"I put on my Vancouver real-estate price calculator and made a guess… I had guessed over 10 times too much."

A great story regarding the slow and steady desensitization we in Vancouver have experienced, over 6-8 years, regarding price levels that, to almost any outside observer, make absolutely no sense. -vreaa

Billy Bob at greaterfool.ca 15 Feb 2011 4:46am -
“I had an ”oh-my-gosh” moment when I realized just how big and dangerous this real estate bubble is here in Vancouver. It happened last summer.
I was riding my bike in a beautiful suburb south of Seattle. I would have guessed that I was in West Vancouver, with sleepy windy streets hugging the sunny shoreline. The birds were singing in the mature trees. BMWs and Porsches populated the the driveways of classy houses.
I took note of two properties for sale. One was a small high-bank waterfront building lot while the other was a quaint well-maintained older home bordering a small nicely-landscaped ocean-front park with a lighthouse. Both properties enjoyed stunning views.
I thought to myself, ”Wow. I would love to live here. It’s just gorgeous. But I’d never be able to afford it.” I put on my Vancouver real-estate price calculator and made a guess… For the waterfront building lot in a West Van like location, say, $1M -$2M? Not sure. For the little house adjacent to a picture postcard lighthouse park and steps from a stunning pebble beach, say, $1M-$1.5M?
Later in the day, I looked them up on the Internet. The asking prices? $50K and $120K, respectively. I had guessed over 10 times too much. When I showed my wife her immediate response was, ”Oh, that can’t be right.” But it was right.
That’s what Vancouver real-estate insanity does to you over time. You start thinking that $750K is a pretty good deal for a tear down starter house in the suburbs. It takes a dose of reality to make you realize just how wrong Vancouver prices are and how far Vancouver has to fall. That applies to all of Canada, for that matter.”