Absurd Vancouver Property of the Week (July 11, 2012)
It’s a buyer’s market in Vancouver. You know what that means, right? Not a whole heck of a lot for the average person…nevertheless, as we see prices deflate ever so slightly and product on the market increase – perhaps we can dream of owning a little piece of 604 paradise. Let’s say you’ve been waiting for your golden opportunity to buy that dream home of yours and you have modest budget of about $3 million…you could buy this:
This is Jack Osbourne’s (son of Ozzy) new digs in Los Angeles, California. It may look small on the outside, but it has 4 bedrooms, 5.5 bathrooms and is a whopping 8600 square feet. Not bad, right?
Alternatively, if you’re looking for a little more country and a little less rock and roll, you could have picked up this charming Bedford, New York home – recently inhabited by lovebirds Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively.
The house is spread over 4753 square feet and beautifully overhung on the Cross River Reservoir and has views of Madison Square Gardens from one of it’s two terrace gardens.
If you like that laid back vibe, the former Greenwich getaway of Regis Philbin might interest you:
The four-bedroom Colonial sits on a six-acre property near Mianus River State Park and includes a pool, tennis court and gazebo.
Absurd Vancouver Property of the Week brought to you by BCHomez.com
so why do you pick the most expensive house on the street? There is another one 1 block away at $699,000. Yes that is still alot of money but they both have suites as mortgage helpers…so at least there is some possibility of someone affording to live in the area. It kinda feels like you are sensationalizing it to make it seem worse than it is…That makes you just as bad as the mainstream media. just my thoughts
Really? There is a house a block away from this one that is under $700K? I had a look online to see if this is so. The only home on the Westside under $700K is on Musqueam (lease-hold) land and is not on the same block as this home. Please send me the listing you are talking about.
Personally I don’t want to have tenants in order to be able to afford a basic family home.That’s outrageous!
great site Mellisa!
I’m a born and bred Vancouverite, and I like it, but omg if I could easily move to some place warmer and less wet, I would in a heartbeat.
I’ve also seen real estate plunge in the early 80′s, I remember it like it was yesterday. That our prices are starting to come down with these super low rates is a very telltale sign that the “greater fools” have already bought in.
This market is outrageous, I can easily see it dropping 30%.
Alice did you buy a few houses in Richmond last year?….just curious:)
I posted this last week, but its really a pretty simple equation.
At the start of this bull market we had 25 max amortizations and 20% down, CMHC only backed mortgages up to 400k. Mortgage rates at around 6-7% – all this in 2000.
At the end of this bull market we finished with 0 down, 40 year amortizations and 3-4% rates, and unlimited CMHC insurance ceiling. The buyer pool is dozens of times larger when requirements are so lax.
The reason the market continued to trend up was partially due to the fact that the rules and rates were relaxed step by step, slowly enticing more buyers into the market, allowing existing owners to cash out equity and further bid prices up the ladder – a ponzi scheme.
The bright side of all this is that we are finally tightening access to credit, and limiting the buyer pool. This will have a significant impact on prices.
In addition to all the above, the federal government is cracking down on investment class immigrants and essentially putting the program on hold until 2013. The thousands who already applied, will now have to reapply once the program is back online.
What this translates to is a sustained downtrend for housing in Vancouver. The bright side is, affordability will once again return to our rainy city.
You’re dreaming Trish. There is no house in that area for $699,000 – perhaps a condo nearby?
I love this blog! It saddens me, yet gives me a chuckle at the same time. It’s truly absurd – paying 2 million for a knock down – absurd!
so someone asked about a house in the neighbourhood for under $700. it is mls # v941419 and the address is 1946 36th Ave listed at $699,000. All I did was click on the listing and see what else was on the street. It seems to me that the price you pay to live in this amazing area is that you commute into the city from elsewhere or suck it up princess and have a suite. \we live in an amazing place, great air quality, the ocean the mountains, access to parks and recreation.Our costs for heating is lower than most other parts of Canada. The health care is amazing, the people are wonderful, and I am just really tired of hearing complaints about being here. Leave if you don’t like it. Move to Vancouver Island & have an easy commute into the city. Move to Surrey, Chilliwack,Abbotsford or Maple Ridge…but stop complaining. I will probably stop following this blog. Life is much too short to listen to people whine about living in the best place on earth!
