People under estimate the impact that record low interest rates have on Vancouver home prices. It is by far the biggest driver on prices and the main reason our Vancouver market remains at record setting prices. I suggest you go to a website called www.calculator.net and see for yourself. The nice thing about this mortgage calculator is that it breaks down the Interest vs Principal payment every year for the full 25 years of the mortgage. With todays 2.3% for 4 yr term you are paying down more principal than interest right from year 1. Whereas 7 yrs ago in 2009 that rate was 6.5% which took you 15 years before you hit that crossover point. Run of the mill market corrections of 5 to 15% are very common in the Vancouver market and we tend to get one every 3 years or so (so we might be due for a small pullback). A correction of anything more than that is unlikely to happen until we get an increase in mortgage rates. When that will happen is anyone’s guess. In the meantime that 1 bedroom Yaletown condo priced at $550K is actually more affordable today than it was in 2009 priced at $425K. That’s the power of historic low rates.Go to calculator.net play with some numbers and see for yourself.