With regard to Vancouver Price Drop, it nice to look at and all but remember they are just asking prices which may be unreasonable to start with. Garth had a good example recently in Toronto where someone named Khan marketed a “mansion” at $11M before dropping it down to $6M and portraying himself as being bankrupt and this mansion is a deal of a lifetime at 50% off. The reality is that the “mansion” is worth at most $6M in the first place.

As for the guy looking at his wife in the eye, I think it’s likely the wife’s decision to buy in the first place. I seriously doubt a guy would have bought with his wife seriously objecting to it.

Map of Assessed Property Value Changes in Vancouver from 2013 to 2014

– excellent zoom-able map

New Listings 228
Price Changes 74
Sold Listings 80
TI:13366

For any real estate questions, find me here http://www.paulboenisch.com

vancouver`s economy…..the worst in the free world!!!

Perfect storm would be:
CAD drops and Canada is no longer interesting as a store of value. Bond yield would go up and interest rate goes up.
Hot money just sloshed away from Vancouver because it’s no longer bimbo du jour. Maybe it’s the weather, the CRA, tightened migration rule due to the US demands but hopefully not due to increasing racial tension.
Lending standard gets tightened because now household debt is a big issue with bond yield upward pressure.
Right-to-work make it’s eventual debut in Canada.
Employment numbers may be up or stay the same but take home income would be hollowed out. What is the career option for $80,000 mail deliverer, or screwdriver specialist ?
As the US goes energy independent, energy prices crash.

I’m pretty sure somebody smarter have seen this coming already.

Prices (these days) are more tied to liquidity. Liquidity comes from loose lending standard, historic low interest rates, hot money, QE, drug money, HELOC, what have you. We live in a bizzaro-world where this slosh of liquidity jacked up Gold to $1800 and then punish it down to $1200. One year it pushes houses and stocks in emerging market (BRIC-ICIS) to crazy high level, the next it left town and destroyed the local market (see Rupee/Rupiah dropped almost 20% last year). We’re at the mercy of this fast moving current and it destroyed regular folks in their wake. Everybody knows that guy who just bought whatever is hot and got burned the next morning or the aforementioned people buying Van RE the past couple of years. What about Canadian dollar and the massive shorts it’s facing since December? -10% in… Read more »

Odd, my comment from this morning is stuck in moderation.
Let me repost in smaller chunks:

Here’s what I learnt the past 6 years.
Rents are always tied to income. Low income = low rent. There might be a couple of exceptions but as a system, low income locale = low rent. Owning in Vancouver might be too expensive but rent is reasonable.

Current prices aren’t tied to income they generate. Once apartments become acceptable as a long term homeownership vehicle, their price aren’t always determined by their rent.
Ditto house/land price. If you can destroy a couple of houses and build multiple dwellings, it will jack up the house price.
Determining prices based on the income/rent they generate will become crapshoot IMO, for reasons below.

Can anyone with tell me why new condos in Vancouver start at 269,$$$ it must be a wage thing.

Here’s what I learnt the past 6 years. Rents are always tied to income. Low income = low rent. There might be a couple of exceptions but as a system, low income locale = low rent. Owning in Vancouver might be too expensive but rent is reasonable. Current prices aren’t tied to income they generate. Once apartments become acceptable as a long term homeownership vehicle, their price aren’t always determined by their rent. Ditto house/land price. If you can destroy a couple of houses and build multiple dwellings, it will jack up the house price. Determining prices based on the income/rent they generate will become crapshoot IMO, for reasons below. Prices (these days) are more tied to liquidity. Liquidity comes from loose lending standard, historic low interest rates, hot money, QE, drug money, HELOC, what have you. We live in… Read more »

” I wish Vancouver Price Drop would update its Drop from Peak chart”

Not sure if you’re being sarcastic, but we’re near all time nominal highs. Vancouver will be a “singularity” on the graph.

PIMCO: Canada’s Housing Market Correction Will Begin In 2014 January 29, 2014 Ed Devlin, head of fixed income giant PIMCO’s Canadian portfolio management, just released his 2014 economic outlook. “At PIMCO Canada, we have been bearish on housing for a while from a secular perspective, but this is the first time we are forecasting a cyclical decline in the housing market. ” To be clear, Devlin is not calling for a precipitous decline in Canadian home values this year. Rather, the firm thinks the market will start to “roll over,” with a correction that occurs over several years. Here is a summary of PIMCO’s case against the Canadian housing market: Valuations are stretched; Mortgage credit tightening is helping to cool activity; and The cost of capital for Canadian banks will increase this year, and these costs will be passed along… Read more »

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