Hi Trish. This is a great deal and cute house. However, it is not in the same neighbourhood. This home is on East 36th avenue (i.e. near Victoria Drive – btw a fantastic neighbourhood!).
I also want to let you know that I love Vancouver. I grew up here, my family is here. Yet, I don’t think it is unreasonable to point out how unaffordable it has become (in such a short period of time) for the average hard-working family. I am not complaining about Vancouver, it’s beauty, the people or the quality of life we are afforded by living here…just pointing out how absurd housing prices have gotten.
For anyone interested, here is the listing for the $699K home.
1946 was listed at 725,000 in May 2012.
Trish…I think what she was trying to say is that this is what you can get for around 3 mil in Vancouver compared to other cities. Now if you know of another actually beautiful 3 million dollar property in Vancouver that can compare to the ones above you could say she was being sensationalist!
I am new from China..I read your message about property and think that you people living Vancouver dont understand how beautiful your city is. I think that if you move to where Im from in China you get biggest mansion in city for 3 million.. But you will suffer from not having the beauty of Vancouver and all it has to offer you. Why you write article to complain?? And to everyone else that might read this, Vancouver is worth all the money in the world, that is why people from all over the world want to live here…Why you think you have people from all races and countries to move Vancouver?? You dont know the suffering of the rest of world to be here complaining. If you want to make difference, sell your house and move to small apartment, and donate money to starving children…that would make difference…not complain every single week…you should move..you no like vancouver..I so angry people mad..you work harder, make more money to buy, dont waste time complaining…
Hi Alice new from China. Wait till you experience the 250 days of rain we get here. To my mind, this site is supposed to be a tad humorous, so maybe relax and enjoy.
Mellisa, you’re doing great. Love your blog! I’m not complaining and I’m not adding to anybody’s views here. I’m grateful that I live in Vancouver and I have a place to call home =)
Bedford, NY Population: 17,335
Vancouver Population: 2.3 M
I can’t believe prices are higher therein Vancouver. Perhaps your Econ 101 professor actually knew something about supply and demand. Who knows, maybe you actually deserved the D he gave you. Maybe if you read a business section once in a while you wouldn’t have had to major in Art Appreciation and now wait tables at White Spot.
Hey Matt, was the personal attack necessary?
Matt,
What a low blow you deliver, why the personal attack? Do you feel superior with a past career as bartender and Honda car salesman? I think your little rant actually made a few people laugh out loud, given how smart a woman Melissa is.
Prices in Vancouver are absurd, there is no denying it. However, if you do want to argue your point of view, please no ad hominem.
@Matt –
Ridiculous comment. Even more so considering you are a university dropout. YUP – He quit UBC years ago. So he obviously didn’t pass Econ 101 himself.
And he’s now a REALTOR in Nanaimo, which is starting to experience their very own property crash. Don’t panic Matt, it will all be okay.
Matt in all his glory – in business with his dad.
http://www.mattanddoug.com/
PS – I should probably also note that Matt dropped out after just one year. No hard feelings though Matt – sure lucky that the realtor course is only 6 weeks though. Imagine if they had taught you about supply and demand in that! Phew.
Did you see where that first house was, Matt? Los Angeles – population 3.8M city, 9.9M county.
If you want a more apples-to-apples comparison, you should see what 50% of $2.8M gets you in Seattle:
http://sea.themlsonline.com/details,d83bda5362fe773d213c196c1b5f3a0e,41,results,355407.html
Vancouver Population: 2.3M? Really? You must work in the census and knew something that we don’t know. A simple google search says 605k…
Bedford is a small wealthy enclave in Westchester County which is an affluent suburban area of Metro New York, population 15 million.
You can’t make a comparison of its population alone against all of Metro Vancouver.
Alice..I think I love you.
Thank you
I live here. I know how beautiful and absurd it is. I appreciate your comments, having come from eastern Canada where people easily buy big single family homes. I will NEVER afford a home in Vancouver, sad but true. It’s our home and our expectations have to change (unfortunately). I love this blog, gives us a laugh and we totally relate. Keep it coming!
