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[Qloos]

What does everyone think is going to happen?  Considering what happened in the US, there could be another, (possibly smaller) crash here.  At the very least, prices may equalize.  I've saved about 60k over the past 5 years and I'm going to wait until my mortgage payments go down to atleast 1000 a month before I buy.  So I'm looking at the prices dropping to around 200 000 when the average detached home in my region is 495 000.

[Renault]

Canada was never as afflicted by the mortgage-equity withdrawals that racked the US market since the 90s, and as a general rule has a very solid, conservative central bank. With employment on the slow increase, and the general stability of the canadian markets, I don't think anyone anticipates a crash per se; though regionally prices may fall at a moderate pace.

[Bouchart]

I think the far bigger problem is the Chinese housing market.

[Renault]

I'm a little unsure what that means. The problem for the Canadian housing market is the Chinese market, or just Chinese housing is a problem, or Chinese housing is in trouble?

[Bouchart]

The housing market in China is a disaster waiting to happen.  It might even be worse than the housing market here in the U.S. and it's sure to have global implications.

[Renault]

Which aspects are you referring to? You mean a real-estate bubble similar to the American? That was a fear back in 2007, but the central bank came down really hard on that. Last I heard, they were relaxing interest rates, trying to encourage the market. And aside from local booms--Shanghai probably most notable--I don't think China's real estate market is particularly volatile.

[Grakelin]

This thread is about Canada's housing market. Go talk about China in your own thread.

Honestly, if I changed the subject of the thread every time I didn't actually have knowledge of the debate at hand, this forum would be a very different place.

Also, go to Newfoundland while the going's still good.

[Qloos]

*compares prices on realtor.ca*
Yeah.  They seem about 25% cheaper than BC lower mainland area, (which is reportedly the most expensive location in Canada at the moment, dammit.)

[Retro]

They seem about 25% cheaper than BC lower mainland area, (which is reportedly the most expensive location in Canada at the moment, dammit.)

Yeah... As bad as I want to move out to BC, I'm really just not sure I could afford anything liveable there. I'm doing well enough for now on the east coast, anyway.

[Qloos]

I guess the only sensable thing to do is to keep saving money until I can afford a house in an area I want to live.  Putting away 12k a year aint bad.  It just means I'll have to continue this monk like lifestyle for the next 28 years.

Edit: *starts reading an "Affordable Housing Strategy.pdf" provided by his local community.

[Grakelin]

You don't have to pay it all up front. That's what mortgages are for. It's unrealistic to expect anybody on Earth to hang about for 28 years waiting to afford a house. Instead, we just rent them from the bank.

About Newfoundland: When my sister moved from Vancouver to Newfoundland, she and her husband purchased a large home for $60,000 in St. John's. They really did pay in cash, up front. Later, they bought a second house in the area for a similar price. Now that this talk of oil has started kicking up, the prices have changed.

[DJ]

It may be cheaper to build a house than to buy an existing one.

[Grakelin]

It is, if you have the necessary skills. If you need to hire a contractor in addition to all the work crews and an architect, etc. etc., it's going to be more expensive than it is worth.

[Sowelu]

My officemate is from Vancouver.  The houses they're trying to sell for $1,000,000 now are just insane.  Oh yeah, and suddenly nobody's buying them.  I give it a month before people realize what's going down and the whole thing starts to tank.  If I had a house I was trying to move, I'd do whatever it took to move it now.

But that's just me, and I know nothing of real real estate.

[Grakelin]

Have you been giving it a month for the past 5 years?