I have a hard time processing the rapid rise in real estate prices here in Edmonton. The average price in Edmonton this March was $ 398,000.00 up from $ 220,000.00 a year ago. The average condo price is $246,000.00. Houses in the 2000 sf. range are over $ 500,000. A nice house in a decent neighborhood is $ 800,000.00+.

Where the hell is this money coming from? How is a young couple starting out suppose to buy a home when a down payment on a $hithole house is $ 25,000.00.

What is really sad is so many people are sucking the equity out of their homes to buy toys. Our neighborhood is fully of Escalades, Hummers, Bimmers, Mercedes etc. and it is essentially a blue collar area. Boats, motorhomes, motorcycles are everywhere. God help these people when the market corrects. I have seen this before where there were sales signs on every house, car, boat and motorhome on a street.

Good time to have some spare cash, when this bursts. Lots of buying opportunities.

 

Come to LI!!! I am facing the same issues! Houses that need tons of work (80-100K US) shacks that are so small you need to go outside to change your mind go for 350-400K by me. I don't live in a ritzy nor crappy area. Just average middle class. I am trying to buy something but the prices are insane unless I move out on the island and give myself a 2hr commute each way which I refuse!!! 1 hr - 1.15min is my commute now and I refuse to extend it!

 

It is happening everywhere. Maybe not as bad as what you guys are experiencing but all in all, pricing is rising. In Mississauga/Toronto/GTA etc. the pricing has increased dearly as well.

I am shocked at your figures because I thought we had it bad.

Those people that bought a property about 4-5 years ago are getting returns of $100,000 and up.

Nowadays the margin is smaller as the price of housing is initially so high already.

 

My Wife's grandparents recently sold their home in SunnyVale, CA for $867,000. Considering it was originally built in 1951 and was only about 1100 sq ft. I find it crazy, but it was only on the market for 1 week.

 

Interesting post Mark. When I moved here I heard people talking about the differences between West and East. There you have big booms and then some busts making some things more volatile. Here things are more steady- but never very prosperous.

From what I've read recently the increases there are quite startling. It would be very depressing for someone in a first time house situation. They may be very pleased for a few years with continued increases but when the bubble burst it won't be pretty. IIRC wasn't the early 80's another boom/ bust out there. Some of the increase in toys may just be financed through the big money some are earning out there. I communicate periodically with people out there making big dollars for what would be lower dollars elsewhere(at least here), likely because of labour shortages. You would know better than I would .

I did some searching on prices and got a variety of answers depending on the source. The Canadian Real Estate Assoc. says Edmonton averages were Mar. 06 $220K and Mar 07 $325K. That's nearly a 50% increase. For comparison in Halifax we went from $197K to $210K or about 6.6% Average prices can be deceiving since they don't tell you what you will really pay for the type of house you are looking for. Here a 2000 sq ft home will run $350-400k and slightly less if you live on the outskirts on a big lot. 1200 sq ft starters are about 190-225K. Condos vary widely based on location but generally run 250k-400k. Overall location is a big factor in the prices here. Being in Halifax itself adds to these prices.

 

Was it near the ocean or lake or similiar? We are getting those type of situations here as well.

What may be happening is custom builders are buying the properties and then tearing down the "shacks" or "small house" and then rebuilding a new cutom home for their clients and charging about 2 Million for them.

This has been happening on Lakeshore, Burlington in Canada.

On this strip, the actual houses on those lots are in no way comparable to the housing of today and to pay $600,000 - $800,000 for the house is ridiculous. It is the land that they are paying a premium for.

 

Wow, that is not bad at all. Are these brand new home prices? Town house/semi/detach?

 

No, not at all. It was on a busier street. Home prices in the entire San Jose area are a little crazy. It about 45 mins South of San Francisco

 

Dam i should have invested there and watch my money grow

Congrats to your wife's grandparents. Excellent investment. A perfect example of real estate being a good investment.

 

No, I'm talking about 30-40 year old starter homes in Dartmouth or other communities outside Halifax. The same thing in Halifax would be another 50-75k Small new detached houses start about 250-275 k.

You should check Saint John where Canuck lives and prices are only 60% of here.

 

Yea, we heard the story of "we bought this house in 1952 for $16,000, which was consider really pricey back then."

Oh well,

I did really well after Hurricane Ivan hit Pensacola. I sold my destroyed home for the money I had invested in hit, plus I got to keep the insurance money.

 

interesting thread!

I am in the same situation... i just recently graduated from uni and i wanted to buy a townhouse in mississauga/toronto area and I cannot seem to find any resonable prices!
The current real estate prices are insane! The rich gets richer and poor gets more poorer....its sad but true


I just hope it all crashes really soon so i can buy a decent house! lol

 

Same thing here in WA. Very hard to find a decent sized house for a good price. 1500sqft new construction on a 5000sqft lot is $320k+

 

i dont know man but it aint looking any good. after house prices went down a bit they came back even crazier.
I was looking for houses this past weekend in SoCal (OC). man they're really ****ty man, you have the kitchen on second floor, you cant fit 2 chairs in the back yard, the kitchen is open to bed room with no walls whatsoever, im like WTF man!! and the prices are over a mil. WTF man.

 

You tell me how to do it ...

Does anyone else find it funny that a guy with an M5 is asking where does the money come from.