Thanks, Kate! It’s meant to be funny & sad at the same time…hence the word Absurd.
This blog is very necessary, I am born & raised in Vancouver, and now live in Montreal largely do to the housing prices. I think it needs a good critique, if you are new or commenting from another local good for you, as a Vancouverite, this blog is right where it should be.
I’m sorry… people are actually defending our insane real estate prices? is that right? I don’t care WHERE you live, this little shack should NEVER be the same price as some of those other gorgeous properties (in equally beautiful places)
I agree with Nick’s comment.. There are other sought-after cities in the world (as much as I love Vancouver for all of its renowned beauty), but you won’t find another itty-bitty home like this in another similar sought-after location for a whooping $2-3 million. Vancouverites should have the ability of buying a reasonable home in their own city without this ridiculous competition and inflation. This problem can’t be sustained who don’t have all the advantages of a foreign investor –and that’s what makes me so angry.
But in all seriousness aside, thank you for making this blog and bringing this important matter to our attention in a humorous light!
Alice I agree that Vancouver is far more beautiful than China, but let’s be honest… I think there are A LOT of places that are far more beautiful than China (this coming from a Vancouverite that has lived in Asia for 10 years). And I am sure that there are beautiful places in China as well, but does that justify that house prices can be completely out of whack with the fundamentals of the average person in terms of income? Not a chance.
Vancouver has become the (corrupt) playground for many (illegitimate?) overseas investors. Also known as HAM. They have pushed prices far above the state of insanity. And your comment that we should all work harder and make more money holds NO water. Out right insulting to those that do work their rear ends off and still cannot get into a home they could call their own. I DO work hard and run a very successful business, but there is no way I would even consider buying a home in Vancouver at the levels they are now… that is like asking to be rapped! Sorry for such a graphic association, but really that is how I would feel.
There are no excuses or sane reasoning for the current house prices in Vancouver, the only ones you will hear is those of bulls that are playing the game and want to squeeze every last cent out of it while they can (they to know it will crash eventually… bubbles always do), all the while they screw the families that want to call Vancouver home, many of which have always called Vancouver their home, and not are being pushed out by greedy pigs.
I feel the end is near… the bottom is about to give out.
My family immigrated to Vancouver in 1981 from the Philippines with $200 and 4 suitcases. We rented basement suites from 1981-1987 when the housing market was so bad, and finally in 1987 my parents afforded an old house built in 1916 for $87K. That’s all the could afford given they were also sending my brother and I to private schools. I had a very modest upbringing to say the least. Over the past 30 years my parents’ house value has gone up to over $700K and they haven’t even done anything to increase the value of their house.
MANY Vancouverites are immigrants from developing countries even poorer than China. MANY Vancouverites are extremely hard workers who would like to continue living in a home they can call their own. We would also like to ensure our children and their children can do the same.
This blog is not written and read by spoiled brats, on the contrary, we simply care about a city that has grown with us over the years.
“I had a very modest upbringing to say the least.” But you both went to private schools?
@Alenandra, private schools can also mean Catholic (or another religious denomination) school. I know my parents put my siblings and me in Catholic schools, even when money was tight in the 80s, because they felt it was a high priority. We didn’t get every cool toy or or the trendiest clothes (thank goodness for uniforms I guess!), but we had a big enough house and never felt deprived. I know many classmates families were in the same situation. Actually, one friend had parens who were janotors! Anyway, just wanted to point out that private schools don’t necessarily mean spending $$$ at St. George’s School!
And Melissa, I love that you were able to find that IP address was the same! awesome!!!
Keep up the great blog!
I want to live in a city that has year round inhabitants that contribute to local businesses. A city that taxes fairly. If you grew up here and raise a family you should be able to at least rent a house at a reasonable price to bring up a family. As it stands people are sacrificing everything to live here. 80% of their income. I’m afraid of what will probably happen to many when interest rates go up.
We need a government that protects and encourages families to stay in the lower mainland. Christy keeps forgetting to say “foreign” families first. Thank you for this blog.
Thank you for this blog.
I’m moving away from Vancouver. I understand it’s expensive but it is one of a kind. So I don’t bitch I move on. Maybe Vancouver is not for you.
Living here is like going to an all you can eat buffet, but your only allowed to have macorony and cheese.
