“I rent a house in Kits and the houses to my direct left and right sold the same week in July, both OVER asking. So, I’m not sure that Kits is dead, just yet. The house to my right sold $500K over asking and the house to my left sold just over asking at $2M. They bought that house in 2006 for $700K, so not a bad profit in 5 years. They plan to rent and buy back in after the correction. The family that made $500K on their house are renting the house back from the mainland Chinese purchaser for the next year and are basically flippers and looking for their next Kits project. They bought the house in 2009, so a tidy $500K profit in less than 2 years isn’t bad either. I’m just a sucker with a really high paying job that can’t afford squat in this town. …
I am seriously banking on a correction in Vancouver next year. I have noticed in the last several months that house prices are slowly coming down (barely) or at least stagnating and definitely selling under asking in the burbs (I almost bought my dream house, but kept strong!). I do now notice that houses are being pulled off the market and there isn’t much selection these days. Lots of crap on the market. I’m hoping this is just seasonal and that next spring will show plenty of inventory at reduced prices. The Vancouver market seems to be resilient for the time being. Very frustrating to say the least. My BIL bought his house last year in Burnaby and tells me that it is now worth $300K more. Seriously, what is the point in actually working for a living in Vancouver?”
– chris at greaterfool.ca 20 Nov 2011 at 9:16 pm