Vancouver homes at rock-bottom prices.

[slayer202]

prices are about half that for similar stuff in this NYC suburb and I thought that was really friggin high

 

[Eug]

Indy, You love it there, that's great. But the bottom line is it's not a very popular destination.

I personally would never move there unless someone paid me half-a-million $ a year or something. And even then, it'd be a tough sell.

The point being, you can't compare local pricing vs. pricing in a completely different city and have it actually mean anything. Normal pricing for Vancouver will simply be more expensive than Indianapolis, unless Indianapolis suddenly becomes the centre of huge new oil discovery, or if Vancouver falls into the ocean.

prices are about half that for similar stuff in this NYC suburb and I thought that was really friggin high

Those homes are right in the city of Vancouver. NYC is much more expensive (for good reason). Think of trying to buy a full-sized house with a private lot in Manhattan.

In some places in Manhattan, such an empty lot might be $20 million, without even being on the water.

 

[brianmanahan]

Those dumpy $700K homes would probably be $20K-$50K homes here.

exactly, my friend bought a house in ohio that looks about that size for 30$k. and it was brick.

 

[brianmanahan]

For the money I save living in Indy, I can travel anywhere in the world. Indy is a great city and the place I work is nationally (globally?) known and we hire from all over the nation and people love it here.

:thumbsup:

midwest is awesome

but its nice that most people born here dont think so, because then they all move toward the coasts and prices stay reasonable here :awe:

 

[JulesMaximus]

PHOTOS UPDATED: 30 Vancouver homes at rock-bottom prices, and they are not exactly prime or down town locations.

$689,000 after price drop.

I wouldn't pay $30k for that shit hole. I could see $689k if it was right on the strand in Redondo Beach but Vancouver? Fuck, I live in San Diego, CA and you could buy my house for half that.

 

[brianmanahan]

The point being, you can't compare local pricing vs. pricing in a completely different city and have it actually mean anything.

yes, you can - you can calculate what it will do to your ability to save money (for retirement or for other stuff you want to do/buy).

(income in market 1 - COL and taxes market 1) vs (income in market 2 - COL and taxes market 2) given a comparable standard of living

i could be making ~%50 more in california doing the type of job i do now, but would actually be able to save less money than i do in ohio if i wanted to live the same way

 

[JulesMaximus]

Photos: Vancouver's 10 priciest home listings

$15,800,000

You could buy a fricken mansion in Rancho Santa Fe for that.

http://www.realtor.com/realestatean...cho-Santa-Fe_CA_92091_M22408-77139?source=web

 

[Capt Caveman]

I'll stop bragging (and laughing at other housing markets) now.

What's there to brag about? If people really wanted to live there, housing prices would sky rocket but people don't compared to other places. You can also get nicer places for less money elsewhere.

I'd live in Vancouver in a heart beat, it's an amazing city. Indy? :biggrin:

 

[brianmanahan]

amazing city

no such thing

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Indy, You love it there, that's great. But the bottom line is it's not a very popular destination.

I personally would never move there unless someone paid me half-a-million $ a year or something. And even then, it'd be a tough sell.

Just curious, where do you live? Where have you traveled to in the world for a comparison?

The point being, you can't compare local pricing vs. pricing in a completely different city and have it actually mean anything. Normal pricing for Vancouver will simply be more expensive than Indianapolis, unless Indianapolis suddenly becomes the centre of huge new oil discovery, or if Vancouver falls into the ocean.

I understand the economics of house pricing. That still doesn't make a dumpy bungalow that is falling apart a good or wise purchase at $700K. Indianapolis is one of the faster growing metro areas and there is a reason why -- cost of living.

A friend and his wife lived in San Francisco and got fed up with the ridiculous housing prices and moved back. Likewise, we hired a new department head earlier this year and one of his stated reasons for taking the job was because of cost of living (he came from the FBI and was in the DC metro area). If money were absolutely no object, then yeah, I'd probably have several houses around the world. However, for most of us in the middle class or upper middle class, it is insane to spend millions on a small house.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

What's there to brag about? If people really wanted to live there, housing prices would sky rocket but people don't compared to other places. You can also get nicer places for less money elsewhere.

