“The Carnegie Community Action Project has created a map that shows how property values have increased in the Downtown Eastside. It also tracks the decline in low-cost housing options in the neighbourhood.”
– graphic from ‘Property values shoot up in Downtown Eastside’, Charlie Smith, Georgia Straight 5 Mar 2012. [hat-tip Aldus Huxtable.]
Vancouver Real Estate Anecdote Archive 
Not sure that either 1995 or the current setup is better. Both are/were bad. Ther needs to be a middle way.
Every institution in this delirious self proclaimed BPOE city is obsessed with RE. Does anything else count??
“Every institution in this delirious self proclaimed BPOE city is obsessed with RE. Does anything else count??”
this website is ample evidence of this fact.
This website is a product of the mania.
It needs no excuse to be preoccupied with RE.
Manhattan forced put their downtrodden in the ’90s. One wonders…
We really need to stop the Manhattan = CoV comparisons.
Concerning VREAA’s last post: Why is it I see the glorious BPOE refered to as a “resort town?” Where are the resorts? Where is the wonderful weather (either beautifully warm and sunny for the beach crowd or cold and snowy for the mountain/skiing crowd)? Where’s the incredible night life? WHERE ARE THE OUTLET MALLS? 🙂
Do people outside this place see it as a “resort town?” I don’t get it.
Does “podunk town” sound better ?
I actually think it does!!
My American relatives (who are well-travelled) don’t think too much of Vancouver. By that, I don’t mean that they don’t like it, I mean they don’t think about it too much. Does anybody outside of people who live here. They see it as quaint but in a horrific housing bubble. Been there, done that.
Good point, Gord.
Perhaps ‘Potemkin resort town’ would be more accurate.
.
Afterthought: In a mild way it does satisfy some requirements of a resort town. The views from the seawall or Kits Point on good days are spectacular. The idea of stopping off on the way to skiing in Whistler. The high end stores (every independent bookstore now a brand-name clothing or purse store). Fancy restaurants. Safe, of course. We can see the argument.
You mean a select part of the region is a “resort town”. The rest… if it is it’s exceptionally well disguised given the price levels.
Whistler is a resort town because it has a resort. Check out inventory up there. Resort goers seem to have lost their compasses if they’re buying in Vancouver and giving Whistler a miss.
Can we all agree on- ” Resort town, but read the fine print”
I mean, it is a nice place. Like I said, I love to visit. Great parks. Fun stuff to do. Lots of good restaurants. Etc.
But, when we lived in California, for example, I would tell people that we had moved there from Vancouver. They inevitably thought that I was referring to the city in Washington. Only a few had a clue that there was a (bigger) city by that name just up the coast a bit.
“I would tell people that we had moved there from Vancouver. They inevitably thought that I was referring to the city in Washington. Only a few had a clue that there was a (bigger) city by that name just up the coast a bit”.
nobody can accuse Americans of being worldly or educated.
If they don’t know where Vancouver is it’s more a reflection of their ignorance than the status of this city.
@F1 — “nobody can accuse Americans of being worldly or educated.” No, I’m sure none of them are educated. At all. There are no schools there. And no universities. You’re so right — absolutely nobody in that country of 330 million is educated!
Or — WORSE! — knows where Vancouver is!
What a wonderful education you must have had yourself, F1. I guess that perhaps there were a few lapses here and there, or you’d know that your use of the word “worldly” is probably not the use you intended.
But otherwise, your knowledge, wisdom and devotion to the truth show up so readily in all your posts.
“Nobody can accuse Amercians of being wordly or educated?” I don’t have the time or frankly the desire to scribble out a full-blown response, but suffice to say that’s one of the most asinine BPOE-esque observations I’ve ever heard. Not unexpected though, huh, F1?
I will say this: If I lived in San Diego or one of any number of coastal towns in California alone, I’d have a very, very hard time recongnizing Vancouver, BC as anything other than an unappealing northerly outpost. Kinda like rainy, gloomy Seattle but with more expensive everything. And no Boeing or world-class tech industry, right?
And if I was *then* told a shack on the west side of this distant settlement would run me in excess of $2 or 3 mil, I’d say you’re a bold-faced liar.
I often hear these arguments against Vancouver from renters. Here’s what it sounds like to me…you sound like jilted lovers who’ve been kicked to the curb by Ms. Vancouver. You’re looking for reasons why you didn’t want to be with her in the first place – and that it’s your decision you’re no longer dating.
Do you remember the “frog in a well analogy” that I gave you. Ditto.
Sounds like you caught her on the rebound, f1. Hope it lasts…
Why do you think everyone on this site is and always has been a renter?
Guess again, Dr. Fraudula.
That’s not why I am here, formula1. I am here as a macro dude supporting the early warning system. I honestly care about people, and people, Doom is Nigh. There is no way to avoid what is coming. Get your accounts in good order. You are experiencing what is called a “bear rally.”
