Absurd Vancouver Property of the Week (June 7, 2012)
I often wonder why, when so many TV shows and movies are made here in Hollywood North, more celebrities don’t just buy houses and live here? Say you were a fairly affluent star and had around $3-3.5 million to spend on a place to crash…
In L.A. you could buy this beautiful cliff-side villa (currently owned by Megan Fox):
…or in Florida this estate (currently owned by Dwayne, The Rock, Johnson):
…or, for fun, you could have bought the late Dick Clark’s “Flintstone Mansion” in Malibu:
But, why on earth would you want any of those – when you could have this “newly renovated Vancouver home with updated kitchen & bathroom and hardwood throughout…in a desirable neighborhood with great street appeal.”
Hmmm…aside from the fact that is it raining and cold in JUNE (!), maybe it’s not so strange that celebs aren’t snatching up houses in Lotus Land…
Vancouver…are you f*%#ing kidding me???!!!
This is my favorite property so far. Unbelievable.
This is Why I live on Vancouver Island. 2.5 hrs north of Vic. 1800 SQFT House on 5 acres of southwestern facing land, mountains in the backyard, (For less then 400K) sandy beaches 2 min walk away, local EVERYTHING you can think of to eat, NO such thing as rush hour, 15 mins away from the Biggest Costco on the Island…Well paying jobs, hmm.. I could go on. I will never get why (Unless you are the CEO of a bank..) People live in Van.
And this is partly why I’m in my mid-thirties without kids. And no I don’t want to live in the burbs. Even then the burbs are getting expensive too!
Why would you want to live in Hollywood, all that sunshine and beaches? Besides, all those rooms would just make for more housework.
This property is not geared to a home buyer…its geared to a Developer to knock down and put up condos as with all the absurd housing prices along the Cambie Corridor…
What I don’t get with properties slated for development is why realtors bother saying things like “recently renovated”, “new kitchen and bathroom” etc. Who cares if it’s just bulldozer bait??
Exactly my thoughts. Bulldozer Bait – great expression.
Exactly my thought. “Bulldozer Bait” – great expression.
Well I bet there are lots of pot lights in that home
Realtors comment on upgrades on homes that will be bulldozed because the potential buyer may want to hang on to the house as a rental for a few years before tearing it down.
Yes Vancouver prices are high, but if any of those properties you listed earlier were zoned for condos they would likely be selling for $30 million not $3 million. Please compare apples to apples rather than attempting to mislead people.
Google “Vancouver CAC”. Absurd is right.
Hi Melissa: love your blog! Found it via a link from a Vancouver housing bubble blog. Great posts, and I too am 34 with a 2.5 yr old and another due in Oct. My husband and I sold our home in S. Surrey in 2011 and are currently renting and waiting to see how the market is going to go before buying back in. If things don’t change in the next 2 years we’ve decided to move onto greener pastures where housing prices are more realistic, my husband can make more as a software engineer, and I can continue to run my design business. I was recently in Palm Springs and it made me so angry to see what you can buy there in an always sunny location. $250K gets you a nice, decent sized home, with 3-4 bedrooms and a big yard and pool. Did I mention little rain? Yeah – I’m getting tired of “the best place on earth”. Ha!
Poor Megan Fox…living in her spectacular masnion when she could live in a dump here in Vancouver and enjoy our June-uary weather!!! Bwahahaha!!
Only in Vancouver is a $3.5 millions house a “teardown”. Love it! Keep em coming!
The same guy just sold this for 3.6 MILLION
http://www.dannydeng.com/ActiveListings.php/Details/265/5745-churchill-street-south-granville-vancouver-west-british-columbia#viewdetail
LOL brilliant
It is because of the Cambie St. Corridor sales that the prices everywhere in the area are inflated! On a side note to those who are considering trying to sell their Cambie St. Home, careful……you may never get paid! My sister in law is in the midst of a fight to be paid after selling to a developer, picking up and moving after contract for sale of their home was signed! The buyers have created such a craze that now they can’t afford to pay the sellers! How about that for a slap in the face!
