Condo real estate market
 

I specifically want to discuss condo
low rise or high rise

what is the market doing right now?
do you think condo price will go down in the next 5 - 10 years?
or do you think condo will be stable (next 5 - 10 year)?
for low rise building wood frame building , is the price will depreciate as it gets old?
the building that I was looking at was built in 1984 , wood frame what would the price be in 10 years. would it be a better investment if the condo is concrete or high rise built in same year?
is condo a good investment?
or I better off saving for down payment another 5 year from now for a duplex or town house?

lets narrow the market discussion to Burnaby, vancouver, New west, coquitlam area ... if possible ..


discusss :)

it really depends on what you see yourself into the short/long term
i honestly bought a condo because it is a stepping stone into acquiring a house one day
and for what you think of 5-10 years of the pricing is really just investing wise and speculation, the time to buy is when you are ready

but the latter part of this year I can see that there is more supply out there so it can be potentially a buyer's market so pricing can be negotiable reasonably

nowadays, there are more wood frame construction lowrises going on and the prices are going for almost what you get for concrete if not more comparing to same area

wood frame
pro: lets air circulate more during summer months
con: can hear noises between the walls

area, depends where you see yourself living (i prefer living in vancouver and happy paying a little more but my work commute is cut short)

find an area you like and do research on the prices in that area and when you're ready to buy you will know the prices by heart

personally i like low rises, to me "amount of people living in sq footage matters" ie. more people traffic in high rises" more cars etc.

also if u r looking to buy to live in. (until unless u r living at home) factor in the rent that u will be paying as well (i adds up)

Don't forget fees like strata and "unsuspected" fees that crop up out of no where.

I personally would look for condos that do not offer extra amenities. They will reduce your strata fees and long-term costs too. Similar to Hirevtuner, I would look into 'boutique' condos. I find that people have more success in renting out or selling these types of condos.

I have noticed quite a lot of these boutique condo's to develop around the Kits and Main area. Although their price is substantially higher than those in Surrey/Tri Cities, I think they will have more positive effects in long-term prices and sell-ability

If you are into long term holding (10yr+), forget about condos or anything that don't have the ownership of the land.

Condo depreciates in value (relative to a house or anything with actual land ownership) and its maintenance cost increases over time.

With Van's price at near record high level, it doesn't make any sense to invest in condos.

If you are living in it, that's whole other topic

Are you living at home right now? If yes I would save for a house

Value wise...I'll give you an example..
5 years ago I purchased a condo and my friend purchased a house..
The value of my condo stayed the same, but his house went from 700 to 1 mil..it's all about the land...also he rents the basement and has 1 or 2 roommates upstairs, which almost covers the mortgage payments

I have to pay monthly strata fees (now 200/month), but he's had to maintain and fix a lot of stuff by himself..

QFT.

Condo investments are a bad idea.
Even if you are buying one to live in, make sure you look at the strata fees (keep in mind these will increase every year or two). I was doing some searching through condo's recently for fun just to see what is available, and if I recall, most of the older buildings (1984 etc.) have strata fee's of over $300. So... math: 300 x 12 = 3600 in strata fee's alone per year... in addition to the $2500-3000 you'll probably have to pay in property taxes.

That already adds up to $6000-7000 JUST to live in that unit. Add in mortgage interest etc and it just seems like a bad deal all around.

[QUOTE=valent|n0;8172333]I specifically want to discuss condo
low rise or high rise. Always high rise and concrete. Never low rise and woodframe. If you do pro/con of each the concrete will come out ahead.

what is the market doing right now? Buyer's market, good amount of supply for you to see what fits your requirements
do you think condo price will go down in the next 5 - 10 years? Flat to very low single digit increase. I do not forsee a large % decrease because people need places to live in and condo is the first stepping stone.
or do you think condo will be stable (next 5 - 10 year)?
for low rise building wood frame building , is the price will depreciate as it gets old? Yes and there are more issues involved
the building that I was looking at was built in 1984 , wood frame what would the price be in 10 years. would it be a better investment if the condo is concrete or high rise built in same year? Always go for concrete and high rise
is condo a good investment? It is good as stepping stone as investment or your first property to move up the property ladder. I'm indifferent whether it is a good investment
or I better off saving for down payment another 5 year from now for a duplex or town house? You can consider renting and saving but you'll be one of the people on "sidelines" waiting

lets narrow the market discussion to Burnaby, vancouver, New west, coquitlam area ... if possible ..

Properties whether houses or condos will increase definitely.

Houses usually come out ahead.

However there are some condos due to the rarity, location, view (think top 5% of it's kind) that can also be a good investment.

I can agree with that. Which is why I'm renting one while my money's in other forms of invesments. In the short term, real estate looks like dead money with a huge exit fee.

Lets not kid ourselves, there's maintenance costs associated with a living space. Houses just gives you the luxury of putting it off and/or doing it cheaper in comparison to a condo (assessments and the whole nine yards before they do anything). With a larger living space you're also paying more for heating, property tax etc. They start adding up too.

Sorry for the thread highjack, didn't want to start a new thread. I was wondering the same thing but for richmond. Specifically, my parents have been renting for the past year, paying over $2k in rent (which I keep telling them it's way to expensive for renting) . We sold our old house last year for approx. $900k (which was at its highest level) . Now they're looking to buy again, condos in richmond. The ones they're looking at costs over 700k. Maintenance and strata would be about 250$. What do you guys say about buying now? Or should we wait till end of the year or early next year?

Also, their dilemma now is that since they are paying so much in rent which is basically going down the drain, why not put that into a mortgage? But then with the so called housing bubble, they are unsure when/where/what to buy.
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Everyone is different with different circumstances

For me, I'd invest the funds, use them to pay the rent and in 5 or so years, when interest rates are more normalized and prices down, I'd be financially better off

Nothing wrong with renting - renting or owning is a financing decision, nothing more

what is the market doing right now?
it will stay the same, really slow sometimes, and getting better these few months
do you think condo price will go down in the next 5 - 10 years? it will continue to go up steadily
or do you think condo will be stable (next 5 - 10 year)? define stable.
for low rise building wood frame building , is the price will depreciate as it gets old? don't ever base your purchase on that, based it on what you can afford. no shit a concrete building is great at the olympic oval, but can you afford a mortgage of 800k?
the building that I was looking at was built in 1984 , wood frame what would the price be in 10 years. would it be a better investment if the condo is concrete or high rise built in same year? investment ? good luck buddy, just know this investment won't mature for over 10 years, it'll go up 10-20% at best. keep that in mind. 1984 were mostly wood, low rise.
is condo a good investment? condo is never a good investment compared to a house, it tops off.
or I better off saving for down payment another 5 year from now for a duplex or town house? yes

Too expensive because $2k for renting anything is a lot of money or you can get a comparable space (same area, square footage etc.) for significantly less? If it's the latter, move at the end of your lease. If it's the former, I'm just curious if you did the calculations for ownership vs rent.

Also, don't listen to the noise. What is your short term expectation of the market? If your expectation is that property will stagnate or drop, it makes little sense to pay interest on a depreciating asset.