Alice- this site is tongue in cheek…maybe we
Can’t afford the houses, but at least we can afford a sense of humor… It
May take you awhile to realize that…..no rush though
Matt in all his glory – in business with his dad.
http://www.mattanddoug.com/
am I the only one having issues with the “reply” comments having the first few letters of every line cut off?
The comments that are originals and set further to the left of the screen are fine
I can see that, too. Will ask my WP guru how I can fix that!
Nice catch Kate.
Matt and his self interests. He mentioned something about Econ 101, pretty sure that’s a harder course to pass then what it takes to get a Real Estate license.
Keep it classy Matt. Pretty sure your clients wouldnt want you representing them in such an unprofessional manner
This blog is amazing. BTW, those hostile comments mean you have surfaced something true. No-one would bother to comment like that if you were way off mark.
Please continue
Yes, continue!
The fact that a Realtor attacked your character is actually pretty telling. He knows that it’s hysterical mob-mentality fueling the demand inflating this market. It totally IS demand causing our crazy prices, but it’s not terribly well considered demand.
Sober analysis, including seeing beauties that cost this much in other equally desirable locales, scare anyone relying on that demand. They might actually get through to people that something is sick when addresses are being traded with the same attention as Beanie Babies once were.
Dan Ronald just emailed me this and I’d like to say that I didn’t write the above comments. I’ve never seen this website before and I obviously don’t live in Vancouver. I’m not sure how they got my picture on there but my apologies to anyone that was offended.
For the record, not only did I NOT finish a Science degree at UBC, I also was a server at a restaurant for 5 years and really enjoyed my time there. I would recommend anyone work in that industry to build solid people skills and work ethic.
I’m very proud of the work I do as a Realtor and strive to be as professional as possible.
Thanks again Dan for bringing this to my attention.
Strange….both comments (this one and the other one) came from the same IP address…hope you haven’t been hacked!
Thanks for writing in.
LOL the same IP address. Awkward…
Guess he missed the Internet 101 class as well…
Same IP!! Classy
Busted.
Hope you can still get a job as a server when the RE market goes kaboom (or already has)! But then again, that will be followed by a long nasty recession… so maybe not.
Reading Matt’s last post…. If you hit on the picture beside it, it comes up as someone else. Is this meant to add to the confusion ? Or when he went to change his picture pick the wrong one?
Chan,
He swiped his twin brother`s photo. Ouch – throwing his brother under the bus, who is actually a really nice guy. (And no, not a chance it was his brother on the same IP address – they haven`t lived in the same place in at least 12 years.)
Sorry folks but Alice is one of the most epic troll posts ever.
Endless money from China, that’s the common belief that’s holding up the whole market. Without that, who’s buying here at these prices? Canadians from other cities? US citizens? Over extend young couples? (sorry, but they helped get us here)
Alice is probably someone heavily invested and freaking out a bit.
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Fake mainlander epic troll. Including racist fake written accent.
Matt epic epic fail! Vreaa are you watching?
oh Matt, that’s embarrassing..
PS I note that in this thread alone we have:
-A fake Mainlander pretending to be real, and
-A real and abusive real estate professional pretending to be fake
Anyone else smell fear?
Oh, Trish…? Vancouver is not what you think it is. Road rage is everywhere (people seething with discontent under the surface), there’s zero sense of community (thank you multiculturalism) and the crime rate is one of the higher rates in North America. It’s smug, soulless, and self-deluding. Costs are high, wages are low, medical care is so so at best, with long waits and GP’s at a premium except for walk-in clinics. Don’t be silly and pay attention.
Another poster with the handle “Alice-ESL” trolled VREAA a while back. I have tutored ESL Chinese students for years, and edited hundreds of essays written by Chinese students. This is a fake. The grammar mistakes are not the same ones characteristic of those brought up speaking Chinese; they are a rather awkward attempt to fake an ESL writer. The expressions chosen are all completely atypical… this reeks of a native speaker trying very hard. Don’t take this person’s views as representative of any Chinese immigrant’s. I laughed so hard at Alice-ESL’s attempts on VREAA that they disappeared quickly.
But come back and try harder, shill – until you run out of IP addresses.
