At my outlook conferences I stated for 4 years that we had two markets – the very rich and everyone else. 4 YEARS!

Now Bloomberg calls Vancouver: North America’s Costliest City and says that “Rich Chinese Take the Blame – more and more point fingers at Chinese money”driving prices.

Actually when Bloomberg puts it on its front page it may be over! Having said that the fact is that Vancouver’s EAST SIDE EVEN IS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN NEW YORK! It is getting crazy. East Vancouver detached house prices have rocketed up 24% in the past year and are now increasing, on average, by $20,000 to $30,000 a month.

To put this in perspective, the average residential appreciation in central New York City is -2.8% this year and the average price is US$1.2 million

New York is the richest, most powerful city in the world and has more than 8.5 million residents. East Vancouver has a median income of less than $60,000 and 310,000 residents.

So yes, but note, the increases are primarily in the single family home sector and condo prices in the Fraser Valley are actually down a bit.

Where will it end?

All bubbles eventually turn down.  Here are some warning signs:

  • Immigration to BC is down about 65% this year;
  • Mortgage regulations are becoming tighter;
  • Government will bring in foreign buyer taxes

Watch yourself … be careful out there.

For Hot Properties and detailed forecasts go to factsbyemail.com – this week’s special.