The BC Real Estate Discussion Thread

[Guest]

On 5/27/2023 at 10:23 AM, Warhippy said:

This needs to be shouted out by every politician and put on paper.

 

He won't get my vote because I think he's a spineless politician but I like that someone is bringing this up.

I agree with you, for once  

[Guest]

On 5/27/2023 at 11:10 AM, Down by the River said:

Moved to Nanaimo from Port Moody. We have a 2,000 sq ft home, a nice backyard/frontyard, an unfinished two car garage that we turned into a family room/home gym. We aren't stressed about mortgage payments. 

 

We paid less than what we would have needed to pay for a 1,200 sq ft townhouse built in the 80s where you're paying $400 month to strata. 

 

If you can get out of the Mainland, do it. There are parks everywhere. Our dog is happy. Not being cooped up in a condo gives us things to do beyond just working from home. My only regret is not doing this sooner. 

Glad to hear it's worked out for you! 

 

Really wish I had the option, but I'm locked into my union job here and leaving here would mean giving up 7 years of seniority (that matters a lot) and benefits that accumulate with time.  How is the job market on the island for trades people?  

 

I'm currently looking into poly-amory so I can have 5 people split a house mortgage in Lower Mainland 

[Coconuts]

Nanaimo is nice to live in, maybe too nice as it draws folks from all over and makes it hard on locals. Yeah, I'm absolutely bitter but as a local it's been hard watching the housing market blow up over the last ten years or so. 

 

Why live on the mainland when you can sell, move, and buy up property with cash left over. I hate how it's become an easy investment for mainlanders, it squeezes out the locals.

[wiseupsucker]

On 5/27/2023 at 11:10 AM, Down by the River said:

Moved to Nanaimo from Port Moody. We have a 2,000 sq ft home, a nice backyard/frontyard, an unfinished two car garage that we turned into a family room/home gym. We aren't stressed about mortgage payments. 

 

We paid less than what we would have needed to pay for a 1,200 sq ft townhouse built in the 80s where you're paying $400 month to strata. 

 

If you can get out of the Mainland, do it. There are parks everywhere. Our dog is happy. Not being cooped up in a condo gives us things to do beyond just working from home. My only regret is not doing this sooner. 

Boy that would be great if we could all just leave our jobs and get one in the same Nanaimo and have the same luck you had. Reality dictates otherwise

[taxi]

On 5/29/2023 at 4:05 PM, Coconuts said:

Nanaimo is nice to live in, maybe too nice as it draws folks from all over and makes it hard on locals. Yeah, I'm absolutely bitter but as a local it's been hard watching the housing market blow up over the last ten years or so. 

 

Why live on the mainland when you can sell, move, and buy up property with cash left over. I hate how it's become an easy investment for mainlanders, it squeezes out the locals.

Exactly. The idea that there are just other places to live in BC and that if everyone moved out of Vancouver it would the housing crisis, is garbage. Assuming you can find a job in smaller city, when people move on mass to a small town/city the prices rise dramatically and someone else is getting pushed out. Look at Victoria and Kelowna. Both are totally unaffordable. Nanaimo is getting there and will be next.

[The Arrogant Worms]

On 5/28/2023 at 4:22 PM, VancouverHabitant said:

Glad to hear it's worked out for you! 

 

Really wish I had the option, but I'm locked into my union job here and leaving here would mean giving up 7 years of seniority (that matters a lot) and benefits that accumulate with time.  How is the job market on the island for trades people?  

 

I'm currently looking into poly-amory so I can have 5 people split a house mortgage in Lower Mainland 

Companies are dying for tradesmen here on the Island.  Which trade?

[bishopshodan]

1 hour ago, taxi said:

Exactly. The idea that there are just other places to live in BC and that if everyone moved out of Vancouver it would the housing crisis, is garbage. Assuming you can find a job in smaller city, when people move on mass to a small town/city the prices rise dramatically and someone else is getting pushed out. Look at Victoria and Kelowna. Both are totally unaffordable. Nanaimo is getting there and will be next.

