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Vancouver Off-Topic / Current EventsThe off-topic forum for Vancouver, funnies, non-auto centered discussions, WORK SAFE. While the rules are more relaxed here, there are still rules. Please refer to sticky thread in this forum.
Hmm.. new page. Might as well inform/remind people know that alphadouche is the OP of this thread. 2 years, and not much has changed. I'm not surprised that he's still a useless bag of flesh.
A lot of people refer to the large number of condos being built in greater vancouver and toronto as over building however you really have to compare that to the number of new single family homes (not tear downs, but net new houses) being builtt which is declining. So if you factor in population growth the real estate market is absorbing these units.
Back in 2005 to 2008, the news papers were saying the same thing about all the construction and new developments prior to the olympics. If you check now all those units were absorbed by the market. vacancy rates are still quite low and rents are still high.
I know someone who's still waiting to get in the market hoping for a major correction. If you have the money just jump in if its your primary residence. If your looking for investment you can be more cautious and look for deals or wait for small dip (and there have been a few since 2009). I bought my first place in 07, sold it last fall and got back into the market this spring. It was a bit slow then and I got deal on my place.
This China money is going to keep coming which gives our market healthy bump.
I havent logged into RS for almost a year now, I posted this back in Oct 2013.
So here we are about a year later.
No burst, prices in vancouver have all gone up.
Even though the immigration visa rules changed, the flow of china money keeps coming.
There's also a huge transition of wealth from older generations to the young providing down payments to first time home buyers.
Looking back at last year, Ive noticed that pockets of Burnaby have gone up quite a bit.
I'm interested to know what you all think now???
Sonick is a genius. I won't go into detail what's so great about his post. But it's damn good!
2010 Toyota Rav4 Limited V6 - Wifey's Daily Driver
2009 BMW 128i - Daily Driver
2007 Toyota Rav4 Sport V6 - Sold
1999 Mazda Miata - Sold
2003 Mazda Protege5 - Sold
1987 BMW 325is - Sold
1990 Mazda Miata - Sold
I havent logged into RS for almost a year now, I posted this back in Oct 2013.
So here we are about a year later.
No burst, prices in vancouver have all gone up.
Even though the immigration visa rules changed, the flow of china money keeps coming.
There's also a huge transition of wealth from older generations to the young providing down payments to first time home buyers.
Looking back at last year, Ive noticed that pockets of Burnaby have gone up quite a bit.
I'm interested to know what you all think now???
I am still holding a wait and see attitude. Between the uncertainty of interest rates going up in after 2014, and just the sheer amount of condos going up.
A lot of condos that were "going up" last year hasn't "gone up" yet. The Solo district has been selling for ages and it still hasn't sold out, construction has barely started there. Same goes for the second development at Cambie and Marine. Even the first development at Cambie and Marine is only half way done and it was sold out 2 years ago.
Like some one said before(forgot who), due to the quality, area, convenience, etc. some areas won't drop much in price over the next few years, or drop at all, even if the overall market goes down the drain. But considering mortgage interest paid, and overall inflation, these will be depreciating assets.
I may not be as sure that there will be a huge drop now compared to say last year, or the year before. But I do believe at the minimum the market will level off. Which also means I don't lose anything by not buying right now and saving up a bit more.
If people are sane, when they see the market plateau, or does minor corrections of 2-5%, they will hold on to their properties and not make a move. However if people start freaking out and sell, then we have a problem. Its the freaking out that kills it.
I havent logged into RS for almost a year now, I posted this back in Oct 2013.
So here we are about a year later.
No burst, prices in vancouver have all gone up.
Even though the immigration visa rules changed, the flow of china money keeps coming.
There's also a huge transition of wealth from older generations to the young providing down payments to first time home buyers.
Looking back at last year, Ive noticed that pockets of Burnaby have gone up quite a bit.
I'm interested to know what you all think now???
Only people that are crying are the ones who didn't put their money into use. While I'm not getting 20% returns like that chart, I'm still doing better than owning property. My returns pays for more than my rent and I don't need to pay interest/mortgage or property tax. Think I'm doing ok.