If only it were that easy to find a job, pick up the family and move to LA and Florida!
Joanna wrote: “If only it were that easy to find a job, pick up the family and move to LA and Florida!”
Easier than earning 3.5 million dollars and using it to buy a dump in Vancouver?
Woah! Nice chimney and twin planter pots! I see now why it’s worth so much.
Oh I love it! Yes – a developer will buy it, get the lot subdivided if its not already multifamily & then build a duplex, with a ‘inlaw suite’ in the basement of both sides. Gotta love lower mainland!
Well I from the U.S. and I live Santa Monica and I also live in Vancouver when I am working up north. Vancouver suffers from one thing – besides over inflated homes prices because of the influx of money from Asia, primarily mainland China – and that is low wages. Based on government stats the median price of a home in Vancouver is currently ten (10) times, yes that is correct, the median income in Van.
It reminds me of Hawaii in the early 80′s. I remember my father and his other friends would have people knocking on their doors offering to buy their homes that weren’t even up for sale. Paying 50% or more then what the current market price would be. Back then it was Japanese today it’s the Chinese.
People, its just a matter of time…..
Why does it bother you that the house costs that much? Why did you neglect to provide the address or mention what the land is zoned for? Are you even qualified to provide advice on what people should pay for a property in Vancouver?
Anyway if someone wants to buy the house I can get you the mortgage and put you in touch with a Realtor and a lawyer I provide commercial and residential mortgages and used to actually teach the real estate course.
Oh maybe you should see what you can buy in other parts of the world where the economy has not collapsed. Everyone knows the houses in the USA are dirt cheap at the moment. Not really a fair comparison.
-Robin MacDonald
Well thank the damn government for ruining a city I used to be proud of. I own a house here yet it absolutely disgusts me the house prices & lack of character left. Born & raised here. Thank you for letting the influx of mainland China. A real race war is simmering & I’m hoping to be out of here. When it bursts. Vancouver SUCKS!!!
Everyone loves to rip on developers but they are only providing what the market wants, which is tearing down antiquated and infeasible traditional single family homes and building multi-family residences. You do realise that are only making it more affordable for families to live within the city limits right? The only way prices will level off or align with wages is if people stop moving to Vancouver and buying property. What you all seem to forget through your bitterness is that we do, in fact, live in one of the most desirable places on the planet, regardless of our inept governments and painfully whiny inhabitants.
I don’t think people are upset over what they are doing, but the inflated prices they are charging…it is hard to live and work in a city with such over inflated prices…gas, groceries, rent/morgage, food…all far more expensive then any other place in BC. And if everyone who could no longer afford Van left..who would run it?? Stores have to have employees, gas stations need employes…ect
A city I used to love is now becoming a city I hate. Bad drivers, rude and inconsiderate people and for the past 2 years we’ve pretty much had a rain more often than not. I think this little city will end up being one of the most undesired places eventually.
In what way are they making it more affordable when we can all see prices going up? Developers control the supply of housing and are not doing anyone any favours except themselves. It is a business not a service for public benefit or they would also be building rentals to serve that substantial sector of the market at yes possibly, shock horror, a lower rate of profit.
This is just completely insane. This home and property is not worth 3.5 million and this real estate bubble is going to burst. The economy just can’t sustain it.
Got to love Vancouver…
Now folks the cost of housing in Vancouver is in direct proportion to the distance of said housing from the corner of Georgia and Granville streets. Housing get much more reasonable once you get beyond Chilliwack on the south shore of the Fraser River or beyond Mission on the north shore.
No thanks.
Don’t fret, kids. The housing bubble will pop soon, and house prices will slide faster than a rain soaked hillside in North Vancouver.
Welcome to Hongcouver, Asia’s prettiest city*. Come and launder your ill gotten gains through a high priced home you can brag about. What better place to showcase your various status symbols. Park your ubiquitous Mercedes right u front. Place your kids in the finest schools. Give your spouse a generous monthly subsidy and then return back to Asia to continue exploiting workers at slave labour pricing. But hey, who are we to judge. It’s a free market economy and as long as you continue to keep pumping up the prices all of us who own a home in this city we thank you for increasing our sale price so we can retire comfortably at 85 when the mortgage finally gets paid off.
