westcoastfella at RE Talks 22 Apr 2010 8:21 am -
“I now live in Toronto, although I do travel for work and get back to Vancouver every few months. One of the things that struck me when I moved to TO was the general lack of interest in all things real estate, compared to Vancouver. When you go out with friends, the topic of conversation never goes to RE unless someone is renovating, or in the process of actually moving. No one talks about the trend of the RE market, or what the moving 3 month average is for this area or that, or what the effect of a 50 basis point rise in rates will be to the average homeowner, etc. Quite simply, no one cares – most of my friends in TO own, a few rent. Those with mortgages all comfortably afford them, those that rent are happy renting and do so for their own reasons. And we all move on with our lives. A few of my friends know of this site [RE Talks] – I have passed the occasional quote to illuminate them on the manic mindset that exists for Vancouver real estate – and they are all shocked by how crazy people get about real estate in Vancouver. They simply don’t understand why one would get all worked up about something that you just live in. Then, when they realize how much homes are here and how far people were going into debt to get homes, they are shocked again, but at least understand why people are so passionate. When you’re that far in debt, it can can mess with you. I’ll say this for Vancouver real estate – you don’t realize how ridiculous the whole game is until you leave.”
