Excerpts from article and video: ‘Richmond home prices skyrocket’, CBC News, 6 Mar 2011 –
“The median price for a detached home in the Garden City is now hovering just above the $1-million mark, up from $885,000 just six months ago.
Patsy Hui, a Richmond real estate agent, said although it is “such a lovely place,” it’s not the inherent beauty of Richmond that’s driving prices: It’s the investors. “All kinds of people, but mostly people originated from mainland China,” Hui said. The prices may seem high to us, she added, but present a “Real deal… real deal from world point of view.” One home that sold last year for $1.2 million brought $1.73 million this year.
Ivan Krpan, who makes custom-built homes in Richmond, says more than 80 per cent of his clients are from mainland China and that most buy older houses and knock them down. He said the surge in demand has “Certainly pushed a lot of Richmondites out of Richmond” – “It became very attractive for them to make some extra money on the properties, on the values and move to the Valley, to White Rock and south Surrey. It has become too expensive for ordinary people that live and work in this community.”
We all know the metrics. Why not call the ‘investors’ what they are?: Speculators betting on higher.. much higher… prices. -vreaa