*The Lower Mainland is now officially the largest Asian metropolis outside of Asia.
Re: “The Realist”:
Racism at its finest. Lots of factors involved in the housing bubble. Somehow you fail to see all the other participants: the sellers, the developers, the mortgage brokers, the banks, buyers who are NOT Chinese…Lots of high real estate prices in other cities that cannot just be explained by Chinese buyers but they are an easy target here. Hmmm, I have never heard people complaining about all the rich white people making Shaughnessy and the British Properties expensive to live in! You are right about one thing, the ones not complaining are the sellers!
Sigh, why is it that whenever a visible minority does something it’s attributed to his/her race/culture whereas with a white person it’s due to his/her individual personality?
And another thing, Vancouver is a booming city precisely because of its location. It is benefitting immensely from trade and investment from Asia. Let’s become isolationist and then see what happens to our fair city!
Finally, this housing bubble has been an issue for several years now, but, “amazingly”, people still manage to wake up every morning and go about their business. Don’t be so obsessed with this that it’s getting in the way of you enjoying your life. Stop raging on the Internet, turn off your computer, walk outside and enjoy some fresh air and sunshine…
More Realist? Re: “The Realist”:
Don’t blame white people for your problems!! White people are not the ones complaining about the Chinese. You just ASSUME that its a white person who has made the comment because its easy to blame white people. Chinese people say things about other Chinese people all day long and say lots and lots of racist things about people from India and Africa. So get over yourself and stop trying to cry victim of racism. Its racist to assume the person made the comment is white and then to make racist generalizations about how white people can do anything they want and people wont make a stereotype about them. I doubt there are any white people left in Vancouver anyway. I am sure you will be very happy once all the “White People” move to Chilliwack so you can have Vancouver all to yourself. White people???? White people come from all over the world they don’t just hatch out of a giant egg together and go around like a mob. Get a grip!
You are right,I m a Chinese and heard tons of Racial bad-mouthing against Fillapino,black,East Indian and Native,from Chinese. They are more racial prejudice than white. Also, A city shan’t be dominated by Chinese alone.The government should have a limit on Chinese immigration,otherwise this Nation will be overwhelmed by Chinese in less than a decade.
Baby boomer, it’s oh so easy to be tolerant when you are selling out your country’s land and resources.
It’s an invasion of unprecedented type and scale.
Know your facts, open your eyes, your veil of 70s liberalism is tragically naive. There is good reason why Malaysia has foreign ownership restrictions.
Not true, you’re an idiot.
Its a holding property. You buy it, and then rent it out until its time to tear it down and build a hi-rise. Its not the HOUSE that’s worth money its the LAND. Why are you comparing a 3 million dollar piece of LAND to a 5 million dollar luxury home in the USA during their recession? Are you brain dead?
Duh, It’s not being marketed as a holding property, but as a “newly renovated Vancouver home with updated kitchen & bathroom and hardwood throughout…in a desirable neighborhood with great street appeal”, so the comparison is fair. I really do like the way you exitedly shout LAND! LAND! there, though.
OHHHHH DUH You are right, people who are renting don’t want a newly renovated kitchen or bathroom. They want a miserable run down dive to live while they wallow there and complain about how they cannot afford a Ferrari and some caviare and a luxury home on the beach with a Wall-Mart income. Hmmmm SORRY a 3 million dollar house is a LUXURY not a birth right!
Sad that this has happened to Vancouver, my beautiful city, and forced me to move to Mission, even though I am a ‘city person’. The Mission area is beautiful though and just waiting to be plundered, and houses are reasonably priced, and one actually gets a yard not just a barbecue patio. As the people come, so will the jobs. Sad that Vancouver is already becoming a city with no children. Didn’t it used to be that a house was a home and a place to raise children or dogs or whatever else, and stay awhile and grow a garden, now they are just bargaining chips for international finance, and normal people can’t live there. Who will it be who lives in Vancouver? People with families living in highrises? Old people who bought their houses 50 years ago and are hanging on to the past, God bless them ? Or rich drug dealers and criminals from all over the world trying to protect their ill gotten gains. So sad.
