shutterbug

I doubt anyone in Vancouver and in bby can find a average size house for 300k cdn?

LOL...for 300k you can't even buy a decent 2 bedroom condo here...

And 300k for a house, you're looking at maybe Sunshine Coast, Prince George, etc....LOL

Sometimes I question myself if Vancouver is really worth the living cost!!!  Yes, it's a very nice city, but I think there are major political views that will get us in trouble in the long run, in addition to the insane affordability.  Even with high health care cost in US, I think they're more "wealthy" than we are!

shutterbug

18k to 800k in 40 years isn't that much...10% compound interest anually from 18k to 800k is possible.  However, half of the current housing price was added in the last 4 years or so.  To bring 400k from 18k in 36 yrs you need about 9% return, but if you want to double your principal in 4 yrs, you need about 19% return each year.

So average of 9% vs 19%, you get the idea of how crazy the housing market is.

shutterbug

原帖由 Traum 於 2008-5-15 14:08 發表

Dont' calculate it like that la, ShutterBug. You need to factor in your living cost as well ga mah. If you didn't plunge the cash down for the house 40 years ago, where are you gonna live, and how mu ...

AFAIK, saving up for a down payment 40 yrs ago is easier than it is in Vancouver now.

shutterbug

Even with 100k income, unless you have a substantial amount of down payment, owning a house here is still impossible.  Each 100k mortgage for 20 or so years is about $700 per month, a house here now is around 800k, you can do the math.

I think most of you are still young...think when you want to start a family and have kids!  

shutterbug

Do a search on mls.ca la...you can hardly HARDLY find a house that's 500K or under and ONLY 30-40 yrs old!!!

The search came out with 7 listings, one of them is a "floating house", one is a 7xx sq ft 54 yrs old house, two are 99 yrs old 1500 sq ft houses, one is 95x sq ft 65 yrs old, one is OK 1600 sq ft  25 yrs old, last one is OK as well 1700 sq ft 45 yrs old.  According to your requirements, you can either live in the floating house, or the 7xx sq ft house, or your last choice but best looking one, which is the 1600 sq ft 25 yrs old house.  So for an average person, you only have one choice!

$2800 for mortgage alone and only with 5k per month take home is pretty crazy...in addition to mortgage, there are tons of bills you need to pay...prop tax, hydro, gas, repair/maint, insurance, phone, internet, etc...those can easily add up close to 1k for a small place.  So each month you're only left with 1200 bucks!  Great!  If you own a car (not lease or finance), then add approx $500 per month for insurance, gas, depreciation, repairs...and you're left with 700 bucks!  Minus all the cost of living like food, clothing, entertainment, etc...you could be in debt!!!  And don't forget you're in a very high salary range amongst the entire population in Vancouver

like choit said, people in US are wealthier than we are even with the high cost of health care because most companies provide health insurance.  200/month for insurance with extend health care is a good deal!  I pay almost that amount too here with my company benefits but I make less than people in the US and cost of living is much higher!

shutterbug

I had a collegue who worked in Iraq/Iran doing military stuff before.  He was from TW and he worked there as an engineer for a few years...he said it's not worth it because he has to "wear grass" from time to time because the enemies would track you down!  So, no free lunch la...

shutterbug

To Shutterbug,

For the housing investment calculation. That is assume you don’t have 18,000 back then, you just have the down payment.  Suppose there is a 40 years mortgage (not in real life). You mortgage the whole proceed with 9%, you pay approx. $140 a month for 40 years. You got to live in the house for 40 years.  By the end of the 40 years, you still can sell the house for 800,000.  I myself will be happy if I can get 400,000 for it.  

What I was trying to say is that 18k to 800k isn't that much in 40 yrs jei, don't get thrown off by the increase, the amount of time invovled in critical...$140 per month @9% for 40 yrs yields 618k already la...what I mean is that stock and real estate both have it's pros and cons as a tool of investment.  Performance-wise, stock wins, leverage-wise, real estate wins.

shutterbug

原帖由 SAZABI 於 2008-5-16 12:48 發表
yeah... i just want to clarify some 'myth' that the general public has some mis-interpretation on earthquake.  I mean, if the earthquake gets up to 8.0, a lot of us will die anyways whether we live in ...

I think the difference is that if Rmd does liquify and wipes out then the chances of dying there is extremely high compared to Vancouver where the chance for survival is much higher at least...

shutterbug

原帖由 Ultraman 於 2008-5-16 12:59 發表
Most first home buyers tends to be very picky to purchase their first homes. However, it's always wiser to buy the first home in a reasonable satisfaction instead of an ideal one. If you can't afford  ...

Have you read this?

http://www.canada.com/vancouvers ... 2-8797-1ce759871cf1

"Detached houses were the least affordable option on the RBC index. The average two-storey house in Metro Vancouver carried a $619,892 price tag, requiring 75 per cent of the region's median pre-tax household income of $60,000 to make the mortgage payments and pay taxes and other ownership costs."

This was back in 2007. So 1/3 income ratio does not work in Van anymore

shutterbug

原帖由 Ultraman 於 2008-5-16 14:51 發表

How if the house price keep raising a lot more than your salary, would you pay 8/10 of your total income for the mortgage? Doctors say people need at least 8 cups of water everyday, but if you're not ...

I don't get what you're trying to say...

I'm not saying one has to put 75% of income into mortgage.  I was trying to show how low is our affordability right now.  An average family needs to give up 75% of income for owning an average house!

[ 本帖最後由 shutterbug 於 2008-5-16 15:43 編輯 ]