BC, data, Europe, hype, opinion, prices, supply, west side

Ridiculous prices welcome ridiculous comparisons

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Did you know you could buy nine mansions in France for the price of one boarded up Vancouver tear down?

Of course you might have to live in closer proximity to fresh baked croissants if you choose the French route, but at least one of them comes with 400 acres of land which should give you some buffer if you find that scent offensive.

PriceyPads ran this comparison and includes some beautiful pictures in their post.

Of course this is Vancouver so that’s an ‘asking price’, which may or may not bear some some relation to reality.

Just like craigslist rents, sometimes we get carried away with our asking prices.

You might remember the story of the extremely expensive listing in West Van with pictures of an imaginary house in the listing.

The asking price on that one was just south of $38 million.  That was the asking price.  The selling price was a bit less, well nearly $30 million less actually.

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safa r600c

You could definitely see your skills within the work you write. The sector hopes for even more passionate writers such as you who are not afraid to say how they believe. Always follow your heart.

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b5baxter

No, did not take into account rent savings, maintenance costs or transaction costs. This was just meant to be a quick and dirty analysis of trends for Vancouver real estate.

For many investors or home-owners a more rigorous analysis would be needed.

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trackback

[…] b5Baxter posted the following comment, an update to prices for the end of November 2013: […]

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LazyCanadian

Do you take into account rent savings?

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b5baxter

“…how much of a down payment are these calculations assuming? as we all know, unless you pay cash, real estate is leveraged…”

100% down payment. If you assume that you are financing your real estate purchase you would be even worse off. Because now you have to make back all the money you are paying in interest as well.

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Woz

#61

Are you sure about having to pay CMHC fees again. On the CMHC site it says:

“For portability, the premium is the lesser of Premium on Increase to Loan Amount or the Premium on Total Loan Amount”

If you’re increasing the LTV to 95% then you pay 4.25% on the increased loan amount.

Refinancing isn’t as clear since you can’t refinance above 80% LTV but it has the same comment “the premium is the lesser of Premium on Increase to Loan Amount or the Premium on Total Loan Amount”. I would interpret that as there’s no additional fees if the total loan amount is the same.

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oneangryslav2

@67

“how much of a down payment are these calculations assuming?”

The bigger the down payment, the greater the opportunity cost, which is further evidence against the bull argument.

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patriotz

@56: “Are you willing to risk your longterm security on a gamble that China won’t start the gradual process of doing the inevitable? ”

My longterm security looks a hell of a lot better with a higher yuan and lower CAD and USD.

Whose security exactly is threatened by this?

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Bull! Bull! Bull!

how much of a down payment are these calculations assuming? as we all know, unless you pay cash, real estate is leveraged.

>If you bought a house in Vancouver in November 2009 (4 years ago) you would have been better off putting your money in savings account (before transaction costs).

>In fact if you bought a house back in April 2007 (over 6 years ago) you would have been better off putting your money in a savings account.

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Snake

Woman loses ticket, but OLG tracks her down as $50 million Lotto Max winner

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/12/03/woman_loses_ticket_but_olg_tracks_her_down_as_50_million_lotto_max_winner.html

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Snake

City of Vancouver reveals earthquake preparedness plan

http://former.vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/cclerk/20131203/documents/rr1.pdf

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Snake

Condo market braces for period of ‘turbulence’

http://globalnews.ca/news/1006265/condo-market-braces-for-period-of-turbulence/

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b5baxter

REBGV stats are out.
We are now into month 19 since real estate peaked in Vancouver.

We are down 3.54% in nominal terms since the peak and 5.83% in real (inflation adjusted) terms.

If you bought a house in Vancouver in November 2009 (4 years ago) you would have been better off putting your money in savings account (before transaction costs).

In fact if you bought a house back in April 2007 (over 6 years ago) you would have been better off putting your money in a savings account.

So Vancouver Home Prices are basically back where they were in 2007 compared to a savings account.

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taylor192

@#52 Reality Check

You are WRONG. Stop spreading false info and do your calculations rather than making up numbers.