This place has been on the market for 333 days. It is part of a major redevelopment of the Cambie corridor and will allow you to build a town home complex on it. Very mis-leading blog post. 1. Its hasn’t sold at that price and nobody will likely pay it. If I put my town home on the market for $2 Million, that doesn’t mean its worth $2Million. It just means that’s what I’m asking. 2. It is not a single family home sale – it is a development lot sale. If Megan Fox’s cliffside villa were rezoned to be an apartment building lot it would be worth a lot more too.
Without a doubt Keith, a property is worth what it sells for – it’s that simple. Canada is one of the major destination countries in the world, and the west is the retirement destination of Canada. There are a lot of people who want to be here, and that is demand, plan and simple. That is why the prices are so high, their will not be a burst bubble in Vancouver in real estate, sorry. There will be a plateau. To many people nation wide, and world wide, want to be in paradise. This blog is foolish, and the author is amazingly comfortable with their ignorance, to compare apples and oranges.
“Their” vs. “There”, “To” vs. “Too”…yup, I’m ignorant. My posts are meant to be indignant and sarcastic…I’m not looking to make market predictions (I haven’t)…I just (like many others) think our housing prices have become, well, absurd!!
You echo precisely what was being said in Phoenix or San Diego in 2005, and we know what happened there. Or the Okanagan in 2008 (the Okanagan bubble burst several years ago in case you didn’t know and prices are already off by approx 25%). You repeat exactly what the media, with its huge real estate advertising dollars, and the realtors themselves, have repeated ad nauseum. What is it about Vancouver that makes it “different” from hundreds of other cities worldwide? The constant rain? The high cost of living across the board?
One final thing: The bubble here is *already* bursting. Inventory in the region hit 19,000 yesterday. 19,000. Prices are already being cut, even in bubble hot spots like Richmond and Vancouver West. Yet few are buying. Most simply can’t afford it now and even those who *barely* can are waking up to the fact that renting – or moving away – is a much, much more cost effective option.
Check out the latest price drops for yourself:
http://vancouverpricedrop.wordpress.com/
The mania we’ve seen on the way up is the same mania, in reverse, we’ll see on the way down. The ball is already rolling, and if all other previous bubbles are any indication, it won’t stop for many, many years.
Reblogged this on Underwriting Solutions LLC and commented:
Your WTF moment for the day.
We’re overbuilt, gouged, lied to, gullible, and broke. And on the verge of the greatest real estate bubble implosion we’ll *ever* see. What a great time to plug my article.
http://www.thenownews.com/business/real+estate+implosion+horizon/6681867/story.html
Since some of you have been mentioning the Housing Bubble I thought I would pass this on. http://www.rightpricedrealty.com/Blog.php/vancouver-real-estate-not-a-bubble-but-an-air-mattress
Actually you should read this which is from an impartial party and is based on facts not a realtor’s opinion.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/06/01/bc-real-estate-wobbly.html
This is crazy for gas in Vancouver. I just looked it up and was shocked to see you guys are paying 25 cents a liter more than we do out on the prairies. Is that a legacy of the Olympics of something? As if being in Vancouver was not already expensive enough.
I paid $1.01/litre for fuel in Bellingham tonite. And $2/galllon for milk. I could go on…
Point being I’m very glad I live near the border.
Take it from someone who has lived in Vancouver for 10 years, in Toronto for 18, and now in Florida for almost 2. Vancouver is becoming ridiculous and if the housing market bubble of the United States has provided any insight then the federal government of Canada and provincial government of BC should pay close attention. Eventually the bubble will burst as all things that are inflated beyond its capacity. Those who can’t afford to live in Vancouver should think about taking their money and investing in a business in the States because the laws are more favourable for foreign investors. And for half of what you pay for rent for a 600 sq. ft. condo in vancouver, one can have a 2500 sq. ft. home with pool, endless sunshine, easy access to surf and sand and best of all 80 cent for a liter of gas or $3.21 a gallon. What are gas prices in vancity at the moment? Hmmmm Vancouver doesn’t seem so desirable now does it?
