My answer most of the time is "I really don't have a clue" and the reason for this is that I am realistic and don't think that anyone really knows.
The strangest things have been happening to the market in the past 5 years and I think anyone who says they have it figured out is crazy. No one can really be certain of anything today, least of all in real estate!
To list off some of the events that have affected the real estate market and for that matter, mortgage rates here are the following:
- Fall 2008 - American sub-prime mortgage crisis hits with eventual US government bail out
- 2009 - Worldwide banks affected by US economy
- March 13, 2011 - Tsunami in Japan that put a country to it's knees and eventually brought a major immediate need for lumber (hello, British Columbia?) - our natural resources in need = job stability and therefore people start buying houses.
- 2011 - Asian buyers love Vancouver and send the house prices in certain neighborhoods upward.
- 2012 - Announcement that CMHC was getting close to hitting their cap for spending allowed by the Canadian Government, therefore seriously affecting their offerings to the banks.
Anyway, my thoughts are if you need a place to live, and you can afford the payments with a half decent lifestyle, then why not.
The one solid piece of advice that I do have is DO NOT over extend yourself just to get into a house. It is NOT worth your mental and physical health breakdown if things start to go sideways with real estate.
What are your thoughts on the Vancouver market? Do you think we are in a bubble or not?
It'll be really interesting to see what happens.
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