It doesn't fix any general housing crisis but Nanaimo needs people. Lots of jobs. Also a good place to start a business as they are in need of serives for all the younger adults moving there. 

 

Still some housing that is available at a reasonable cost in the area. 

[bishopshodan]

23 minutes ago, The Arrogant Worms said:

Companies are dying for tradesmen here on the Island.  Which trade?

Yup.

We need everything. We are growing. 

 

This is one thing happening

https://nanaimonewsnow.com/2023/05/27/great-shot-in-the-arm-substantial-harmac-pacific-maintenance-work-jolts-nanaimo-economy/

[taxi]

1 hour ago, bishopshodan said:

It doesn't fix any general housing crisis but Nanaimo needs people. Lots of jobs. Also a good place to start a business as they are in need of serives for all the younger adults moving there. 

 

Still some housing that is available at a reasonable cost in the area. 

Nanaimo has lots of people already moving in. They don't really have the capacity for much more than a few 10s of thousand of people. There's some affordable housing available now, but how long does that last? We've seen the exact same thing already happen in Victoria and the Okanagan. 

[Nucklehead22]

Put our house on the market a week ago and sold it within 3 days

[Guest]

2 hours ago, The Arrogant Worms said:

Companies are dying for tradesmen here on the Island.  Which trade?

Electrician, but of the industrial variety. 

 

Just met someone local too, so I'm really locked in but it's not the end of the world. 

 

I barely scraped enough money to get a 1 bedroom apartment, but have no idea what the next step will be if we wanna live in a bigger place. 

[bishopshodan]

36 minutes ago, taxi said:

Nanaimo has lots of people already moving in. They don't really have the capacity for much more than a few 10s of thousand of people. There's some affordable housing available now, but how long does that last? We've seen the exact same thing already happen in Victoria and the Okanagan. 

I totally hear what you are saying and agree. The housing problem is everywhere. That said, Nanaimo has lots of new developments planned, though probably not enough. 

 

I would make the argument that mid Island is a very easy to commute. Quite a few surrounding areas. There are still many detached homes, if people want more than apts, in between Qualicum and South Naniamo for around 700+k.

[The Arrogant Worms]

1 hour ago, VancouverHabitant said:

Electrician, but of the industrial variety. 

 

Just met someone local too, so I'm really locked in but it's not the end of the world. 

 

I barely scraped enough money to get a 1 bedroom apartment, but have no idea what the next step will be if we wanna live in a bigger place. 

I am friends with an electrician I will ask him about that job market.

Edited May 31, 2023 by The Arrogant Worms

[Gurn]

Just got my property tax notice.

yikes!

up 71% yet the property value 'only' went up 39%.

 

Guess the rest is 'just' inflation.

[The Arrogant Worms]

22 minutes ago, Gurn said:

Just got my property tax notice.

yikes!

up 71% yet the property value 'only' went up 39%.

 

Guess the rest is 'just' inflation.

That is nuts.  I have never heard of that kind of increase.  I would call and ask if it's a mistake.

[The Arrogant Worms]

Just talked to my best friend.  They just sold their house in Duncan today.  Took 3 days.  Got the asking price $899,000.

[taxi]

21 hours ago, bishopshodan said:

I totally hear what you are saying and agree. The housing problem is everywhere. That said, Nanaimo has lots of new developments planned, though probably not enough. 

 

I would make the argument that mid Island is a very easy to commute. Quite a few surrounding areas. There are still many detached homes, if people want more than apts, in between Qualicum and South Naniamo for around 700+k.

Canada's population is growing by 1 million people per year, and that rate of growth is accelerating. A few housing developments in Nanaimo are going to do F-all to alleviate that stress. It's a myth that there are a bunch of great options for Canadians, and people are being too picky. There simply is not enough housing in Canada to accommodate it's level of population growth. 

 

How many more people could Nanaimo realistically accommodate right now before it too saw a major spike in prices? All the larger cities in BC are already bursting at the seems and the population of BC is growing by about 150,000 per year. 