To add detail and help trolly get better for next time, there are huge and glaring inconsistencies. The writer juxtaposes relatively advanced structures like “But you will suffer from not having the beauty of Vancouver and all it has to offer you” and “You dont know the suffering of the rest of world to be here complaining” which only advanced ESL speakers would pull off correctly, with garbage like “you no like vancouver..” which only a grandmother who arrived in her sixties with zero English would not be embarrassed to utter. The inconsistency is glaring. Moreover, if an ESL speaker went to all the trouble of using contractions like “I’m” and “Don’t”, there is not a chance that they would drop all the apostrophes.
I could go on, but you get the idea. This is very, very lame.
I mean #”which only advanced ESL speakers would attempt and pull off almost correctly”
Vancouver is so much more boring with cold, bland people than all the other places listed. Not to mention it rains alot more.
Thanks for providing the blog!
Thats why I live in Surrey! Vancouver is overpriced -congested with traffic and out dated! Vancouverites can make fun of Surrey…but alas Vancouver is the biggest joke with Mayor moonbeam wanting to tear down the viaduct and golf courses…thank god we have a mayor who is living in the real world.
Trish is hilarious trying to justify this OUTRAGEOUSNESS! There is something wrong with this province/city. No other place has such non-existent former ownership laws. Last “Canadian” to go, please turn out the lights.
Here is a half century of Vancouver real estate
1956 Bought in Point Grey $ 7,500
1962 Sold in Point Grey $12,500
Bought 3 blocks away $18,500
1984 Sold in Point Grey $200,000
Bought in Upper Lonsdale $200,000
2011 Sold in Upper Lonsdale $1,500,000
All were single-family houses, nothing fancy, nothing done physically to justify the increased values. Just the way the market has been going. BTW, the $1.5 mil. house was knocked down.
[...] their own. We would also like to ensure our children and their children can do the same.” – val at The Thirties Grind 11 July 2012 7:07pm Share: This entry was posted in 02. Profiting from the Boom, 05. Where do Buyers get the money?, [...]
Love the blog and the comparison shopping but to all you folks who think that Vancouver is so beautiful that it is worth these exorbitant prices, there are houses much more attractive, in sunnier and warmer climes, at half the price of Vancouver ones and perhaps even more important,Vancouver lacks the sophistication which warrants higher costs in just about everything – cities like New York, London,and Paris. Check out their prices and you’ll see what I mean/ Anyway they are on their way down now in Vancouver.
I have to laugh at the earlier argument re: 700,000.00 for a similar (modest) West Van home to serve as a more realistic comparison to the few million dollars this home is listed for. You justify this market as being “not that bad?” C’mon! 700,000.00! That is still a huge amount of coin to drop on a 3 bedroom, post-war house that likely requires another 70K to make it modern (new roof), and mold-free (not to mention a security system)to protect your millionaire furnishings from the rioting middle-class who resent watching you wash your car with $100.00 bills every Sunday. Then come the property taxes, and tenant issues… Fun stuff. The Vancouver and Victoria RE markets are ridiculous. When we visit relatives in the States, we get to see what 300,000.00 buys you = a huge, beautiful, sprawling new home in a safe neighborhood with a huge yard and nearby parks and amenities. In Victoria, 300K get’s you a glorified apartment – the kind of place you were happy to “rent” in your early 20′s, with a gallery kitchen painted Barney purple, and maybe even a pea-soup-green tub, sink and toilet, oh yeah! The market is insanely inflated, and there are still few of us who can discern between value and rip-off. The investment potential argument only stands if you can afford to buy and rent a home, while living in another (both at inflated prices). The prices will be high so long as there are fools willing to pay for shacks in prestigious locations (and there’s no shortage of them). Don’t get me wrong. I’m certainly not a home snob. I’d be happy to call a little old 50′s smurf-house my home. I don’t need the glitter, but I also don’t want to part with 700,000K + unless the reason for doing so is justified. I’d prefer to pay rent for nicer amenities for 700 months and forgo the headaches.
Oh, how I wish us all the good fortune. Enough so we can live on the beautiful, albeit damp, West Coast, lighthearted and worry free.
Great Feature Posts! Has me laughing and agreeing with you
Wow!! Thee pictures are awesome