I spent ten minutes scanning through the Vancouver real estate
postings (you can get there from the link he provided).
Absolutely amazing -- puts Las Vegas, Phoenix etc. to shame.
Keep in mind that nobody is "rich" in Vancouver either.
There is no Silicon Valley, Wall St, Bay St or anything like
that, yet somehow they are North America's most expensive city in
which to live. But get this, according to the statscan
website, Vancouver isn't even ranked in the top 20 cities for
median family income:
BTW, the HST tax was voted DOWN in a referendum by BC residents,
and will be eliminated next April. My understanding is the old GST
of 5% will be reinstated, but this will only apply to new
construction. There is a property purchase tax in BC and Ontario on
every real estate transaction. As far as mortgages, a 5 year fixed
rate is just over 3% for those with good credit, the ARM mortgages
are based on the prime rate as set by the Bank of Canada(around
2%), usually within a percent of 2, not the LIBOR rate. The terms
are also written differently than alot of US mortgages, such as the
ones which reset several percent higher after an initial teaser
rate. Canadian mortgages also do not have "points" added to the
rate like alot of US mortgages, and I also find the origination
fees and other fees (doc stamps etc.) are higher in the
US.
Vancouver's ports has the shortest shipping distance to Asia,
and a growing amount of commodities are exported through Vancouver
(coal, oil, lumber, wheat etc.). It is also the global centre for
mining exploration venture capital, one of the better sectors
recently in spite of the volatility. Film and tourism industries
also large employers. The 2010 winter olympics gave us a nice
economic boost during the worst of the economic meltdown. It is
true the Chinese are bidding up real estate, mainly single family
houses in the more desirable areas, but the condo market is
softening. Condos near the athletes village were selling for
$700-1000/sqq.ft, are no longer selling, and the city had to take
back that property from the developer when a NY hedge fund pulled
the financing plug. Anyone who bought real estate 5-10 years ago
has done well, and one might want to hit the bid now unless you're
holding for the long term. It's not be the right time to buy those
houses on Mish's article..
Posted by hamvestor on 3rd of Mar 2012 at 09:45 pm
As it happens, I'm on one of my regular visits to Vancouver this
weekend (from Washington state). Pure and simple, it is Asian,
mainly Chinese money, that has been pouring into Vancouver in
recent years, bidding up real estate prices into the stratosphere.
Tonight I'm in Richmond, a predominantly Asian-origin suburb, and
virtually every car is a Mercedes, an Acura or a BMW. Condo
construction is continuing at an explosive pace. I remember even
some years ago a local complaining to me that locals couldn't
afford to buy housing any more, and it's gotten much worse since
then.
I like to see all this talk about Vancouver on the blog!... my
family has owned real estate in Vancouver since the 1940's and i
bought a condo here in 1999 when i was 21. it is very true that hot
money from outside Canada has caused a massive real estate boom and
have left many people that were not born here or family that bought
real estate in the last 40 years out in the cold! BUT..... there is
only so much space here as we are surrounded by the U.S boarder,
the ocean, and the mountains,What some call "The triangle of
perfection" so you have to pay up if you want to buy in what some
say is the best place on earth outside of a tropical climate! as
for mortgages who cares! i paid mine off with profits in gold and
silver years ago thanks to MATT!!!!!
Hey Freddy, can you explain the differences in mortgages in
Canada? From my small sampling of polling friends and family,
it seems Canadians are all on adjustable rate mortgages (some kind
of 5 year variety). Again, maybe my friends and family are
not the norm and like to live on the edge and tempt fate -- they
claim anything dated longer than that is "not a good deal".
The rough numbers I heard were 4% for the ARM, but 6.5% for a
30 year.
The other crazy thing not mentioned by Mish in these articles is
the 12% HST (harmonized sales tax). So those $900k teardowns
are actually just about a cool million.
I've been to Vancouver many times -- definitely one of the most
beautiful cities in the world.
Posted by freddy123321 on 4th of Mar 2012 at 04:02 pm
Many are on an open variable. Kind of scares me if rates
suddenly jump, but they have been right for some time now. Many
lock in for 5 yrs, think it is around 4%+\-. Not many take the 7 or
10 year fixed. There is not much supply in mkt past year, which has
caused prices tonincrease
Posted by freddy123321 on 3rd of Mar 2012 at 09:41 pm
Mish has been waiting for Canadian real estate to collapse for
years now. One day he will finally be right. I live in Toronto and
am amazed at resiliency here. All about jobs, IMO
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Vancouver Canada real estate prices
Posted by kalinm on 3rd of Mar 2012 at 08:47 pm
This is absolutely insane. Check out Mish Shedlock's article.
