U.S. short sellers betting on Canadian housing crash: ‘An accident waiting to happen’

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/u-s-short-sellers-betting-on-canadian-housing-crash-an-accident-waiting-to-happen

This is why Happywoman36 is selling ALL her Canadian properties & running to US..he he

Vancouver & Toronto will be affordable again

Vancouver is in more deep than Toronto. Average house here: $650 to $800k (3000sq. ft to 5000), Distance from DT: 45-50 Kms.

hey FP,

how was your toronto trip?

Did you see any house when you were here. how did you find the housing market in GTA compare to GVA.

I checked some houses online in Surrey, the prices were in the same range as Mississauga.

Yes, the trip was great.

Didn't see any house, except the ones that my friends/family/cousins were staying. Really, not that bad if compare it with Vancouver.

One friend bought a 3 years old house in Mount Pleasant (Near Go Station) for $570k - 3 level and 4 BRs, double garage. Although, it was a bit smaller than Vancouver/Surrey standards, still quite good when looking at the price. For a similar house, you could be looking at $625k in Surrey/Langley. There are a couple of Semis here in Surrey that were built around 3-4 years ago and are selling for $600k.

Please note, Surrey is not Mississauga. I would rate Mississauga 100 times more than Surrey.

You guys have jobs in Toronto, man. Only after looking at the picture first hand in GTA, I could now safely say, Vancouver still has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to the jobs/industry. Now, I repent my decision to come back to Vancouver when I had a chance to permanently settle down in GTA 3 years ago. Anyhow!

So, unless you really have a health reasons to move to a moderate climatic city, stay where you are in GTA. To sum it all up.

GTA atleast has an economy of its own. Sure most jobs are NOT well paying but at least they make & manufacture & produce something . Vancouver doesn't really have much economy of its own, if NOT from the money coming from overseas from the Chinese.

This comment pretty much sums Vancouver :

Vancouver a special market for money launderers, drug dealers, bums and other assorted odious types.

What is so special about a market in a city with no economic base whatsoever to support the kinds of house prices that exist there?

I always get a laugh out of people who seem to think an influx of Chinese money, most of it dirty, as a linchpin of the real estate market is somehow a good thing or that a housing market with prices that the average person in that city cannot afford with the jobs they have is a good thing. Really??

The one thing that differentiates Vancouver from other real 'world-class cities' is that places like London, New York, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong etc. actually have economies that generate jobs and incomes needed to pay for all this.

What does Vancouver produce?

Baristas, buskers, waitresses and chambermaids to support an economy entirely driven by tourism and nothing else. None of which pay anything close to the income needed to buy a house there let alone go skiing in the morning and golfing in the afternoon. The lifestyle there is a joke reserved for the very few that can afford it.

That's true. However, there sure are high paying jobs here in Vancouver in High Tech sector, but as I said earlier, it's not as diverse as Toronto's.

I did a rough mortgage calculation and looks like moving to GTA just to save about 60-70k on the house doesn't make sense. Here's my calculation:

GTA:
Purchase Price: 570000
Down Payment: 50000
Term: 25 years
Interest Rate: 2.2 (Variable)

Monthly Payment: $2255

Now, add to it the increase cost of Insurance. From my experience in GTA 3 years ago, I would be paying $200/month extra for two Cars. In addition to it, I would have to ply to Go Train/Bus from Brampton. So, add another $100/month. If you add these extra expenses to the monthly home expense, it would cost me the same as the $650k house here in Metro Vancouver.

Surrey/Langley:
Purchase Price: 650000
Down Payment: 50000
Term: 25 years
Interest Rate: 2.2 (Variable)
Monthly Payment: $2601.

Toronto is still in my backpocket. God forbids, in case of layoff or job loss, and if I won't be able to find a high paying job here, I wouldn't hesitate to move to GTA again at the drop of the hat. Until then, it's all good here. Parents and kids are enjoying a great weather and moderate winters.