Quote:
Originally Posted by Gridlock
ok...can I ask, as an actual first person buyer of RE in Vancouver...how old are you, and what do you do?
**edit, sorry and yes. I didn't get into the specifics on finding a comp for the first house. I just saw a house of similar style and bedroom count. Obviously you get more land on the first deal, which is the value driver.
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I'm married in in my mid-30s, so not your typical RS user.
I work in a "just-below-managerial" position in a large institution, so job security isn't an issue (fingers-crossed). I was very lucky to have bought low in 2003 and sold high in 2012 so that I had a significant downpayment. Therefore, I am not a first-time home buyer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GLOW
dayuuum...
I bought a a house 33x99 in the collingwood area in 09 for under $600 in 2009 and i was complaining it was too much 
that number of $600k, how skookum is that house? we were thinking of either building a new house or moving to a newer house in a better location in the future and i thought building a new house would have ran for around $300k |
My general contractor's estimate for a basic 2-level house on a standard lot in Vancouver is $350k, or $550k for a basement + 2-level. He is Asian, so that makes him cheaper than a Caucasian building company, but not as cheap as your typical EI builder!
He's a family member (and I actually trust him) so he's helping us save wherever possible (including on his "project management fee"), and I'm confident that no corners will be cut. He's also made a lot of minor adjustments to the house plans to make improvements (eg. adjusted the internals of our staircase so that the hot water tank can fit underneath; saves us from putting it in the laundry room, giving us more "space"). A regular GC is not obligated to do that!
Go look at open houses in Vancouver West and Vancouver East, and you'll notice a huge difference in quality of materials, style, and expectations. For example, west side houses will have 10' ceilings on the main floor, theatre rooms and wet bars in the basement, and rentable basement suites will be an afterthought. A house on the east side won't have the super high ceilings, and the basements are almost always built with 1 legal 2-br suite, and another not-so-legal suite.
With that said, you would never build a "basic" house in the west side. My house is on the borderline, just west of Main, so it would pale in comparison to a west side house. However, it would probably be one of the nicer east side houses. If you could categorize Vancouver houses as basic, custom, and luxury, I would put myself in the middle category.
PM me if you want more details.
Edit: I don't think your 33x99 lot qualifies for a laneway house - which would cost an extra 100-200K. And 10 years ago, you could probably build a brand new 3-level house for $300k. Sadly, construction costs have risen...