Happy Saturday. Hope you enjoy this video on the steps to financial success and how there’s never a better time to start than today.
Happy Saturday. Hope you enjoy this video on the steps to financial success and how there’s never a better time to start than today.
Time for another update on the current rental market in Downtown Vancouver. Also it’s now official the NDP has removed all rental restrictions on BC condos as well as age restrictions.
Just built and pre-sale luxury condos in Downtown Vancouver are a difficult sale right now. Inventory is growing and prices are continuing to slide. Many of these buyers are going to be looking at substantial losses on these units when they finally do sell. The main culprit is the massive spike we have seen in borrowing costs. Many of these homes were bought with the expectation they could be flipped at a profit. In other situations the sellers' plans have changed and now need to sell. Some of these new strata have as many as 60 listings and the developers still have units for sale as well. Some sellers are doing large reductions in hopes of cutting in front of the competing units to get them sold.
Creating wealth and financial security takes time and there are no shortcuts. The power of compounding will take you there but you're not going to notice much in the early years. Just let your investments run and keep compounding or as Warren Buffett calls it "The Snowball".
A few tips and the steps on buying your first condo. Including budget, location, and the strata corp you are buying into.
We are currently in the fastest and most aggressive mortgage rate increases in Canadian history. Last year at this time I had a variable rate mortgage around 1.8%, today’s it's at 5%. How much higher will it go and what will be its impact on the Vancouver market? I will also follow up on the NDP’s plan to remove the rental restrictions on older strata and how it’s going to remove the last advantage 1st time buyers and young families still had.
In the short term I have no idea, we’re all taking guesses at it. In the long term which is all that really matters to me as a homeowner and investor prices will continue to rise at a slow but steady pace. Mixed in will be spikes of 10-15% in a 1 year period followed by a few flat years and a few down years. It will be a mixed bag, like it always has been in the Vancouver market. Make no mistake over the next 10-15-20+ years prices will be higher and in some cases much higher than they are today. In this video i will give the catalyst for higher prices over the next decade.
Inventory on good quality Vancouver condos as well as entry level detached homes remains low. What I’m finding is that unless the seller has a gun to their head and needs to sell fast, they are staying patient. Perhaps they are doing a few small reductions and if that doesn't work they are taking it off the market and waiting for a better time. Keep in mind that most Vancouver home owners are well covered financially, they have bought using high down-payments and many have a relatively low debt to value ratio...
People look for the quick and easy way to creating wealth, but what most don’t realize is the chances of that happening are almost zero. You might get lucky for a few years and create some nice gains but eventually it will all come crashing down. Instead you should take the advice of some of the worlds greatest investors. Index invest via low cost index funds ( ETF’s) or perhaps buy and hold high quality dividend aristocrats. Keep your commissions and friction costs low and stick with the program thru good years and bad.
Update: Our useless Mayor I elude to at the beginning has now been removed. Hopefully our new Mayor will take a look at these micro units and start approving them for Downtown Vancouver soon. I’m a big fan of these 200-300sq ft micro units. The design and finishings are fantastic and they provide an excellent entry price point for first time buyers.