Comments on: Vancouver Boasts The Most Expensive Downtown Core In North America

By: shotty

shotty — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 22:09:25 +0000

[quote comment="15742"]Is it really more expensive to live here than in Manhatten or San Fran? I don’t think so - not in absolute dollars and cents. Maybe as a percentage of dollars earned, or some other calculation.[/quote]
“most expensive downtown core” at an average of $577 per square foot. you have to keep in mind that vancouver also has the busiest downtown core in north america as far as developments go. we all know that brand new condos will sell for more than ones that have been around for decades.

By: elated

elated — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 20:13:38 +0000

Hamilton!

By: tiffanychantelle

tiffanychantelle — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 21:49:44 +0000

Pfft as if they don’t put a Winnipeg stat! We always get left out.

By: ShaunaO

ShaunaO — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 14:20:21 +0000

We just south of downtown Montreal (Atwater market area) and bought our town house 5 years ago and are about to sell it for 150 grand more than we paid and thats with minor renovations. Montreal island prices have indeed boomed!

By: pitt

pitt — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 12:16:49 +0000

i partied in golden a few times on avalanche control….nice place…but i think you can get closer in Roger’s Pass

By: So Tragedy

So Tragedy — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 21:45:07 +0000

Golden is pretty…

For the price I pay to rent a small apt in Vancouver, I could rent a whole house back in Winnipeg, and even then it’s slightly cheaper to rent the house.

By: bunster10

bunster10 — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 21:22:21 +0000

I think the unfortunate thing is that salaries don’t always follow the cost of living. Salaries might be slightly higher in those cities but I don’t think it’s in proportion with how much it actually costs to live in city A the same way as you might in city B.

By: mmaw

mmaw — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 17:59:07 +0000

And that’s based on interest rates as low as they are … bump the prime a percent or two, and those affordability percentages do the same.

We bought our Ottawa house before the craziness began six years ago and thought we splurged, but now the houses on our street go for almost twice as much.

A long commute isn’t just inconvenient; for someone who cares about the environment, it is prohibitive. Which means people who want to be environmentally responsible better be rich too.

My brother is a bike courier living in Toronto–he can only afford to rent a room in a house. He owned briefly after many years of saving but found it too expensive and sold a few years ago. It breaks his heart that he doesn’t have his own place when his young daughter visits him.

By: bunster10

bunster10 — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 16:41:33 +0000

Despite some of the moaning I hear around these parts, Montreal housing costs are still behind that of cities west of here. The cost of a home has gone up a bit in the past 5 years or so, but I think it will still be some time before it catches up with the other cities. Of course, depending on who’s in charge provincially, that might have an impact on real estate prices. ;-)

By: jimmyjones

jimmyjones — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 16:24:17 +0000

Is it really more expensive to live here than in Manhatten or San Fran? I don’t think so - not in absolute dollars and cents. Maybe as a percentage of dollars earned, or some other calculation.

By: SupaDawg

SupaDawg — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 15:28:41 +0000

Calgary is coming. We’re not far off from Vancouver at this point and we’ve now surpassed toronto. It’s actually sickening. We just had a condo developer sell units in the downtown core with some going for as much as 3million bucks.

By: Forkhead

Forkhead — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 11:48:54 +0000

I’m from Van but have been living in Paris for the past 5 years. Every summer I come home and I’m shocked at how much Vancouver has changed and priced me (and many others) out of housing. Paris has been great but its impossible to get ahead here, and apparently so is Vancouver these days. I’m moving back to Canada soon, but I ended up choosing Montreal for a variety of reasons, the winters not being one of them, but affordable housing was important.

By: dwf

dwf — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 07:45:15 +0000

I guess I’m glad that Toronto is moving slower, being that I grew up here and it’s where my heart will always be. I had considered a move to Vancouver for next year but between the class chasm opening up beneath it and the sheer cost of living there, I’m glad I decided against.

By: thirdhour

thirdhour — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 04:01:37 +0000

I spent last night sleeping in the back of my subaru in Golden, BC, coincidentally enough. What with white-water rafting on the Kickinghorse, an abundance of wildlife (bighorn sheep, deer, and black bears…and that’s just in the past 24 hours) and apparently an over-population of young horny males, what isn’t there to love?

By: J. Canuck

J. Canuck — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 03:05:24 +0000

*sigh*

There was a time I would have loved to live in Vancouver. At this rate, I would be happy to be able to just visit again.

On the real estate topic, does anyone else want to kick house flippers in the gozers?

By: 14giants

14giants — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 03:02:11 +0000

What’s funny is that when I was in New York last year, I remarked to my friends how similar the rents are to downtown Vancouver. The two cities are much more similar in that way than you might imagine. $1500-2500 for a small, tiny apartment (nay, broom closet) at the center of it all.

Of course, having been to New York and a few other major U.S. cities, I can see now why visitors to Vancouver marvel at how clean it is, even if Vancouverites themselves don’t always see it.

By: t c-dub

t c-dub — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 02:22:00 +0000

thats intense….is it really more expensive than say manhattan, new york!……im glad i live in new west close enough to downtown with out having to pay ridiculous sums of money that i dont have for a roof!

By: happypringle

happypringle — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 01:35:12 +0000

Boy, I complain about how expensive it is to live in Toronto and other much smaller places in Ontario. I guess I should never think about moving to Vancouver. ;)

By: shotty

shotty — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 00:38:02 +0000

the only part geography has has to do with this is the view. if you drive by SE FC right now you’ll see that they’re building up the creekside to make more room for developments. whats driving the prices sky high are offshore investors buying developments on “the ground floor” and selling the contracts when the building is near completion. average investor is making $50k before its even time to move in, and he’s saving on the gst.

By: Alsid Prime

Alsid Prime — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 00:05:16 +0000

I think this is largely a geographical issue. There’s only so much space in the downtown core. Water on two sides… a park on one… and sprawl to the east…. Maybe they should just bulldoze Stanley park and things will get cheaper with the extra room.

I think i heard somewhere that the owners of GM place would get be in the money if they leveled GM place and replaced it with high rise condo’s. What a strange irony.