You're in one of those overpriced markets as well, so I'll take your opinion with a huge boulder of salt. I had a professor from MIT at my house for our last New Year's Eve party, and he was talking about the ridiculous house pricing in Boston and was extremely jealous of my place.

So let's see, what would I wish for? Paying $700K for a tiny, dumpy house so I can live in a "cool city" or half that for a house 20x better and with the money I save, travel anywhere I want including the "cool" cities. Not a hard choice since you spend most of your time in a house.

I'd live in Vancouver in a heart beat, it's an amazing city. Indy? :biggrin:

To each his own. Unlike most, I've traveled to several countries and several major cities and have a firm basis for comparison other than "Oh it is the midwest! Yuck!"

 

[Capt Caveman]

no such thing

And I bet you've never been to Vancouver.

 

[Capt Caveman]

You're in one of those overpriced markets as well, so I'll take your opinion with a huge boulder of salt. I had a professor from MIT at my house for our last New Year's Eve party, and he was talking about the ridiculous house pricing in Boston and was extremely jealous of my place.

So let's see, what would I wish for? Paying $700K for a tiny, dumpy house so I can live in a "cool city" or half that for a house 20x better and with the money I save, travel anywhere I want including the "cool" cities. Not a hard choice since you spend most of your time in a house.



To each his own. Unlike most, I've traveled to several countries and several major cities and have a firm basis for comparison other than "Oh it is the midwest! Yuck!"

Like I said, if people desired to live in Indy, prices would be higher. And there are nicer houses at lower prices in other areas but would a large population want to live there? No.

Thankfully, with all of the high tech, biotech, hospitals and schools here, prices have remained steady. I get asked almost monthly if I would rent out my place to a visting professor/doctor which makes it tempting to rent it out and buy/live in another property. So, yes it sucks living with the diversity, culture and employment opportunities that are available here.

I could also move outside of the city and get a lot more bang for my buck also. Are those houses that you posted in the city?

 

[Dirigible]

Midwest? Yuck!

 

[roofus100]

There is kind of an oceanic feel to that pic. Is the house on the waterfront?

Good Call. Take a look out the back yard. Pretty much private waterfront 5 minutes from downtown.

http://www.realtor.ca/PropertyPhotos.aspx?propertyID=12258244&PhotoNum=10

Back to lurking...and living in Vancouver.

 

[sandorski]

Until Foreigners stop pouring into the Market and until High Density Development stops, Prices for Single Homes in Vancouver will remain ridiculous. The West End of Vancouver, for eg, has one of the highest Population Densities in the world.

In Vancouver, the Middle Class doesn't buy Single Homes, they buy Condos. Some are High Rise, others are Low Rise(5ish Floors), some are Multi-Floor Attached Houses.

About the only exception to that are the Indian Extended Families who share the expense of Single Homes amongst numerous Adult Relatives(could be >10 individuals). Not only do they buy Single Homes, but often buy > 2 adjacent Homes/Properties, then rebuild all the Property into "Monster Homes".

All these factors will continue to make Single Homes seem ridiculously Priced in Vancouver. Even after a "Crash". There is simply too much Demand and too little Land to make a Single Home seem "reasonably priced" for most in this thread. Even in the Suburbs, Single Home Prices would seem unreasonable and there is a rapid increase in High Density Housing. There is simply too little Land Area within Commuting distance to make Single Homes "affordable" for all, even if all Agricultural Land was paved over and built up(which would be a stupid choice).

All the above will remain true until Vancouver ceases to be listed as one of the Top 10 Cities of the World. Something that will eventually happen I am sure, but it seems unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future.

 

[yllus]

I've been renting for almost ten years in Toronto now because of the incredible housing sale prices. I think our crash will probably resemble a long, slow decline over multiple years, and it'll only happen if a major recession gets set off or the government bans buying property by non-residents.