Hi Former Vancouverite, I am really interested to find out how one can live in US all year long (currently one can stay up to 6 months a year). Can you please provide more info? or show me to right direction to find more info?
Hi Maxim
I came here as a intercompany transferee or L-1 visa. This option only works if you are employed by a Canadian company who is sending you to their American subsidiary company.
The best option is to find a company in which you can buy or invest in and hire an immigration lawyer to get your treaty investor’s visa otherwise known as an E-2 visa. Dependent on the business you choose there will be a minimum requirement investment amount to qualify.
This option is by far the best as it allows you 5 years to be in the country and travel at will before needing to renew your visa. At 7 years you will be eligible to soluble for a green card.
I only know this because I have begun the process of switching my L-1 visa to an E-2 visa. While I wait for my visa to be approved I can stay in the country and operate my business as long as it takes. My L-1 visa took 8 months to finally be approved and during that time I was here working for the American subsidiary company.
Now that I have invested into my own company here I have to get the appropriate visa as the L-1 visa has a 2 year renewal restriction and would be become void if I stop working for the American subsidiary company who is referred to as the visa petitioner.
I hope this helped.
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply back. I will check what I can find about L-1 and E-2 on the net. Wish you best of luck in your new endeavor!
Vancouver prices have a history of high-highs and big crashes. It’s fun to view the last 35 years of house prices as a rollercoaster: http://vci.im/recoaster
the most notable “crash” in recent memory has been in the early 80′s when interest rates climbed to double digits. Many people incuding my parents lost their home because they couldn’t sustain their mortgage payments (they were on variable rate mortgage).
Lessons to learn?:
1) The Bank of Canada will probably not raise the rates to those extremes, especially when our economy and world economy is doing so poorly; Housing crash=economic crash.
2) Make sure if you’re on a variable rate mortgage, you can absorb any reasonable spikes in the interest rate.
3) The prices will NEVER drop to 1975 prices again!………….actually the prices will probably never drop to 2000 prices again, unless we get a major worldwide economic crash. In which case, God help us all (owners and non-owners), foreign and domestic.
Let’s be careful what we wish for.
If interest rates climbed up so high in the 1980s, was that the Bank of Canada’s doing back then? The BOC only directs interest rates at the shortest end of the yield curve. Interest rates for mortgages other than variables are determined by bond market, not governments.
And there’s one thing about the markets… Never say NEVER… Never is a long time…
The interesting thing about the Vancouver housing bubble in the 80s is that interest rates were actually declining while prices were dropping. Prices rose while rates went up.
I agree with your point that anyone on a variable rate mortgage better make damn sure they can afford a couple interest points extra.
The high rates of the 80s are a bit misleading, the important thing is magnitude of change. Going from 18 to 19% interest rates is a much smaller increase than going from a 4 to 5 % rate!
Wouldn’t a bubble and sliding prices require everyone to NEED to sell at once? If i’m not selling, it’s not a bubble. Vancouverites can simply live in there property or obtain high rents. People rarely complain about high rental rates which are a real factor as well….Is Manhattan or Hong Kong experiencing plummeting prices, not really…they like us, have geographical limitations.
Truth is we have zero land supply left and demand to live here….Economics 101 say if supply is low, demand is high…no bubble.
Density allows for affordable living…example…if i want to live on Cambie i need 3.5 to buy a place, once the development goes up i can buy in for 300 – 400 etc.
For all the anti-developmenters out there…density is better for the environment, urban sprawl means more gas consumption etc.
As a Vancouverite that cannot afford downtown anymore and have settled for a fantastic Brand new 3 bed townhome in Clayton (1 hour max commute downtown) for 330,000 taxes in my heart goes out to people that cannot afford it either, but there are options outside of complaining. I can’t really avoid Louis Vitton luggage either but don’t blog about it. Some things are just worth more than others because there is demand for it.
