[subordinate]

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100406/bc_real_estate_100406/20100406?hub=BritishColumbia


Date: Tuesday Apr. 6, 2010 6:39 PM PT

Lower Mainland real estate west of the Fraser Valley hit a new money milestone in March -- for the first time, the average price for a single detached home hit $1 million.

"If you look at our market in the last 12 months, [it's] probably the hottest real estate market in the world," realtor Paul Eviston told CTV News.

According to the B.C. Real Estate Association, there were 1,344 single detached homes sold in greater Vancouver last month, at a total cost of nearly $1.35 billion.

"When we look at the price of a single detached home, in March it was the first month ever that we saw that price crest a million dollars," the association's Cameron Muir told CTV News.

The March sales included many high end homes, but even a standard single detached house in greater Vancouver will now cost more than $800,000. A year ago, a similar house would have cost $650,000.

Prices have climbed 23.3 per cent in just 12 months, and are now nearly three per cent higher than they were before the housing market crashed.

Muir called it, "the most significant rebound I've seen in the market since 1970."

Other Canadian markets are recovering, but not as quickly as Vancouver's.

Eviston said the Olympic Games might have spurred interest in housing here.

The warm winter could also take some of the credit. "You can't underestimate how weather affects people's buying patterns, and that's a huge part of it," Eviston said.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Shannon Paterson



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Although they used an average figure for home prices in Vancouver, it does give us a picture at how insane these prices are. When will this insanity end?

[Mr.HappySilp]

NEVER LOL too much ppl have too much money here. Is like the old saying " the rich gets richer while the poor gets pooer" Soon there won't be a middle class in Van.

[1exotic]

NEVER LOL too much ppl have too much money here. Is like the old saying " the rich gets richer while the poor gets pooer" Soon there won't be a middle class in Van.

dats why u gotta start huslin

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/ladycat_2006/Political/obama-Smoking.gif

[fishing666]

yeah..vancouver is the best place to live..low crime rates..multicultural and accepting of all cultures. we have good weather here.

[sexyaccord]

yes, we know vancouver's home prices are sky high

[fishing666]

chinese families group buy the houses...

[hotjoint]

damn, just keeps getting worse huh?

[trip]

fuckin bubble burst already

[Ducdesmo]

LOL @ million dollar avg houses.

[q0192837465]

It is pretty much expected. People trying the beat the HST and the expected rise in interest rate are pretty much the reasons. When the interest rates finally rises, then we'll see the real effects.

I think there are a lot of speculators in the market right now, hoping to catch the last wave before things start to settle. Buying real estate now is a high risk investment. But with higher risk, there is higher rewards, so there won't be a shortage of ppl trying to make a few coins.

[VK79]

It will only burst when the govt stop letting in immigrants from Asia. So long as there is a steady stream of wealthy Asians landing here with millions in cash, they would continue to buy luxury 2-3m homes in prime locations, thus pushing the prices up. This in turn, forces the locals or people who make money locally who used to live there move further away from town/west van or downsize into apartments. Demand for apartments go up, prices goes up, simple supply and demand thing going on here, nothing special.

[no_clue]

It will only burst when the govt stop letting in immigrants from Asia. So long as there is a steady stream of wealthy Asians landing here with millions in cash, they would continue to buy luxury 2-3m homes in prime locations, thus pushing the prices up. This in turn, forces the locals or people who make money locally who used to live there move further away from town/west van or downsize into apartments. Demand for apartments go up, prices goes up, simple supply and demand thing going on here, nothing special.

Although you have a point, reducing immigrants will actually cause Vancouver's economy to tank. Guess which demographic has more disposable income to support Vancouver's businesses? I think the only event where downtown apartment prices fall is when there is a crisis in China/HK that causes many of the owners to sell their apartment to get money.

[VK79]

Although you have a point, reducing immigrants will actually cause Vancouver's economy to tank. Guess which demographic has more disposable income to support Vancouver's businesses? I think the only event where downtown apartment prices fall is when there is a crisis in China/HK that causes many of the owners to sell their apartment to get money.

Oh don't get me wrong, I love the way things are atm as my work/business relies mostly on foreigners spending money made in Asia. I was just tossing in my 2cts as to why the "bubble won't burst" like so many have expected it to over the last 10 years or so.

[flagella]

Watch as more rich Chinese immigrate here and drive the prices even higher.

[Leopold Stotch]

.

[jeff_alexander]

This is like playing monopoly.

[hk20000]

if you were active in the HK real estate market you'd be real conscious about where this is heading soon.

[Ch28]

if you were active in the HK real estate market you'd be real conscious about where this is heading soon.

details?

[Ulic Qel-Droma]

just cuz one is born and raised in vancouver, doesn't mean they have the ability to live here.

[Sky_2000]

details?

What goes up must come down.

[wouwou]

details?

there was a really big crash in real estate market in HK, and half the people ended up owing more than the apartment's actual worth

the situation was so bad, they replaced "mother fucker" with 負資產

[raygunpk]

LOL

[StylinRed]

they showed on the news that its mainly people from china who come to buy houses (no mortgages)

well... thats what a chinese real estate agent was saying for the area she covers (she barely speaks english, so no surprise?)

[asian_XL]

RE market in East Asia went up 45% in the past year...so Vancouver is NOT the hottest real estate market in the world.

[J____]

Watch as more rich Chinese immigrate here and drive the prices even higher.

wrong. watch as more rich RUSSIANS immigrate here and drive the prices even higher. Watch.

[StylinRed]

there are already too many russians here

[twitchyzero]

i think the RE in taipei is even crazier than vancouver in the past 2-3 years

but honestly if i had money i'd rather buy a 1.5million cad house in vancouver than to live in a tiny appt in polluted/humid asia for 1.1 million cad

[Eatman]

sigh, as if it isn't expensive enough already to live in this city.. oh well, gotta suck it up.

[RollingStone]

Its so cheap to rent right now. For the next few years, I plan to put all my money into my business or in other investments, just not real estate.