$1.8 Million....Vancouver housing is crazy-you can buy a village for that....
The article below is a bit surprising even though I work in this industry....Having literally just gotten off the plane from the Philippines, where you can get a LOVELY house in a warm climate for under $50,000 Canadian and a lesser house for much, much less, $1.8 seems steep-you can literally buy a small village for that outside Manila! Having said that, it is safe, clean and healthy here; whereas the Philippines (and other cheaper countries) are quite dangerous: a Manila born and raised, (typical middle class family) friend of mine's brother and father were both murdered there; the pollution has got to be causing significant health impacts; I read in the paper this morning that a taxi driver who kidnapped, killed and raped a little girl and her nanny got a very low jail sentence (and I am told that in most murder cases, even where the likely perpetrator is identified, nothing is done); everyone there seems to agree that the country is WAY more corrupt now then when the Marcos's were in, etc....so maybe the $1.8 is worth it to live in Vancouver or anywhere in Canada. Having been born and raised here, I love Vancouver and think it is worth every penny BUT I am very worried about whether my kids and their friends will be able to afford to live here. There is a reason many tropical countries have restrictions on who can buy property there: to prevent foreigners from pushing the prices up beyond what locals can afford to pay....I am told that is not what is happening here but I have to wonder how the average family is making enough to buy at almost a million in East Van and just shy of $2 million in the West side. West Van waterfront at $3.5 million seems to me to be a relative bargain!
The article below is a bit surprising even though I work in this industry....Having literally just gotten off the plane from the Philippines, where you can get a LOVELY house in a warm climate for under $50,000 Canadian and a lesser house for much, much less, $1.8 seems steep-you can literally buy a small village for that outside Manila! Having said that, it is safe, clean and healthy here; whereas the Philippines (and other cheaper countries) are quite dangerous: a Manila born and raised, (typical middle class family) friend of mine's brother and father were both murdered there; the pollution has got to be causing significant health impacts; I read in the paper this morning that a taxi driver who kidnapped, killed and raped a little girl and her nanny got a very low jail sentence (and I am told that in most murder cases, even where the likely perpetrator is identified, nothing is done); everyone there seems to agree that the country is WAY more corrupt now then when the Marcos's were in, etc....so maybe the $1.8 is worth it to live in Vancouver or anywhere in Canada. Having been born and raised here, I love Vancouver and think it is worth every penny BUT I am very worried about whether my kids and their friends will be able to afford to live here. There is a reason many tropical countries have restrictions on who can buy property there: to prevent foreigners from pushing the prices up beyond what locals can afford to pay....I am told that is not what is happening here but I have to wonder how the average family is making enough to buy at almost a million in East Van and just shy of $2 million in the West side. West Van waterfront at $3.5 million seems to me to be a relative bargain!
The article below also fails to mention that the problem may be even more significant than stated: while assessed prices have gotten closer to reality recently (and in some cases are even too high) they are generally still lower than the actual market value. As I explain to clients, assessed value tells you what you will pay in taxes but market value tells you what you will pay if you sell your home....
$1.8 now-what will it be next year to buy a house in Vancouver??
Happy New Year!!!!
(and as always, if you have questions about the real estate market or the value of your homes, please contact me!)
LINK BELOW:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/housing/the-real-estate-beat/detached-house-prices-spike-in-vancouver/article22278878/
LINK BELOW:
http://www.theglobeandmail.