Actually Jack you need to take an Econ class. Supply and demand is only apart of it and a housing bubble has little to nothing to do with a run on selling. It’s not like a bank that has everyone wanting to close down their accounts all on a single day.
Fact is the median income of people who live and work in Vancouver can’t keep up with cost of living, which includes housing amongst other things.
Econ 101 is definitely a course you need to sign up for, Jack.
Market prices are *only, only, only* determined by the people who are selling. The fact that you are not selling does jack squat to market prices.
There are *always, always, always* other people selling. People land jobs in other cities. People grow old and wish to downsize, and (can you say baby boomers?). People die, and their estate’s benefactors are eager to get their hands on inheritances. People divorce, and are forced to sell. People move back to their country of origin, for various reasons.
In all those cases, the vast majority of people are seldom in a mood to sit and wait on a property for years just in case the market will get better. In all those cases, most people see that the market is what it is, and they sell at the prevailing price. It has always been that way for those people, and it always will be.
If you or investors are not selling, then you are not part of the equation, jack. You just get to sit back and watch the people who are selling set the prices.
Guess what? With inventory at 19k+ in Vancouver right now, people not selling is definitely not a problem.
I don’t know you, jack.
But if you think that your not selling somehow sets a market price, you clearly don’t know jack, either.
2 remarks:
1) I think it’s time for people to change their paradigm; stop thinking about real estate ownership as a status, stop trying to keep up with the Jones’s! You can live and work in this beautiful city of ours without being a property owner. People ask ” is it asking too much to be able to own a house in the city Ive grown up in?”. Obviously the answer is YES! If everyone had a choice we’d all love to live in Vancouver! Is it ridiculous? Sure it is, but as the blogger points out, you have other options! Move to a different city.
2) The Bank of Canada will do whatever it can to prevent a housing crash. Housing crash=economic crash. This is NOT good for anyone! For those hoping for a bubble to burst so they can pick up cheap real estate, I think your going to be holding your breath for a long time!
Live your life people! Stop comparing yourselves to one another; ultimately it really doesn’t matter whether you own or not, as long as you live in “The best place on earth”
Who can “live their life” when 75%-plus of their income is going into housing and housing-associated costs? Indeed, the Royal Bank just published a study where they say the average income earner buying now is paying out an astounding 89%!
As for “best place on earth,” there are a half-dozen cities/towns on the North American west coast alone that are prettier, drier, warmer, and FAR less expensive.
Gord, you’re right. The overall issue isn’t just the inflated prices that many foreign and Canadian investors are willing to pay. The big issue is the over all cost of living – rents to clothing and food – way out paces the median INCOME that people are paid in Vancouver. Again the pay is fairly low when compared to cost.
“The average income earner” shouldn’t be buying. That was the point of my first remark above.
Actually the bank of Canada can not and does not have any control over the direct market. Yes they can try to steam anything negative from happening via interest rates but that will only do so much.
I agree the prices will never be “rock bottom” but the market will correct itself in time.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/06/01/bc-real-estate-wobbly.html
Prices are high because the CMHC has been insuring every mortgage application that comes across it’s desk. The banks love it because there is no risk for them. The taxpayers will ultimately pay the bill when the crash comes – and it will come.
Then and only then will we realize that we are just like the rest of the world. Suckers for a good bubble.
I used to be from Kerrisdale, Vancouver. $3.5 million dollars could buy a casino in Edmonton or a condo tower. Are you sure that price is in Canadian dollars?
M. Gazin
[...] so bad for her that she’s actually taken me up on one of my ‘tours‘.Bonus: Absurd Vancouver Property of the Week (June 7, 2012).CommentTweetTags: Scout Magazine, Sean Orr, Tea And Two Slices, Vancouver News CommentsName [...]
