Absurd Vancouver Property of the Week (June 27, 2012)
Sigh…$1.4 million dollars burning a hole in your pocket? Apparently Real Estate is a great investment….In Toronto you could buy this:
A 4 bedroom Tudor-style home in affluent Forrest Hill.
Or, in Seattle, this:
Over 4000 square feet, 5 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms with views of the mountains, ocean and city.
Finally, you could purchase something like this:
This Hollywood Hills home was recently purchased by Julia Robert’s niece, Emma. She’s disappointed it doesn’t have a pool but, as an article in this week’s Vancouver Sun pointed out, first time home buyers really should lower their expectations…
Finally, for $1.4 million, you could be the proud owner of this cute little bungalow in Marpole:
You really need to view the listing to appreciate the craftsmanship that has gone into this house (the bathroom is my favorite).
I think it’s safe to say that our expectations are already LOW when it comes to property in this city…
Seriously.
Vancouver…are you f*%#ing kidding me??
I hear you…I am a Mortgage Broker in the Tri-cities and it is getting crazy everywhere! Homes in my neighbourhood have gone from $475,000 in 2005 to $1,000,000 today! I am finding more and more young families are considering condos or townhouses. If they really want a detached home they are putting renters or better yet, their parents into a suite in the house to help with the mortgage payments. It seems everyone is re-considering what a “family home” means to them.
The roof over your head is supposed to protect you…not cripple you! I’m afraid for most here – due to a number of complex circumstances – it is the latter.
I just laughed out loud when I scrolled down to this lovely little bungalow….
It makes me sad.
Thanks for the laugh today. The interior of the 1.4 million dollar home is hilarious!
We are moving out of Vancouver to the Okanagan where we will be able to afford a house. A lot of young families like us are doing the same. It’s one way to push new families out of the big city.
Well, it’s a 33 x 130 lot in a desirable part of town. Whoever can afford to buy this can afford to tear it down and build a brand new house on it. So what the eventual buyer will get is a brand new house built the way they want it in Marpole for a little over 2 million. What are other brand new houses in the Marpole area going for? It is really lame that in most cities a million bucks can buy you a nice, big, beautiful house but in Vancouver it will only get you some dirt.
http://www.trulia.com/property/3015259178-2714-2nd-Ave-Detroit-MI-48201
Or you could buy this whole apartment building in Detroit
I rather live then get shot at in Detroit… lol..
Don’t worry about getting shot. In Detroit they can no longer afford luxuries like guns and bullets.
Of course as this is a starter home, you’d probably only have 10% down. Mortgaging this mansion over 25 years (respecting the new rules) will result in the mere monthly payment of $6,460.80. But not to worry, that does include estimated taxes and insurance. And hey, you only have to make $250K year to carry that at 30% of your income towards housing. In our thriving economy that should be child’s play.
Auli…you and me should be friends – we speak the same language.
That includes taxes you say? Yes sure, but taxes are rising quicker than I do in the morning (I’m 69)..up $1,500 this year!!!. But no worries, the city raises the residential taxes crazily to lower taxes for all the fancy businesses for fancy people & pipes for drug addicts & for the ‘poor’ (not!) to live in tax subsidized waterfront athletic villages. But Vancouver is a fun city…lets me ‘defer’ my taxes when I’m 65…that means pay later folks (with interest). So work your life for a home, pay your taxes &… Happy Vancouver retirement folks! Oops, something backfired..now we can’t pay our high taxes, afford those fancy restaurant businesses, or pay the $16,000 for the roof for the cute bungalow. Who needs a
roof anyway…expletives.
hey buddy there are a small handful of folks living in ‘subsidized’ housing in the village. we were promised more, which is how they were able to influence so many folks to vote the olympics in. property taxes go to pay of the ‘olympic legacy’ the city is broke because of it. the harm reduction methods you speak of is mostly provincial money. so get your facts straight.
After July 9th, all the mortgage rules change…..look for prices to drop. I’m going with 20%
Oh my God. That’s all.
I understand the frustrations, but unfortunately it’s going for the current market value. Sure you could buy an entire apartment building in Detroit, but would you want to live there? If so, stop complaining and off you go
Vancouver prices are so high because it’s very desirable. There’s a reason why we all want to live here, but we can’t always get what we want. The home in this pic is probably valued for only 50,000$. It’s all land value. I could sell my home and buy a mansion somewhere in the U.S. but I wouldn’t be able to pay the mortgage there since the economy is so poor that I probably wouldn’t be able to even find a job.
mia – i see you’ve been enjoying that awesome bc weed there my friend. vancouver is NOT anything near desirable. it rains 13 months a year, gas is $1.50, rush hout never ends, everything is taxed to death and the snob population is obscenely high.
