorrect, I would say this is the best proof of documentation you can have to prove residency.

It makes sense to me that people would be scrutinized if the address on their DL doesn't match where they say is their principle residence.

[GLOW]

i've seen MUCH worse layouts. at least it's open, fairly square, almost no space used for circulation, except to get to the WIC which is what, 10sf tops? aside from the location of the w/d, that's a lot of space in the washroom - you can lie down and do make snow angels. But you have no choice with the column next to the shower. not feelin' the bedroom pocket door (or is it a fancy barn style door)?

[quasi]

The drivers license thing so easily manipulated. I remember getting my wife to change hers online, get the new sticker register my son for out of catchment school and change it right back lol.

[underscore]

Originally Posted by EvoFire

What bugs me is the placement of the W/D. That's a horrible place to put it other than maybe it's now easier to put clothes away. All the humidity would have no where to go but into your closet.

Why would the humidity go into the closet? That's what the vent is for.

[DA9ve]

Originally Posted by underscore

Why would the humidity go into the closet? That's what the vent is for.

Not really a dryer issue but having a washer in a small enclosed space isn't ideal.

Speaking from experience: Most front load washers generally have residual water that sits at the seals after a wash. I always leave the washer door open to avoid mold growth and to air dry it out. Not to mention you should periodically clean out the filter which expels some water... Not the best in a tight enclosed space.

[Tapioca]

Originally Posted by underscore

Why would the humidity go into the closet? That's what the vent is for.

Ventless dryers are becoming more common in North America, particularly in smaller form factors like 24" vs 27".

The problem I see in the long-term is that people don't run the humidistats in modern apartments like they're supposed to.

[lilaznviper]

Originally Posted by SSM_DC5

so which addresses do we need to update that the CRA cares about?

i think the main one will be drivers license as that is the main ID you carry around.

[GLOW]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

Ventless dryers are becoming more common in North America, particularly in smaller form factors like 24" vs 27".

The problem I see in the long-term is that people don't run the humidistats in modern apartments like they're supposed to.

iirc they can generate a shit ton of heat (terrible in the summer), and depending on type, waste a shit ton more water than conventional

[twitchyzero]

i love my full-size washer/dryer all-in-one, can't go back
set it go to bed, ready in the morning

i can understand the WiC appeal if the units dont come with storage

big nope to tv in bedroom in lieu of tv/couch in living room

[donk.]

.