This discussion started with a 30yr term. Punch that into a mortgage calculator with a 4% rate (the rate 5 years ago) and you’ll see that not even 10% equity is paid down over 5 years.

You are correct that you can renew your existing mortgage without paying CMHC again, yet you cannot change your mortgage product or switch lenders without triggering a risk assessment and paying CMHC if you don’t have 20% equity.

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oneangryslav2

Ted, I think it’s about time to talk to your therapist (or find one, if you don’t already have one). What’s the deal, man? Get outside and have some fun. Real estate prices in this burg may be insane, but that is no reason for you to follow suit.

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tedeastside

for your own safety never mention California in front of a vancouver realtor and a potential ham buyer, they’ll bite your head right off, they become very agitated and start insulting California and praising vancouver,

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Skook

Vancouver Island (VIREB) November sales data is now posted in VanPeak. Here’s the link:

http://vancouverpeak.com/showthread.php?tid=3393&pid=5818#pid5818

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your momma

“Has any of you heard of a realtor asking a friend to pretend being a potential buyer in order to trigger a biding war ?”

no, but i’ve experienced a buyer asking a friend to pose as a second buyer to diss the property, in order that the seller (me) would drop the price. Not that it matters, but the scammers were women, and they had the co-operation of a realtor.. the realtor was also a Liberal politician (city council)… who ran for mayor and lost, (after he hired a horse and buggy to take him down the meridian lane of the shopping district causing a pretty bad accident) but that’s beside the point…

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crikey

@ #48 oneangryslav2 “If you owe the bank $1000 and can’t pay, you have a problem. If you owe the bank $1 Trillion, then it’s the bank that has the problem. I’ll leave it up to you to figure out who the bank is.” Banks renegotiate or write off big bad loans too. And then they know never to loan to that customer again. Before you say you’ve never heard of a bank writing of such a large loan, remember that we’ve never seen a bank the size of China, either. Are you willing to risk your longterm security on a gamble that China won’t start the gradual process of doing the inevitable? If China has to do it eventually, why not start the gradual process off going off the USD sooner rather than later? It is not as if… Read more »

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oneangryslav2

@51

“Apart from a scam, you pay 15% of your mortgage down in the first 5 years.”

What? Do you have numbers to back up your assertion?

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HAM Solo

Quick summary on foreclosure volumes for Nov. BC total came in at 270 for November, vs 350 for Oct. Vancouver was 81 vs 117. TD wins “Countrywide Cup” second month in a row with 41 foreclosures. Overall, a slightly slower month for foreclosures, don’t know if that is seasonal or secular trend. I would suspect the rate to slow down in Dec just b/c of more holidays. I kind of suspect that we are seeing a re-ignition in the speculative purchase of real estate in this city. The sales volumes and prices look too strong. I did not predict it, nor expect it, but I think I am observing it. Just as a point of perspective. Bitcoin, which at the end of the day probably has zero long-term economic value, gone from a “bubble peak” of $200 in the spring,… Read more »

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RealityCheck

Oh taylor,

You can’t get a 30 year Amortization with 5% down. Lets use real numbers.

With people who have bought in the past (ie. 5 yers ago, I’m sure their property has appreciated the 5% its ‘short’ to avoid the imaginary duplicate CMHC fees.

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RealityCheck

Again,

You only pay CMHC premium fees once. Doesn’t matter if you’re underwater(not that anyone is) and it is renewal time. Stakeholders want you to continue to pay the mortgage.

If you want to switch lenders, an appraisal is required. Apart from a scam, you pay 15% of your mortgage down in the first 5 years. Couple that with a 5 % downpayment and you should have 20% equity on renewal.

Don’t know where you guys are getting your info. Don’t let false info posted on other sites (GT’s) get to your head.

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Bull! Bull! Bull!

“I don’t think so, but this is where Flaherty/OSFI may come into play next year:”

Q: what do real estate bears and vancouver canucks fans have in common?

A: both their motto’s are: “there’s always next year!”

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