Province
There’s good news and bad news in the hot Greater Vancouver property market.
The good news is that the average home in Greater Vancouver costs $518,176, according to May figures provided by the Canadian Real Estate Board. It’s up nearly 24 per cent from a year ago. And it’s a sign of a sizzling economy, with low unemployment, high family income and strong public confidence that the good times are here to stay in British Columbia.
The bad news, at least for young couples and others looking for their first house, is that the price of the average home in Greater Vancouver is now $518,176. Even with a substantial downpayment, that’s a healthy chunk of change to have to finance through mortgage payments that keep rising in line with interest rates.
The bottom line: Greater Vancouver is the highest-value metro region in Canada and commands the highest house prices. If you want a cheaper home, go to Montreal, where the average price is $219,433, or to Toronto, with an average price of $365,537 — just $7,323 higher than in Calgary. The difference in prices, of course, reflects the current oil, gas and metals boom in B.C. and Alberta.
But as the stock market keeps reminding us, booms are often followed by busts — or at least sharp corrections.
And a day of reckoning may well come for those who have gone too deeply into debt to join the house-buying party.
As for those whose houses have soared in value, enjoy it while it lasts. It sure beats a depressed economy and falling or stagnant prices.
Just ask anyone who lived through the negative nineties in this province.
© The Vancouver Province 2006
