“In about 1997 a good, intelligent friend said I’d be better off to rent because housing prices were too high and would probably come down.”

There are Vancouver RE bears who have been wrong for a long, long time. Many have friends who have done very well as owners.

This from realisticman at The Tyee 2 Dec 2009 -

“About twelve years ago a good, intelligent friend said I’d be better off to rent because housing prices were too high and would probably come down. He said, keep your money in the bank and earn the interest. I didn’t listen and bought. Risking all my savings and risking too that I could become horribly in debt, particularly if a crash came. Well it didn’t come and instead of earning almost nothing on cash because of low interest rates I now have a home and no matter if it’s worth a million or a hundred thousand I don’t care because this roof and this space is mine.”

“Me and my wife came to Canada [from China] with $3,000 10+ year ago.”

CAVEAT -The veracity of the following story has been doubted by some commenters at robchipman.net.

The fact that stories like this are either true, or are seen as true in the public imagination, is noteworthy. Many locals have purchased RE in Vancouver based on the idea that hard working Chinese immigrants will continue to support the RE market.

This from The Chinese at robchipman.net 26 Nov 2009 8:21 pm -

“Me and my wife came to Canada [from China] with $3,000 10+ year ago. We bought an apartment in 2000, and worked hard, and paid it off in 4 years. Then we bought a house in 2005, and again worked hard and paid it off a year ago (before we reach our 40s). The house has a market value around $1 million in today’s market. Now we bought another house in a much better neighborhood on the west side, with very good schools, so our kids can receive a good education. We are not alone, lots of people from China are in similar boat as us. This is a culture value real estate, willing to work hard, willing to live below the mean to invest for the future and their kids, and willing to take calculated risk, and sometimes enjoy gamble. Now, more Chinese are coming, bringing way more than $3,000 – and they all share the same culture…”

People Making Money From RE – “Hooray for Real Estate!” & “I sold all three of my downtown investment properties over the past three months.”

This story came to VREAA as an e-mail from pianoexcellence, a poster on the RE Talks BC discussion board -

“I cashed out of my PR and my Squamish condo. I sold the Squamish condo in May 2008 and my PR in June 2009. I made a lot of money and am thankful for the role that RE has played in my life as I am only 28. I threw all my gains on the Squamish condo at the TSX in Jan 2009 and have made a killing (after momentarily crapping my pants during the crash in Feb). I am waiting to put the rest of my equity from my PR into div stocks but am looking for a suitable entry point. Until then, it sits in GIC’s. There…ho0ray real estate!!!”

And this from MultipleOffer, also at RE Talks, on Wed Oct 28, 2009 11:01 am -

“I have ["sold high" and made a huge return on (my) investment]… this market was too good not to sell into, particularly after coming through such troubling times. I sold all three of my downtown investment properties over the past three months. I am holding onto one small older rental unit that breaks even with a good 5-year rate on it. Whether this was the right move or not for the market remains to be seen, but it was the right move for me and my family. We no longer have a mortgage on our PR which we can live quite comfortably in for many years to come. I am saving for a future downpayment, but waiting for a buyer’s market before re-entry.” And later added – “Unlike [pianoexcellence] I held onto my principal residence and an investment property, so I still have some exposure to the market, which is good if it goes up, and not a bother at all if the market falls. Rental cashflows and PR is paid off, with $ in the bank to pay off the rental property mortgage if I ever needed to. A crash would just be seen as a buying opportunity for me.”