 

Is Nanaimo even cheap anymore? Average price for a home in single detached home in Nanaimo was north of $1 million a year ago. It's dropped now to $837k (which isn't all that cheap), but any small pressure is likely to force things back up to $1 million again:

 

https://www.nanaimore.com/blog/nanaimo-february-2023-real-estate-market-report/

 

[Warhippy]

19 minutes ago, taxi said:

Canada's population is growing by 1 million people per year, and that rate of growth is accelerating. A few housing developments in Nanaimo are going to do F-all to alleviate that stress. It's a myth that there are a bunch of great options for Canadians, and people are being too picky. There simply is not enough housing in Canada to accommodate it's level of population growth. 

 

How many more people could Nanaimo realistically accommodate right now before it too saw a major spike in prices? All the larger cities in BC are already bursting at the seems and the population of BC is growing by about 150,000 per year. 

 

Is Nanaimo even cheap anymore? Average price for a home in single detached home in Nanaimo was north of $1 million a year ago. It's dropped now to $837k (which isn't all that cheap), but any small pressure is likely to force things back up to $1 million again:

 

https://www.nanaimore.com/blog/nanaimo-february-2023-real-estate-market-report/

 

True story.

 

I know of a few savvy people buying land in and around places like 100 Mike house, Williams Lake, salmo and the north Okanagan etc.  Acreages that are not ALR and just outside of towns that can be sub divided for development in the future.

 

They are buying 2-3 acres every few years on the cheap with the knowledge that at some point they will HAVE to be developed and will simply flip these plots of land for a 4x to 7x return.

 

Look it up, 2 acres in 100 mile house 5 years ago was about $60k.  Now it's approaching $160k or more.  

 

This. Is the long game style of investing that will set these people up for retirement sooner than later because at some point these cities will need these areas for development and they'll hold the best spots for it 

[bishopshodan]

31 minutes ago, taxi said:

Canada's population is growing by 1 million people per year, and that rate of growth is accelerating. A few housing developments in Nanaimo are going to do F-all to alleviate that stress. It's a myth that there are a bunch of great options for Canadians, and people are being too picky. There simply is not enough housing in Canada to accommodate it's level of population growth. 

 

How many more people could Nanaimo realistically accommodate right now before it too saw a major spike in prices? All the larger cities in BC are already bursting at the seems and the population of BC is growing by about 150,000 per year. 

 

Is Nanaimo even cheap anymore? Average price for a home in single detached home in Nanaimo was north of $1 million a year ago. It's dropped now to $837k (which isn't all that cheap), but any small pressure is likely to force things back up to $1 million again:

 

https://www.nanaimore.com/blog/nanaimo-february-2023-real-estate-market-report/

 

Yeah.

Already stated that there is housing issues in the post you quoted. I pointed out the mid island is a pretty easy ( and beautiful) commute if one was to decide not to live in Nanaimo proper. 

 

Also, i'm kinda hinting at the fact that the Island is great place for investment. We are starting to boom. One of the best places on earth. 

 

 

[Warhippy]

So hey.  Guys.  Wanna hear some funny math?

 

The largest bulk or swath of home purchases in Canada in recent memory came in 2018 and 2019.  We are now at the tail end of the first year since the largest series of rate increases in over a decade or more.  

 

The volume of "home investors" that purchased in the last decade; specifically the last 4-5 years or so who will have to renew this or next year with their rates going from effectively 0 to whatever the current rate will be when they walk in averaging between 5.5% to 6.4% or possibly more.  

 

These are people who will see their investment property mortgages increase by anywhere from $500 to $1200 a month depending on what they owe and what size of down payment they purchased with (many of them ver very little due to purchasing before the stress tests)

 

Rent right now, RIGHT now is already unaffordable.  What do you think is going to happen when the next 16 months goes by and the people who purchased 4-5 years ago come in to renew their mortgages and need to find an additional $500-$1200 a month JUSt to keep holding on to these insanely overpriced investment properties they couldn't afford to begin with?

 

with the largest swath of home purchases happening between april and september.  and the largest volume of home sales happening in 2018/2019 you are about to see an insane level of increases that will not be affordable for a large portion of people.