“In fact, sky-high Vancouver housing prices were one of the reasons why my son, a young engineer, and his wife chose to move to Montreal, where they were able to buy a townhouse for half what they’d have to pay here.
They miss Vancouver terribly, and we miss them and our little granddaughter. But we realize the vast distance separating us is the penalty we pay for living in Lotusland, and my son pays for having a real job.”
- from ‘We need to look at a greater variety of housing options’, Jon Ferry, The Province, 27 Jan 2012
Hat-tip to Patiently Waiting, at vancouvercondo.info 27 Jan 2012 2:44pm, who also adds:
“A smug Boomer newspaper columnist is suddenly concerned about housing affordability. Why?
He’s only concerned now that it affects him personally.”
-
Most Recent Comments:
- Vesta on “Sky-high Vancouver housing prices were one of the reasons why my son, a young engineer, and his wife chose to move to Montreal, where they were able to buy a townhouse for half what they’d have to pay here.”
- Michael on Leaving Vancouver, Again – “Came back for what was supposed to be career advancement. Didn’t pan out. My old company in Switzerland called and wanted to know if I would move back there to work for them. Immediate 100% increase in salary, 6 weeks holiday again, living in truly the best place on earth, etc.”
- bubbly on “I left Vancouver in 2005. When I go back to visit, the conversation usually turns to RE with snooty relatives boasting about their $1M houses.”
- Michael on “Sky-high Vancouver housing prices were one of the reasons why my son, a young engineer, and his wife chose to move to Montreal, where they were able to buy a townhouse for half what they’d have to pay here.”
- Anonymouse on TD Training Session Teaches Mortgage Agents How To “Overcome Objections” To ‘HELOC Product’
- theragingranter on TD Training Session Teaches Mortgage Agents How To “Overcome Objections” To ‘HELOC Product’
- yltnboomerang on Leaving Vancouver, Again – “Came back for what was supposed to be career advancement. Didn’t pan out. My old company in Switzerland called and wanted to know if I would move back there to work for them. Immediate 100% increase in salary, 6 weeks holiday again, living in truly the best place on earth, etc.”
- rp1 on TD Training Session Teaches Mortgage Agents How To “Overcome Objections” To ‘HELOC Product’
- Mike Jones on “I left Vancouver in 2005. When I go back to visit, the conversation usually turns to RE with snooty relatives boasting about their $1M houses.”
- bubbly on “I left Vancouver in 2005. When I go back to visit, the conversation usually turns to RE with snooty relatives boasting about their $1M houses.”
- mike jones on “I left Vancouver in 2005. When I go back to visit, the conversation usually turns to RE with snooty relatives boasting about their $1M houses.”
- vreaa on TD Training Session Teaches Mortgage Agents How To “Overcome Objections” To ‘HELOC Product’
Type of Anecdote
- 01. He Said, She Said (213)
- 02. Profiting from the Boom (353)
- 03. Changed my Life (93)
- 04. Changed my Career (31)
- 05. Where do Buyers get the money? (688)
- 06. Held my Nose and Leapt (86)
- 07. Avoiding Vancouver (300)
- 08. Overextended Buyers (758)
- 09. Delaying Buying (237)
- 10. Demoralized Renters? (285)
- 11. Regrets about Investing in RE (228)
- 12. Effects of Development (206)
- 13. 2010 Olympics Related (71)
- 14. Social Effects of the Boom (992)
- 15. Misallocation of Resources (652)
- 16. Missed The Boat? (95)
- 17. The Froogle Scott Chronicles (24)
- 18. Spot The Speculator (128)
- 19. BlastRadiusPostCards (14)
- 20. The Limitless Demand Argument For Ongoing Market Strength (38)
- 21. Vancouver RE-Verse [Found Poems] (5)
- 22. RE References In Popular Culture (10)
- 23. Jumping The Shark (1)
- 24. Policies On Housing (10)
- 25. Epigrams For The Bubble (1)
- Uncategorized (171)
Blogroll
- 01 Vancouver Condo Info
- 02 AmericaCanada
- 03 Housing Analysis
- 04 RealEstateTalks BC
- 05 Vancouver RE and then some
- 06 Whispers from the Village on the Edge of the Rainforest
- 07 Greater Fool
- 08 Canada Bubble
- 09 Rob Chipman's blog
- 10 YatterMatters
- 11 condohype
- 12 vancouver (un)real estate
- 13 Agent Will's Stats
- 14 Landlord Rescue
- 15 The Economic Analyst
- 16 Canadian Housing Price Charts
- 17 Hoodsurf
- 18 World Housing Bubble


-
Latest Anecdotes:
- Leaving Vancouver, Again – “Came back for what was supposed to be career advancement. Didn’t pan out. My old company in Switzerland called and wanted to know if I would move back there to work for them. Immediate 100% increase in salary, 6 weeks holiday again, living in truly the best place on earth, etc.”
- TD Training Session Teaches Mortgage Agents How To “Overcome Objections” To ‘HELOC Product’
- Still Ignorant After All These Years – “During our lunch my friend told me that he was going to quit his job to become a realtor. He seemed surprised by my comments about the market, and said that he hadn’t heard any of this before, and wouldn’t even begin to know where to look for that kind of information.”