Anyone have any experience with coop housing? We just started looking at these and aren't really sure what we might be getting ourselves into, and there isn't much online either.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EvoFire
Anyone have any experience with coop housing? We just started looking at these and aren't really sure what we might be getting ourselves into, and there isn't much online either.
One word, RUN!
Never ever buy into any coop housing. Or even buy near it.
We're currently looking to sell our condo around kits area. We also considered selling 4 years ago. Market price back then probably around 420k. Then our building got hit with a full envelope remediation and rain screen. For our share we had to pay 40k. The building looks new from the outside, has a 10year warranty and peace of mind. And now that we're ready for a bigger place, the market value is maybe 420k if we're lucky. So no, prices in Vancouver have not all gone up. You have to look at the area and type of home as well.
The single detached homes, and new houses with 2 basement suites and a laneway house being built, are what is driving the market average up and making everything seem hotter than it actually is.
Everyone is chasing image and status in this city, everyone!
It is ingrained in the very fabric of Chinese culture to flaunt wealth.
I know of lots of "old money" old timers that aren't flashing Patek watches, driving Lambo to the grocery store, buying million dollar penthouses for there children.
It's a mentality difference between Western & Asian culture.
Most of the image chasing is coming from Asians from first hand experience they love to show off. I don't blame them either because I would do the same.
There's lots of rich Caucasians, Persian, E.Indians, Europeans in Vancouver too that are keeping low key under the radar but are mega rich.
^ He's getting failed, but he has a point. The richest people in Vancouver, as in any city, are often the most unassuming. There are a lot of old-money people with underground car collections that you'd never know about.
Years ago, before the influx of flashy Mainlanders and Persians, if you drove around Point Grey, Shaughnessey, 168th St/24th Ave in South Surrey, you would see $2MM+ character homes with a 90s Honda or VW in the driveway. These are the retired mining and film moguls, tradesmen, doctors at VGH, owners of iconic local businesses that have been passed down from generation to generation, UBC professors, criminal lawyers with decades of practice.
Instead of spending money on depreciating assets like a Lambo, poppin' bottles in the ice like a blizzard, or handbags, the old money prefer to stay low-key, and spend their money on experiences. Art, classic cars, vacation homes in Mexico, trips abroad, charity, ski trips. The only hint of wealth could be the well-tailored suit, or the Patek on the wrist. The rich Mainlanders will come in with bags of money and walk out with an optioned-out SLS or 458 because "their friend has it", slap on MM Design glow in the dark lines and within six months it reeks of cigarette smoke. The low-key rich will take care in doing research into what car they want, look for a deal, then buy their car wearing shorts and flip flops. They know that spending money frivolously is the fastest way to the poor house.
The low-key rich people have have nothing to prove, unlike the nouveau riche coming from overseas. Let me share a story. I went to a west side public high school full of rich, established Dunbar/Point Grey families. Most of the kids were chill and down to earth, they had been taught well about the value of a dollar. They drove VW Beetles, Volvo 240s, Jeep Wranglers, Ford Taurses. One guy worked at McDonalds and drove an '04 Accord coupe, his dad owned a huge plumbing company. The nicest car was an E53 X5. They threw raging keggers and went to Sun Peaks every weekend, but that was it.
Last summer at the PNE, I chanced to meet someone who was in my grade. His younger brother goes to that school now, and he tells me that there are Aventadors and Conti GTs, among others, all driven by ESL students.
It's a different kind of wealth. Whether it's Mainlanders in Richmond, Point Grey or North Burnaby, Koreans in Coquitlam and Surrey, Indians at Panorama Ridge, Persians in North Van, one thing connects many of them. They only came into immeasurable wealth recently, sometimes less than 10 or 15 years ago after their families had lived in poverty for hundreds of years, and many come from cultures where "saving face" is everything. Image and status are ways of flaunting wealth for these nouveau rich people. Concentrate them in a compact, tight-knit urban area such as Vancouver, and what do you get? Image obsessed, brand obsessed people who only care about what other people think about them. The Real Housewives of Vancouver and "Hot Bitches in Charge" (the Ultra Rich Asians of Vancouver show from a few months back) are examples of this kind of decadence.
