“Vancouver is nice. That’s it. It’s “nice”. I was sent here by my firm 6 months ago for a permanent transfer. My wife and I (we’re just under 30) are leaving. It’s just not nice enough.”
- RayRay at VREAA 1 Dec 2011 7:13pm
“Similar situation here … moved permanently but have started considering other options. Not asking for “free lunch” or “entitlements”, I will gladly pay for housing and a city premium, but YVR is off the charts. Have colleagues and friends with similar background in other cities and I can easily compare what value/cost you can get for your money.
People have completely lost perspective of the insane prices or what it takes to generate that kind of money. Prices are raised 100,000 – 200,000 without thought. Or crappy, expensive shoebox condos that would buy a house with acreage 30 mins. south are sold out. Insane, really.”
- Clipper at VREAA 1 Dec 2011 10:11pm
“I was in Seattle a couple of times last month. If you like city life and the west coast check it out. Nice houses in nice parts of town are half the cost of Vancouver or less. Hell, you can get a nice house in an inexpensive suburb for $250,000 easy. I’m seriously considering it as I could be mortgage free in my 40s if I go back to the States.”
- nobody you know at VREAA 1 Dec 2011 10:33pm
“People have completely lost perspective of the insane prices or what it takes to generate that kind of money.” (Amen)
RayRay, Clipper, nobodyyouknow -> How much would prices have to drop for you guys to consider staying? – vreaa
For the sake of discussion, let’s say I could not find a rental option to meet my needs in a neighborhood I’m willing to live in. Assuming I would stay and be trying to buy here, I would say I would need to see a 50% minimum decline for me to feel comfortable making a purchase.
Please note: this is my comfort line and NOT a comment on whether I expect this market to exhibit such a change.
Please also note: my upcoming bank robbery efforts may adjust this % value.
process: establish legality. then, perform robbery. this is how the pros do it. btw, commentary on the banking sector n/a to bank employees – some of whom are friends.
Now watch a bank get robbed here this weekend and me get in trouble.
Seems like a rhetorical question the answer of which fully explains the original post. Alternatively, you suck it up for 5 to 10 years and wait – but why would anyone subject their family to the stress and uncertainty. Life is too short. There’s just way too many affordable options elsewhere assuming you have transferable skills. Life goes on and the whole world doesn’t want to move to Vancouver. And it seems more and more so that many Vancouverites don’t want to live in Vancouver either.
Hey – prices *could* fall 50% by end of 2012.
Putting that aside – and on a personal level – “sucking it up” for a couple more years at least should be very do-able for me. And will continue to be do-able as long as I can find rental options that meet my (admittedly high and specific) standards. Renting really and truly doesn’t suck. My present efforts to explore ex Vancouver work options are a reflection on the possible reality of a future where I need 3+ bedrooms, can’t find an acceptable long-term rental, and prices haven’t begun substantially declining such that ownership is on my radar.
But why stay here? How about: because I’m from here and because I have family and many longstanding friendships all over this region and because I have several years of professional contacts and connections in this place? My spouse and I are both part of a collection of four generations that currently reside here, on top of which we both have found work here that pays well. We WILL absolutely leave if necessary, but for those of us who are long-standing locals in particular, let’s not pretend all these other things don’t carry significant weight.
I agree with these comments.
When I first came to Vancouver you paid a premium over other Canadian cities which I personally think is justified because I like Vancouver more than anywhere else I’ve seen in Canada.
However, now Vancouver is more expensive than almost anywhere else. In the world. Having spent time or lived in some truly great cities I just don’t think Vancouver is pretty enough to command these kind of prices. I am fully on-board with renting but finding appropriately located & sized rentals is not easy.
So I agree with RayRay et al., the housing situation is making me think of leaving.
P.S. If you feel the need to state you are “world class” or “the best place on earth”, don’t bother – you aren’t.
pure and vintage, dude.
bubbly approves this message.
“How much would prices have to drop for you guys to consider staying?” -vreaa
That’s a tough one. To clarify, I live in Victoria, which is only 3/4 as stupidly expensive as Vancouver. My wife and I are both dual citizens and have lived and worked in both countries. We have family in Victoria, Vancouver and Seattle. How we decide where to settle has less to do with being near in-laws or love of country and more with where we can do the best for our own little family and get the most value for our money.
Here in Vic, I can buy a 100 year old, 2bd 1 ba, 700 sq. ft. POS house that needs asbestos remediation in a neighbourhood I wouldn’t want my wife walking around after dark for $400,000. That same $400,000 in Seattle buys me a 5 year old, 4bd 2.5 ba, 2000 sq. ft. house in a very desirable neighbourhood with some of the best public schools in Washington state.
I lived in the States before, during and after the bubble. When that sucker burst it was ugly and has created a permanent underclass of bubble buyers. If that were to happen here it might make real estate less expensive but I’m not sure people are prepared for the inevitable economic and political fallout. The cheaper house prices will be a wafer-thin silver lining on an otherwise very dark storm cloud that will hang over this region for many years. I’d rather not live through that again.
To answer your question, I don’t think any price drop would get me to stay. Mind you, I’m in a different situation than most as the border is not an obstacle and we’ve got family all over, but I would still encourage those who don’t have US citizenship to explore their options and keep an open mind when considering where to settle.
I think chubster said it best the other day when he/she commented: “rain discount becomes premium as you cross border to bizzaro land”. I’m ready to leave bizarro land.
nobody,
I’m puzzled: if the border isn’t an obstacle, and family ties are not an obstacle, why stay in Victoria? Looking at houses, schools, incomes, taxes, and cost of living, don’t you see Seattle as a clearly better choice? Are you planning to move? Does the dark storm cloud currently hanging over Seattle deter you?
Hi Jeff. Yes, we do see Seattle as a better choice. This is a decision my wife and I have slowly come to over the last couple of months so right now we’re still trying to decide exactly which US city would be best. We’ve got it narrowed down to two or three but Seattle is probably the best choice.
We’ve got a few loose ends to tie up here but we’ll get there eventually. The economic situation in the States is not great right now but between my wife and I we’ve got a wide range of skills so we should be ok. And we won’t be moving right away so things will be a bit better when we finally head down. I look forward to living in a real city again!
For me all the area is overpriced by 50% that would be the correction to reconsider.