The Vancouver real estate bubble is getting attention from outside Canada again. This time Mish is in Business Insider comparing current prices in massively overpriced Vancouver to what the same price gets you in post-bubble Ireland. The difference is rather large.
There are some pretty nice houses you can get in Vancouver for only $890k! Two of them are even potentially liveable and one has even had some upgrades.
The post-celtic-tiger property is pretty decent as well, and a fair sized discount from the original asking price of $6 million.
Now clearly what happened in countries like Ireland was that people who should not have been were extended credit. Lots of credit. And since property prices were rising they were viewed as ‘can’t lose’, until they lost.
Have we made credit too easy in Canada, or are we more sensible than that?
UPDATE: reader Anonymouse pointed out that Mish comparing a hotel to a single family home is not a fair comparison. In response Many Franks posted this link about home prices in Donegal from last September:
The average price of a new home in Donegal is estimated at €179,000, representing a drop of 43pc from peak values. New three- and four-bedroom semi-detached houses are cheaper than in most other parts of the country, with averages estimated at €128,800 and €155,000 respectively.
Second-hand homes are estimated to average €165,800, down 3pc from last April and a drop of 41pc from peak values. The cheapest second-hand apartments in the country can be found in Donegal, with the average price of a one-bedroom apartment estimated at €50,000, and €57,500 for a two-bedroom apartment.