It’s actually not going for market value – it’s still for sale
. The assessed value is actually 250k under the asking price. This was previously on the market for a measly 2.4M and the person who owns it was going to build you a house on the lot for that price. Never sold. Times are a changing! This is actually only 80k over what the “flipper” bought it for. That should just about cover all the costs associated with buying this hunk of junk in an attempt to make some cash off an over inflated market. I smell fear….
and Mia, there are plenty of amazing places to live where you can find jobs and you don’t have to pay for crap like this. This.is.a.bubble. Mark my words. Vancouver is NOT different. *shrugs*
I would not pay $14,000 for this f’ng dump, let alone $1.4M.
The Vancouver Sun article is insulting.
As a working mom with a young child who has been fortunate enough to get into the market with a small downtown condo, my husband and I dream of being able to own a single family home to raise our family. We are willing to do some work, don’t expect granite counters, stainless steel and new hardwood floors. We do hope that the home is in a safe, walkable neighbourhood with good schools and that we won’t have to spend a combined total of 3+hours commuting to and from work to pay for said house. We’re considering leaving the lower mainland altogether because of the horrifying housing prices.
Oh and we are amongst the top 5% of income earners based on canadian stats. We hoped that our combined 20 years of post-secondary would have secured us the ability to own a house!
Well, Shelly Fralic wrote that article, and Shelly Fralic is a bit of a dick, I’ve noticed. To compare housing prices now with what “our parents” paid is so intellectually dishonest it’s disgusting. My parents paid $60,000 for a house in SE Van that is now valued at nearly a million dollars, and not because of the “sweat equity” they put into it, ps, it doesn’t have granite countertops, either.
I feel your pain. We spent 22+ years in university so that we could afford a reasonable lifestyle (which we thought included home ownership). We are in the top 1% and, in fact, earn much more than than the entry level into that threshold.
Our jobs are in Vancouver proper. Our family is here. We value time with family more than home ownership so we rent instead of buying somewhere we would have to commute 3 hours a day. We could buy where we are but it would require risking everything if interest rates go up slightly. That and we would no longer be able to tuck $ away for pension, which we feel is an important thing to do.
There is something wrong when top income earners in a city have affordability issues. My parents came here as immigrants with very little. Most of my family still is quite poor and face significant challenges with the rising cost of living. I cannot imagine being a new immigrant now and facing the affordability issues people now have to deal with. I cannot imagine being a new grad and trying to stand on my own two feet in this city. I think what boggles my mind most is those that say “if you don’t like it, leave.” It’s ignorant (and usually comes from someone who bought into the market before 2008 lol), and ignores the problem. I want my kids to grow up in a city with diversity, not live in a city where only the very rich can afford to stay.
Anon, I understand, I have a daughter the same high income & cramped in their
Vancouver town home with children. The next housing step up is unthinkable. But they don’t want to leave family here & can’t transfer their jobs & friends to move to another city. These are the present day home-grown ‘well-off’! The others are the wealthy foreign investors buying to make more money & not living here. There should be strong restrictions on investment housing!!! The city & provincial politicians should read these honest comments. They will make restrictions IF their own children have to leave home! Most people I talk to agree.
My other children, both educated with decent jobs, are indeed struggling…one moved to New West so she could buy a bigger condo, the youngest is not so young & like most ‘living at home’ saving like a madwoman, which, by the way, is the only way to get that down payment for a tiny Vancouver ‘home’.
Ellie, here’s a thought.
How about you help your daughter and her family out by buying a house together? Different paradigm, I know, but hey beggars can’t be choosers. Besides, once youre old and can’t take care of yourself anymore maybe she’ll think twice about sticking you in a retirement home to rot…..
No doubt $1.4 million is a pittance when you convert it to Yuan.
Please, someone tell me what is desirable about Vancouver? Real estate is insane, the weather is the pits, the city is paralyzed by traffic etc…We are living in a rain forest. How anyone survives the 10 months of gray is beyond me. I was born and raised here and if it was not for our ageing parents we would be long gone. I feel sorry for all those who are taking it up the hoop just to have a roof over their heads.
It’s just a matter of time…
The city is not paralyzed by traffic. The outskirts are. You spend the big bucks to live in a prime location to avoid said traffic/commute! I did it, and it works. I have 3 more hours every day, and love where I live every day. I can get anywhere in Vancouver in 20 minutes from my decent place in East Van! Just don’t leave the city, that’s when you hit the traffic..
If you don’t like Vancouver…get out. It rains, but when the sun is shining we appreciate it more…the mountains outside your window give you endless opportunity if you choose to see it. Ask the rest of the world why they want to live here..you take for granted the life you have been privlidged to have.
You can sell your property in Vancouver and live mortgage free on a beautiful Riverfront acreage in the Kootenays…. http://www.realtor.ca/PropertyDetails.aspx?&PropertyId=11721346&PidKey=-827494168
Nelson is a beautiful town.
maybe should go back to dirt homes and tents!!
Nasty. We moved to Victoria from Calgary and think it’s bad here! Here you can get a steal of a deal…only $700,000 for a lovely old bungalow.
I’m a technical trades person who lives outside of Vancouver, hope the residents of these multimillion dollar shacks are ready to pay through the nose for my services cuz I wouldn’t mind getting in to!
LOL that Marpole house is a double wide.