In my case, it *is* my decision I’m no longer “dating.”
F1, what’s the scoop, anyway? How do you justify this bizarro world? You a realtor? Scared-sh*tless owner? Troll?
Alternate interpretation: many here decided Ms Vancouver, while hot, is also unstable and bad news, and not the right one to commit to.
It’s like saying we’re jealous of how much fun drug users are having.
Maybe you like supporting shallow gold diggers.
Everyone here has chosen not to buy. And how old are we? This buyer is 14 years old.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2012/03/09/willow-tufano_n_1335347.html
Interesting map, however i dont consider gastown the downtown eastside and it seems as though thats where most of the gentrification has been happening. Although i feel for the residents of the dtes, its a poisonous neighbourhood and social housing should be built in different areas of vancouver/north shore. You dont build housing for recovering addicts on the most drug addicted street in the world…
It is funny that so many people on this site spend so much time denigrating Vancouver and talking up how great other places are – especially places in the US.
I can appreciate where they are coming from, Robert. I don’t think everyone really dislikes the city so much as they are just disgusted by how the housing casino ripped its heart out. It has turned into a one dimensional cartoon character where the only discussion is real estate anymore. All the fun has gone out of the city and living there has to feel like misery for anyone who got left out. No wonder the arts scene is dead and cultural venues are bankrupting or moving away. Small non-profits, arts and volunteer organizations just cannot compete with the demands of big money show. Besides, now that virtually everyone in town with a house is a paper millionaire they can all brag about the great stuff they saw while traveling abroad while counting their change for coffee back at home in good old Van..
Robert -> Yeah, it is remarkable.
I’d say that most on this site live in Vancouver and are attached to it in various ways. Many (most?) here still see their future in Vancouver. The mere fact we come to a site called ‘Vancouver’ RE selects for that.
But the mania has strained the credulity of many.
And travel and the web allow us to compare.
And human contentedness is very affected by what you could be getting elsewhere, and what the other guy is getting for similar outlay.
So, one consequence has been that Vancouver has been taken to task to ‘prove’ why it is worth what it is asking: and it comes up short.
Is Vancouver worthy of the denigration? Only at these prices. At these prices, we are pointing out that Vancouver is pretending to be something that it is not.
At 66%-off, it would be fairly easy to argue that it was fairly priced for what it is.
The wind has to come out of the bubble in more ways than one.
@Robert
There are better places in then US. Many, as I I’m there now. I lived in BC for 30 years. I know what Im talking about, allot of people don’t like Vancouver in the slightest.Im one of them.
Why Canadians always bash the US is beyond me it’s constant, and really weird. Americans don’t bash Canada in the slightest.I’m down here and they don’t talk about Canada let alone bash it.More Canadian Inferiority complex…. always trying to prove something to the yanks or out do them.And guess what Americans Just don’t care…. they are too busy going about their lives….
Well, when experts tells everyone to …
… consider moving to another city if you can’t afford it here …
… diminish expectations and accept higher costs …
… get used to less space for more money ….
… get used to astronomic high RE prices …
… accept new taxes, fees, etc. …
… forget about having grown here and all your family and friends connections …
… get creative if you want RE, get used to less …
or that:
… everyone wants to move here, so better buy or be priced out forever …
… problems of affordability,etc. need not to be addressed, but get used to it …
… maybe this city isn’t for you …
… it doesn’t matter if previous generations could all live and afford Vancouver …
… prices are cheap or the norm as in other first class cities …
all because:
.. it is becoming a first class city
… it is a first class city
… it is now Vanhattan
So, the counterargument becomes:
What if Van is not first class, then what justifies the high cost of RE and high cost of living ?
Van has many good things going for it … it’s only that has been over hyped way way too much and not for good reasons. If only the city would be just what it is … it would be enough.
@Ed, you wrote “Why Canadians always bash the US is beyond me it’s constant, and really weird. Americans don’t bash Canada in the slightest.”
Exactly my experience, and I spent many years in the U.S.
@Vreaa Host, you wrote “So, one consequence has been that Vancouver has been taken to task to ‘prove’ why it is worth what it is asking: and it comes up short.”
Yes, to me it seems that the hype is counterproductive in that it doesn’t encourage denizens to strive to ameliorate what is wrong here.
THE SERVANT’S OF HOPE SOCIETY
The Servants of Hope is a non profit charity that has been helping the people of Vancouver’s downtown east side for the past 6 years. Alongside hot meals and warm coats they serve up a sense of hope and a chance at a new life. Below is a video link from Christmas 2012 over one hundred people came together to feed the homeless and do outreach we served over one thousand people that night The majority of the people involved with helping this cause had a history of substance abuse and a high percentage of those people came from the Downtown East side