 

[Corporate Thug]

For the money I save living in Indy, I can travel anywhere in the world. Indy is a great city and the place I work is nationally (globally?) known and we hire from all over the nation and people love it here.

it's not about "traveling" abroad...it's about being happy in the city you chose to live on a day to day basis. I refuse to move to central CA to save $ knowing I'll be miserable but I get to take a few weeks out of the year and travel to somewhere I'll briefly be happy.

 

[Imp]

I've been renting for almost ten years in Toronto now because of the incredible housing sale prices. I think our crash will probably resemble a long, slow decline over multiple years, and it'll only happen if a major recession gets set off or the government bans buying property by non-residents.

Softening oil prices, softening economy in Canada, 163% average debt-income ratio, relatively low average savings, elimination of 5% or less (borrowed) down [edit: for properties over $1 million - 5% down intro'd in 1999), 25 (or 30?) year ammortizations.... Part way there?

Toronto and Vancouver will probably still be expensive in any event since they are the biggest, most popular cities in the country. But current prices are expensive to the point of idiocy.

 

[rommelrommel]

Vancouver will always stay high due to geography, ocean to the west, mountains to the north and east, USA to the south. I do think that it's incredibly overvalued still, especially the suburbs.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

it's not about "traveling" abroad...it's about being happy in the city you chose to live on a day to day basis. I refuse to move to central CA to save $ knowing I'll be miserable but I get to take a few weeks out of the year and travel to somewhere I'll briefly be happy.

It isn't about traveling abroad -- it is about living in a nice home, which I can easily do here. Living in one of those dilapidated homes would make me miserable. Im literally saving millions living here as opposed to a similar house in Vancouver.

 

[iCyborg]

Softening oil prices, softening economy in Canada, 163% average debt-income ratio, relatively low average savings, elimination of 5% or less (borrowed) down, 25 (or 30?) year ammortizations.... Part way there?

Toronto and Vancouver will probably still be expensive in any event since they are the biggest, most popular cities in the country. But current prices are expensive to the point of idiocy.

OK, you're the 2nd person to say the bolded in this thread, but I never heard about this in any news. I also checked on internet and there's no mention of this rule, e.g.:
http://www.soldwithscott.com/Ontario-Mortgage-Rules-Changes-July-9th-2012.html

Is it only Vancouver/B.C. specific rule or something? Even then, you shouldn't generalize to the whole Canada.

 

[natenut]

if you want to save a couple hundred grand you could always move to Vancouver's dirty american sister city, Vancouver Washington.

67,000 instead of 690,000

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2903-E-24th-St_Vancouver_WA_98661_M20717-64476

http://p.rdcpix.com/v01/la922f643-m0m.jpg

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Like I said, if people desired to live in Indy, prices would be higher. And there are nicer houses at lower prices in other areas but would a large population want to live there? No.

Thankfully, with all of the high tech, biotech, hospitals and schools here, prices have remained steady. I get asked almost monthly if I would rent out my place to a visting professor/doctor which makes it tempting to rent it out and buy/live in another property. So, yes it sucks living with the diversity, culture and employment opportunities that are available here.

Yeah, and I can hop on a plane and be in any of those cities for a weekend of "culture" and still have a far superior home and save money.

Most people spend most of their time at home and at work. I want a nice home that doesn't cost millions. I'm really trying to understand what the appeal is of living in a place where a dumpy shack is $700K, but I'm not getting it. If I wanted to spend that kind of money on a tiny home, it wouldn't be in the US or Canada. Don't get me wrong -- I LOVE the Bay Area (and the central cost near Monterey even more) for example, but I could never justify the cost of living. My friend was an engineer for Dolby and got fed up and moved back to the midwest because of the insane cost of living. The salary increases don't seem to make up for it, either.

I could also move outside of the city and get a lot more bang for my buck also. Are those houses that you posted in the city?

One is within Indianapolis city limits, the other is just outside in one of the fast-growing and expensive suburbs.

 

[brianmanahan]

living with the diversity, culture and employment opportunities

i suppose thats nice and all if you care about those things

but i dont really give a crap about the first two, lol

and any city area in the midwest has plenty of employment opportunities for what i do. got people from MN to PA contacting me all the time.