Vancouver homes: finally dropping the price?
According to new data released by the Real Estate Board of the Greater Vancouver area, the residential properties sold in September this year totaled 1516, 32% less than September of 2011.
Since the government eliminated the 30-year mortgage, buyer demand for housing has decreased. With real estate becoming less affordable and the demand curve shifting to the left, quantity demanded decreases, and hopefully price will drop too. I remember when my parents bought our first home here in 2007, and the housing prices were at an all-time high. At that time, there was a mortgage option of taking 40 years to pay it all back. My parents didn’t like that option, but it certainly brought many other homebuyers into the market, increasing the demand for housing and boosting up the price. And of course, many new (rich) immigrants also impacted the demand of housing. The cost of living here was starting to outweigh the benefits. Many locals who grew up here can’t afford to stay, possibly including future me. News that housing prices are at least starting to decrease brought a smile to my face.
Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2012/10/02/vancouver-housing-plunge.html
Image: http://kenstef.com/w=kenstef.com/_media/Images/sold-sign.jpg%20smaller.jpg