Don't think I'm bitter. Every society that is catapulted into wealth has growing pains. China, India, Malaysia, Turkey can be paralleled to 19th century England or the US, or Revolutionary France. If the nouveau riche are smart, they will prepare for future generations--and those future generations will then be the ones living in Shaughnessey with old VWs.
Or, they'll go back to China with their smoke-reeking supercars, who knows?
Last edited by cheeky_scrub; 09-27-2014 at 01:07 PM.
It is ingrained in the very fabric of Chinese culture to flaunt wealth.
I know of lots of "old money" old timers that aren't flashing Patek watches, driving Lambo to the grocery store, buying million dollar penthouses for there children.
It's a mentality difference between Western & Asian culture.
Most of the image chasing is coming from Asians from first hand experience they love to show off. I don't blame them either because I would do the same.
There's lots of rich Caucasians, Persian, E.Indians, Europeans in Vancouver too that are keeping low key under the radar but are mega rich.
actually.. Asians with old money don't flaunt wealth either. the ones you see flashing watches and driving luxury cars are your overnight millionaires, people who got rich because of the developments in the Chinese economy or have the backing of a government official (or be related to an official) and is funnelling their kick backs or "commissions" here. you can easily differentiate the two because we all know money can't buy you class.
i will say though that what's ingrained in the the Asian culture is to own a home/have land. that's why Asian parents are so adamant about buying a property for their kids and will fork out a down payment if their kids can't.
actually.. Asians with old money don't flaunt wealth either. the ones you see flashing watches and driving luxury cars are your overnight millionaires, people who got rich because of the developments in the Chinese economy or have the backing of a government official (or be related to an official) and is funnelling their kick backs or "commissions" here. you can easily differentiate the two because we all know money can't buy you class.
Yes, that's who I was talking about. The recent immigrants from PRC. The ones who used their guanxi to gain control of billion-dollar state owned enterprises, factories across the countryside where workers are paid $250 a month, or, at the most extreme level, the comrades of the Red Nobility (the eight Immortals, worth over $1 trillion, and their sons and daughters, the Princelings), committed to safeguarding and fufilling Mao's vision...who somehow always seem to come to UBC.
HK people, I find, are half-and-half. The ones who have been in Vancouver for decades, are mostly working class. For example, David Wong, the architect. But even the wealthy HKers who came in after the hangover are not as ostentatious as their mainlander cousins--perhaps due to their legacy of being a British colony.
Just reporting a recent experience of the current status, at least in the areas we were looking at with our budget.
We've been casually looking (online browsing of listings) for a place since moving to Vancouver a year and a bit ago. We started looking for a place more actively (with an agent and seeing homes in person) about 3 months or so ago. Our budget, commute tolerance level, and what we wanted in a home put Richmond/Delta/Ladner on our radar. I would say that there were only about 8-10 places that came up in the 3 months that we would have seriously considered. We found one place in Ladner that we liked enough to make an offer, but we walked away after getting some tell-tale signs of being misled. We started getting a little discouraged about 2+ months in, especially when we actually hit a gap where our agent didn't have anything new to show us for a couple of weeks. During the first couple of months it was a pretty steady 3-4 decent places to look at a week or more.
Just when it wasn't looking good for 2014, we saw a place this week that was exactly what we wanted and fit our needs. We decided to make an offer, they countered and we accepted!
So based on the numbers that we were seeing for list prices, and selling prices for some of the recent comps in these areas, and our own accepted offer, it looks like in these areas the list prices have stayed the same or decreased since mid 2013, and more importantly to those thinking of selling or buying soon, places are selling for about 1-2.5% below list. Most average (no updates or some minor updates) places seem to be going for about 2% below list and the ones that have been really well updated/unusually large yard/something else that makes it special have been going for about 1% below list.
Fingers crossed that everything goes well...we're nervous and excited at the same time! The home inspection went well so that's one worry we can check off.
Your saying renovated versus non renovated places go for less then their list price? You realize you can list your house at whatever list price you want. Confusing list with assessed value?
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