Real Estate Talks

Any thoughts on the detached market in these areas (N Burnaby; New West; Squamish) in the ~$400K range, commuting, opportunities to low-ball, inventory expectations, etc.?

Any thoughts on the detached market in these areas (N Burnaby; New West; Squamish) in the ~$400K range, commuting, opportunities to low-ball, inventory expectations, etc.?

Impossible to get a detached for your budget. Best bet is look for LARGE 2 bedroom condos. they have some in the Brentwood area - newer building with ammenities going up to around 1000 square feet. lots of 2 beds are only 700-800 so the size of 1000 is a good size to raise a family

Hi - new to posting here but been following the site and others (VCI, Rob Chipman) for years. Question for people here: I have been one of the disgruntled perma-bears who has been waiting on the sidelines since about 2007/08 and very nearly made the plunge - similar to ETB - back in 2008 on a ~$500K "fixer-upper" but decided against it. Prices are probably up 20-30% or more since that trough, and I'm convinced we'll get back down there, but I'm losing patience and some faith.

I'm nearly 40, making six figures (just) and now have two young kids. Wife not working and won't be until kids are at least 4-5 (ie in 4-5 years). I'm still convinced the Vancouver market is unreasonably inflated if someone making double the HOUSEHOLD income can't buy a tear down on Marine Drive. BUT, I'm starting to capitulate. And now with a family I would like to get into something a bit bigger and nicer than my East Van co-op townhouse, which is a steal at $1,300 a month rent.

We are looking at Squamish for detached because you can get a non-teardown for around $400K and I love the community/area. But the one hour commute would be expensive and a bit draining. It seems that Burnaby North and New West are now not possible in this price range, and frankly I'm not sure I'd want to live there anyways. But a nice 45 minute Skytrain commute would be a lot better than a one hour drive.

Any thoughts on the detached market in these areas (N Burnaby; New West; Squamish) in the ~$400K range, commuting, opportunities to low-ball, inventory expectations, etc.?

what's the prob? you make 6figures and don't want to go with a $600-700k home?

i don't make that much and my home is brand new and $700k

Arthur, just rent! The easiest way to pay off 100k of your mortgage in one year is to wait a year and buy 100k cheaper.

The scariest thing about the Squamish market is a massive overhang of houses over 600k that are not selling. Check out these graphs and pay close attention to the graph showing year to date sales by price range.
http://www2.topproducerwebsite.com/user ... volume.pdf

There have only been 6 sales this year over 600k and the mls shows 88 properties currently listed. That’s 3.6 years of inventory.

64 of those listings are over 700k. That means there is 8 years of inventory for over 700k.

There’s 44 houses listed over 800k. That’s 11 years of inventory.

There’s 30 houses listed over 900k. Based on the last three months of sales it should take till the end of time for them to sell since not one of them has sold this year.

Many of these houses have been on and off the market for years. I would venture a guess that the majority have been on the market for at least 2 years. Eventually these sellers will have to admit defeat and then what happens? The 900′s become 800′s (or 700′s), the 800′s become 700′s and so on down the line.

Hold on a little bit longer. Now is not the time to capitulate.

This is from a commenter "Bailing in BC Says" on Vancouvercondo.info:

Arthur, just rent! The easiest way to pay off 100k of your mortgage in one year is to wait a year and buy 100k cheaper.

The scariest thing about the Squamish market is a massive overhang of houses over 600k that are not selling. Check out these graphs and pay close attention to the graph showing year to date sales by price range.
http://www2.topproducerwebsite.com/user ... volume.pdf

There have only been 6 sales this year over 600k and the mls shows 88 properties currently listed. That’s 3.6 years of inventory.

64 of those listings are over 700k. That means there is 8 years of inventory for over 700k.

There’s 44 houses listed over 800k. That’s 11 years of inventory.

There’s 30 houses listed over 900k. Based on the last three months of sales it should take till the end of time for them to sell since not one of them has sold this year.

Many of these houses have been on and off the market for years. I would venture a guess that the majority have been on the market for at least 2 years. Eventually these sellers will have to admit defeat and then what happens? The 900′s become 800′s (or 700′s), the 800′s become 700′s and so on down the line.

Hold on a little bit longer. Now is not the time to capitulate.

Sad part is some people will listen to anonymous posters that to the needs of their families

Best bet is look for LARGE 2 bedroom condos. they have some in the Brentwood area - newer building with ammenities going up to around 1000 square feet.

what's the prob? you make 6figures and don't want to go with a $600-700k home?

i don't make that much and my home is brand new and $700k

Don't listen to instigator. $100K family income is not that much considering the costs to support your families. I think your budget is about right, or can be a bit higher ($500k?) For that money, a large townhouse in Burnaby/coquitlam or an older detached home in Surrey are both good choices IMO.

BTW, I can never understand why people in Van do not mind being the slave of their home. There are so many things in life you can do other than working your butt off for the mortgage payment. Think about RV, boating, and travel. My wife and I work in interior BC. We make $160K in total and built a $350k home here 2 yrs ago. Believe or not, We are some of the poorest people living in my neighborhood.