One of my friends brought this article to my attention as its my house in Vancouver. No there are no grow lights inside, YES its marketed to developers for future development. Its all land value. The lot is twice the size of the average lot in Vancouver and in two to three years the area, due to Vancouver’s stupid Cambie corridor plan for densification, you will be able to tear it down and build three story condo townhouses (or more). The house is OK for me but based on the number of tear downs in the area in the last two years, its a tear down. The location is 3 minutes by foot to the Canada line, 18 minutes to airport, 14 minutes to downtown and that is by public transit. It has a view of North Shore mountains. I would have never put it on the market but decided to as if someone was insane enough to pay me my asking price, I would have taken it (or gone to the mental hospital for also being insane). It’s assessed for about two million and will be of value to a developing Vancouver. If its not worth 3.2 million today, it may in the future when the area is rezoned for higher density. I did not imagine that after buying this house 6 years ago that it would triple in value (assessed value). The listing was one year and I have had lots of looks but it is overpriced for normal purchasers. It’s for a developer or someone who wants a larger than normal city lot. I have to say I had a good laugh at the comments.
this add is a joke! none of those houses go for 3-3.5 million. The first two go for at least 7-8 million. I have a house worth 3 mill and it is much smaller than anyway of those and it isn’t even in Cali or Florida! Cali has much higher prices. 3 Mill in cali doesn’t get you that much really especially on the water
If you click on the links to each of the “celebrity” properties, you will find that both of these properties were purchased in the 3-3.5 million range. I found this on multiple sites. Maybe this is due to the RE bubble burst in the states.
I was in the hoity-toity Monterey Peninsula area of Cali in January (you know, while Vancouver was in the midst of its eight-month rain season), and I can assure you these prices are not out of line.
This is the problem with this disgusting Vancouver bubble (that’s now bursting). Most people here have no idea that you can buy a palace elsewhere for the same price as some craphole in East Van. We’ve been so incredibly out of touch with reality for so long…
I actually live in Florida and yes those houses go for about 3-3.5 million dollars. There is much inventory here of million dollar homes that are on the gulf and underwater (upside down on mortgage and assessed value). I walk by houses and empty lots that occupy acres of land that are being sold at auction and short sales for pennies on the dollar. Until you have lived in both countries and seen first hand the real situation can you really speak to what is actually happening with the housing market.
Besides all the upfront crap, there is the hidden charms. With the fact that it rains in Vancouver near 50% of the time, we can can say that the property is also soaked in radioactive fallout from the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
There’s the draw right there. I might glow in the dark, so you don’t have to pay power.
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If you can’t afford to live in Vancouver, simply leave. If you don’t like it here, simply leave. Stop complaining because you sound like a loser. Move elsewhere, why do you have to stay in Vancouver? Please don’t bring up the argument that there will be no people to do the “lower service jobs” because there is a glut of supply to replace you in those jobs too. You are not special.
Just finished reading the many blogs of June 12th, the majority of which are predicting a severe correction but Cheryl @ 7:02 thinks otherwise. Methinks Cheryl is either a realtor or is just plain stupid. If a realtor then she is trying to protect her industry and if not then the afore-mentioned alternative applies. If she had stopped right there she would have been okay but she had to go on with her stupid comment that too many people in Canada and worldwide want to be in paradise(Vancouver) and that is where she loses it . Vancouver has a natural beauty and has become quite cosmopolitan with its foreign immigration but it is definitely not a sophisticated city – not World Class, the term the realtors love to use – so the influx of wealthy home buyers are here for other personal reasons such as its relative proximity to Asia or investment purposes and that money can disappear overnight and if things tighten up in Asia, it will, thus exacerbating the coming correction and it is coming!
It’s the old adage … Location, location and LSD.
[...] Absurd Vancouver Property of the Week (June 7, 2012) [...]
A lot of people have different outlook on where they would want to live. All we have to do is respect it and may be we also have that desire to live in some place, that is why people should be respectful on where ever people would like to live.
[...] Let’s end this post with a good laugh: Absurd Vancouver Property of the Week [...]
[...] 3. June 7th, 2012 [...]