- Vancouver RE Blogosphere Watch – Poster Publishes His Annual ‘The Wengzhou Money Is Coming’ Post
- Maclean’s – “Yes, we’re in a bubble, and it will probably pop soon. The signs of a bubble are unequivocal.”
- “The two top tech companies could not find anyone to fill the position. The number one reason given by the numerous Canadian & US-based candidates for withdrawing was the cost of living in Vancouver.”
- Slew Of Mainstream Press Articles About Canadian RE
- Limitless Demand Argument Still Being Voiced – “Over the next decade Van RE will prove to be an excellent investment.”
- More Sellers Than Buyers? – “Would your buyer’s who backed away reconsider their decision? The other three offers that were declared Sunday evening have decided not to go forward.”
- Maple Ridge – Renter Comes Out Ahead Of Buyer/Seller Over 5 Years
- Froogle Scott – “Some interesting comments from our banker this morning. They’re wondering what might happen if prices go down 20 or 30 percent.”
- Excessively Indulgent Expensive Fast Food And Its Relationship To Asset Bubbles
- ‘Canadian Business’ Headline – “Prediction: The Canadian housing market will crash”
- “My niece and her boyfriend want to buy a house in East Van. They have been to several open houses. They are both lawyers so they probably could afford a house even at these prices.”
- Huffington Post Canada Headlines Vancouver RE: “Severely Unaffordable”
- “I left Vancouver in 2005. When I go back to visit, the conversation usually turns to RE with snooty relatives boasting about their $1M houses.”
- “Vancouver, this sounds pretty stressful to us. We have decided to leave you and move to Texas where my salary would be double and our living expenses would be less than half.”
- “Sold a 1940′s small house in Victoria in 2011 and took a year off to travel. Now in sunny Florida, where I could buy 4 similar houses for what we got for the Victoria place.”
- ‘The Province’ Runs Three “Avoiding Vancouver” Anecdotes
- Recreational Price Implosion – Okanagan; Whistler – 45% to 54%-Off
- Vancouver RE Thought Experiment: “Would You Buy This House For Half Price?”
- “Chatted with a gentleman in Langley yesterday who bought his townhome presale about 8 months ago for $400K. Now the developer is selling exact same units for about $350K.”
- Whitehorse Housing Crisis – “Apparently, the higher the number of people who own a home, the more others will want one of their own. No one wants to be the only person in town renting.”
- “They asked “How do I know it could go down 3%? In the long term real estate always goes up.” I was angry, and stammered “Fine, you are 72 right now so in the long run you will probably be in a geriatric home. The condo will be liquidated to pay medical bills. Get your cash out now and enjoy it rather than hanging on.”
- ‘Sell Your Property In China’ – “This postcard was in my mailbox yesterday. Lots of lucky red colouring.”
- Homeowner “Shocked But Pleased” At $1.86M Value Of His “Modest, Un-renovated, Ugly” Kerrisdale House – $940K (100%) Appreciation In 3 Years
- “My brother went to renew his mortgage. The guy asked him, “Do you want to open a HELOC to borrow against your equity?” He said, “No.” Dude was seriously surprised. I’m guessing few turn down that offer.”
- “I’m running out of patience with the bubble in the city. If it does not pop soon I’ll move on to another city or country.”
- House ‘A’ and House ‘B’
- UBC Housing Action Plan Forum – Proceedings Summary – “We have lost out on many hiring cases”
- Bank Of Canada – Warn Of Extreme Debt Levels, Yet Set Monetary Policy Such That “the ratio of household debt to income is projected to rise further.”
- “The nice lady at the bank told me that I really should be looking at a house as an investment since house prices always go up. I replied, well until they go down. She looked at me as if were from another planet and said well, not in Vancouver.”
- BMO – Left Hand Stop; Right Hand Go
- “40 years old, married with two young kids. Leaving for Victoria and a mortgage free life. Now I can focus on building a retirement portfolio and not having the bulk of my wealth tied up in my house.”
- Dr. Housing Bubble On Vancouver – “The median household income in Vancouver is $67,550 yet the average detached home price is above $1 million. That is simply madness and even makes the California housing bubble look modest in comparison.”
- Spot The Speculator #72 – “My colleague has been bragging about the price of his house for the past 4 years. On Friday, I told him we are passed the peak, and that I know of two families who sold in June and are proud of their timing. He turned white.”
- “A friend from Kelowna phoned me wanting to borrow some serious money ($50K). It is time for them to refinance their mortgage; Kelowna prices have collapsed since they bought 4 years ago; they paid $450k a house which is now worth $370k; to refinance at these new rates the bank said they have to bring up their equity to positive status.”
- Condo Sellers Are Already Losing Money – “Owner bought pre-construction for $525K. Building occupied 2008. Net rent is about $800/mth. Decides to sell over renting again. Listed for $399K.”
- “I know a contractor currently putting $800k into a house near UBC that will be listed in the spring. Sale price should be over $4 million. Big chunk o’ change.”
- Vancouver Offices Spammed By “Weird Foreclosure Faxes”

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