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2012/03/vancouver-bc-vs-donegal-ireland-real.html
I spent ten minutes scanning through the Vancouver real estate postings (you can get there from the link he provided). Absolutely amazing -- puts Las Vegas, Phoenix etc. to shame. Keep in mind that nobody is "rich" in Vancouver either. There is no Silicon Valley, Wall St, Bay St or anything like that, yet somehow they are North America's most expensive city in which to live. But get this, according to the statscan website, Vancouver isn't even ranked in the top 20 cities for median family income:
http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/famil107a-eng.htm
BTW, the HST tax was
Posted by mp9ca on 5th of Mar 2012 at 01:43 am
BTW, the HST tax was voted DOWN in a referendum by BC residents, and will be eliminated next April. My understanding is the old GST of 5% will be reinstated, but this will only apply to new construction. There is a property purchase tax in BC and Ontario on every real estate transaction. As far as mortgages, a 5 year fixed rate is just over 3% for those with good credit, the ARM mortgages are based on the prime rate as set by the Bank of Canada(around 2%), usually within a percent of 2, not the LIBOR rate. The terms are also written differently than alot of US mortgages, such as the ones which reset several percent higher after an initial teaser rate. Canadian mortgages also do not have "points" added to the rate like alot of US mortgages, and I also find the origination fees and other fees (doc stamps etc.) are higher in the US.
Vancouver's ports has the shortest
Posted by mp9ca on 5th of Mar 2012 at 01:13 am
Vancouver's ports has the shortest shipping distance to Asia, and a growing amount of commodities are exported through Vancouver (coal, oil, lumber, wheat etc.). It is also the global centre for mining exploration venture capital, one of the better sectors recently in spite of the volatility. Film and tourism industries also large employers. The 2010 winter olympics gave us a nice economic boost during the worst of the economic meltdown. It is true the Chinese are bidding up real estate, mainly single family houses in the more desirable areas, but the condo market is softening. Condos near the athletes village were selling for $700-1000/sqq.ft, are no longer selling, and the city had to take back that property from the developer when a NY hedge fund pulled the financing plug. Anyone who bought real estate 5-10 years ago has done well, and one might want to hit the bid now unless you're holding for the long term. It's not be the right time to buy those houses on Mish's article..
As it happens, I'm on
Posted by hamvestor on 3rd of Mar 2012 at 09:45 pm
As it happens, I'm on one of my regular visits to Vancouver this weekend (from Washington state). Pure and simple, it is Asian, mainly Chinese money, that has been pouring into Vancouver in recent years, bidding up real estate prices into the stratosphere. Tonight I'm in Richmond, a predominantly Asian-origin suburb, and virtually every car is a Mercedes, an Acura or a BMW. Condo construction is continuing at an explosive pace. I remember even some years ago a local complaining to me that locals couldn't afford to buy housing any more, and it's gotten much worse since then.
All that said, what a great city this is...
I live in richmond canada just 5 min from vancouver!
Posted by goldnice on 4th of Mar 2012 at 08:28 pm
I like to see all this talk about Vancouver on the blog!... my family has owned real estate in Vancouver since the 1940's and i bought a condo here in 1999 when i was 21. it is very true that hot money from outside Canada has caused a massive real estate boom and have left many people that were not born here or family that bought real estate in the last 40 years out in the cold! BUT..... there is only so much space here as we are surrounded by the U.S boarder, the ocean, and the mountains,What some call "The triangle of perfection" so you have to pay up if you want to buy in what some say is the best place on earth outside of a tropical climate! as for mortgages who cares! i paid mine off with profits in gold and silver years ago thanks to MATT!!!!!
40% of condo sales in
Posted by freddy123321 on 3rd of Mar 2012 at 10:02 pm
40% of condo sales in Toronto are foreigners. Would think Vancouver is higher. Avg price per/sq/ft is 500$ I thought $300 was expensive cpl years ago.
Hey Freddy, can you explain
Posted by kalinm on 4th of Mar 2012 at 12:55 pm
Hey Freddy, can you explain the differences in mortgages in Canada? From my small sampling of polling friends and family, it seems Canadians are all on adjustable rate mortgages (some kind of 5 year variety). Again, maybe my friends and family are not the norm and like to live on the edge and tempt fate -- they claim anything dated longer than that is "not a good deal". The rough numbers I heard were 4% for the ARM, but 6.5% for a 30 year.
The other crazy thing not mentioned by Mish in these articles is the 12% HST (harmonized sales tax). So those $900k teardowns are actually just about a cool million.
I've been to Vancouver many times -- definitely one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
Mortgages in Canada
Posted by yojimbo on 4th of Mar 2012 at 04:38 pm
I live in Toronto, have a mortgage on a house here. Here are two Canadian mortgage websites I check regularly:
Lowest Rates: http://www.ratebot.ca/lowestrates.php
Mortgage News: http://www.canadianmortgagetrends.com/
Cheerio!
variable = adjustable
Many are on an open
Posted by freddy123321 on 4th of Mar 2012 at 04:02 pm
Many are on an open variable. Kind of scares me if rates suddenly jump, but they have been right for some time now. Many lock in for 5 yrs, think it is around 4%+\-. Not many take the 7 or 10 year fixed. There is not much supply in mkt past year, which has caused prices tonincrease
Mish has been waiting for
Posted by freddy123321 on 3rd of Mar 2012 at 09:41 pm
Mish has been waiting for Canadian real estate to collapse for years now. One day he will finally be right. I live in Toronto and am amazed at resiliency here. All about jobs, IMO