I get emails all the time with people asking me the age old
question..."from a pure investment standpoint what type of property will
give me the maximum or even best chance for appreciation over time?" In
my experience and based on historical statistics detached homes have
generally appreciated much better than condos over time. Nothing wrong
with buying a condo when you're first getting into the real estate
market, chances are your first few homes will be condo or townhouse
properties. It sure beats renting especially with these record low
interest rates. Condos can also be a simple lifestyle purchase... empty
nesters selling their detached home, downsizing and looking for a low
maintenance home in the heart of the city. Pure appreciation or
investment potential is simply not the top priority for these types of
buyers it's all about living in Coal Harbor or Yaletown and living the
Vancouver lifestyle. So, condos or other types of stratified properties
fill this need very nicely. When it comes to detached homes there is
little or no new land available in Vancouver or Richmond to build new
tracks of detached homes. For this simple reason they tend to outperform
condos by a fairly wide margin when it comes to appreciation and that
gap has been growing bigger in the past decade. If you can't afford a
detached home to start then by all means buy a condo. Build some equity
then upgrade to a bigger condo, again build some equity then move up to a
detached home as the final goal. It's called climbing the property
ladder. It will take some discipline and well thought out planning but
it can be done. And yes, even in the Lower Mainland.
This entry was posted on April 9th, 2012 by Owen Bigland | Posted in Video Blog