Is Vancouver Home Affordability Improving?

Slight drops in the amount banks are charging in interest have led to some improvement on the housing affordability front in the Vancouver market during the first month of 2014. However, whether those numbers remain consistent is questionable to say. least. Experts are giving locals and potential new residents their guide to the least expensive places for real estate in the city of Vancouver. Stakeholders would do well to pay close attention to what they have to say.

Vancouver has always been known for its ultra-expensive home prices, but even in 2014 there are specific areas of potential with less than extremely wealthy people. These areas are restricted to certain homes, buildings, and neighborhoods within the Vancouver metroplex. For example, downtown is considered the most expensive with 1-bedroom condos starting at over $ 200,000 at the low end. Of course, the further you go outside Vancouver, the less expensive homes and real estate will be. Vancouver’s suburbs are not negligible either, with fantastic schools and beautiful scenery, a pleasant life could be made in the surrounding cities of Vancouver.

Although prices experienced a slight decrease from last year in the same period, the figures are still extremely high compared to the rest of the country. Of course, any price drop is music to the ears of investors interested in the Vancouver property market. The idea of ​​improving affordability in Vancouver is a double-edged sword. It may be great news for first-time buyers, but terrible news for people using real estate as an investment. The hope is that prices in certain markets will drop over others to keep investors interested in the properties.

The numbers are still extremely high for Canadians when it comes to rent. For example, downtown, 1-bedroom apartments cost on the lower end, $ 1,385 compared to out-of-town a dramatic price cut to $ 989 for a 1-bedroom. Still expensive, but almost $ 400 cheaper a month. For families, the numbers are even more dramatic with the median home price hovering around $ 700,000 for a 2-bedroom detached home.

In reality, Vancouver will probably never go down in price and neither buyers nor sellers would like to see that. For now, it appears that Vancouverites are at the mercy of the markets and will remain so for quite some time.