When buying real estate in Vancouver it is important to remember that along a large enough timeline, all real estate goes up in value.
Many buyers get too caught up in the short game. They are influenced by the media and the market watchers without thinking of the big picture: Your family needs a place to live. You are not going to reselling any time soon. In fact, there is even a small chance your kids might be living in the same home you buy today. Let’s hope not but it’s possible!
Worry less about the minor ebbs and flows and think more about what it is you actually want.
When a house is thought of like a home, as opposed to an asset, it’s a long, long, long, long term investment.
Let’s face it. Most people don’t buy a house to make money; they buy a home to have a nice place to raise their family. Fortunately in Vancouver we usually make a lot of money on real estate but as a result we have become obsessed with the investment side and are missing the fact that you need a home and it is hard NOT to make money so worrying about that to the point of paralysis can result in shooting oneself in the foot and missing opportunities to have a good place to live.
Keeping that thinking in mind, it just comes down to the sacrifices you make while you wait: The rental suites, fixer-uppers that turn into home reno nightmares, and the uncertainty of not having a community to call your own.
Here’s a hypothetical situation. Say you are sitting in the weeds waiting for the market to drop 5%. You are living with a young family, say boy and girl toddlers. You know the area you’d like to live in. You know the schools you want them to attend. You have an ideal, but you are waiting, because everyone says that the market’s inflated. In the meantime, you’re somewhere you don’t want to be. And the days turn into years, you’re still waiting for a sale and your family’s displaced.
Put a price tag on your time. This waiting is costing you too.
Looking at a home realistically, the $50,000 you might save today will make little difference years from now when it comes time to sell. That difference will be made moot by inflation and a new standard of life. The difference in mortgage payments will be forgotten, but the inconvenience and insecurity of renting and waiting will take a bigger toll than that. AND right now the prices are lower than they may ever be again-the market is good for buyers on many fronts: selection, price and, most importantly mortgage rates. They say you live in the payment, not the price. So what you pay for your home as a total cost may not be as important as what you pay for it per month, ESPECIALLY when you can now lock in crazy low interest rates for 10 years. Being able to pay under 4% interest for the next ten years is amazing! When I bought my first home the rate was almost 14%...now that’s a payment that’s hard to live with regardless of the cost of the home!
If you know what you want - get it. Your family will thank you, and you will be amazed at how your life adjusts to a mortgage you once thought restrictive. I always feel a little bit sick when I upgrade my home…I lay awake at night thinking “Now you’ve done it-you will never be able to make those payments” but I do…without as any real pain. Things have a way of working themselves out.
If you are tired of playing the waiting game in a rental suite or a place that’s not quite right for your family, talk to me. People forget sometimes that buyers get free advice from realtors and given the nature of Vancouver real estate its great to have someone objective in your corner. I can start now, keeping you in mind I might find your dream home tomorrow, or I might find it next year when you’re finally ready, but it never hurts to have a scout on the ground - looking out for your interests….not just your agent, your ally!
