Looking for a house in BC (Fraser Valley) - Half a million for what???

[danny zubot]

Our concern here is that it's not going to crash for at least another 10 years, look at what happened after expo 86, and with the 2010 olympics, it's going to drive more people here - well, at least that's what investors see.

I think the investors are correct here. The 2010 Olympics will bring to the lower main land what Oil brought to Calgary. $$$$. Get in now at any expense and you will only make money by then. Corrections in the market happen anually here in Calgary but the market always increases, only the rate of increase changes. The same rules apply out there. Good Luck!

Danny

[Midknight]

My moto has always been Buy High, Sell low.

[woodcarver]

Good one Midnight
Just for interest and to add to the discussion, when I sold my house in England in 1982 and put the proceeds in the Bank in Canada I was getting 15/12 % interest on the deposit . In the next 18 mths mortgages reached as high as 20%. By the score people were walking away from their homes , unable to afford the increased payments.
Inflation was finally brought under control but house prices on the island did not recover substantially for over 10 years !! Wages also fell way behind , with for a long time zero increases and even reduced salaries.
Our memories tend to be short but it is only comparatively recently that we are experiencing more jobs than workers ( thank goodness ) and houses are rocketing up in price .
Hopefully our economists will continue to fine tune the economy to keep things stable and we will not return to the boom and bust scenario of a couple of decades ago.
I suppopse the best advise is not to reach too high !

Again good luck in making your choice , may the gods be with you ..........

...........................Dave.

[Johnny Reefer]

Speaking of more jobs/workers ratio......just wondering what people's thoughts are on the aging population and how this will affect housing prices. Will empty nesters want to sell the house for a condo? Will condo prices rise because of the demand? Will house prices fall because of supply?

Thanx much,

[EmilyB]

Ah yes, I still remember walking away from an 18% mortgage in the 80's...

[Justusfish]

Definitely look for a place that has an included rental suite. It's nice to have someone pay a portion of your mortgage. I bought a house in East Van five years ago for $289,000. It was a dump but I threw a fair bit of money at it and a lot of my own sweat and energy and now have a house that I couldn't afford to purchase with its new appraisal. The rental suite downstairs made all of this a viable option.

Plus when I go away, they look after my fish!!

[mark]

Not sure what it's like in the Valley, but might just have to go quick. The prices for the first 3 months this year in Edm have been going up 5% EACH month.