For those that were here for the party. It will not soon be forgotten. I am not sure any city ,ever, enjoyed the kind of energy, enthusiasm and patriotism that we witnessed. Millions of dollars it cost but also millions were spent by visitors. (Good luck trying to get a Canada hoodie now, Sold out in most locations). BUT WHAT HAPPENS NOW.Will these visitors pack up and move here?Invest here? create jobs here? I will be heading to various economic seminars that seek to predict how much of an Olympic effect we can expect. Here is the first installment.
March 2010
|The Olympic effect probably lies in its amenties.
The 2 week party is not likely to get the world to move here but what we will see are the effects of the amazing infrustructure we put in. Richmond now has the Canada line with a direct link to commute to Downtown, lets watch the property sales there ( however skytrain has also been called the crime line) The Sea to Sky highway is now a dream road to Squamish. I imagine soon people would rather spend an hour on that highway then on the no.1 from Langley.Squamish has been a buyers market for sometime with too much supply coming into the marketplace in 07/08. Perhaps we will see a slight shift to balancing that out in the next few years.
Immigration. 80% of migration into BC goes to Vancouver according to stats at BCREA. So that will continue to keep the market flowing.
Interest rates. They have no where to go but up from here. Slowly that variable rate and short term rates in general will have to come up. That will have to ripple down to stabilize prices as the affordability factor is at its upper limit now already.
Government Policy. I think it was a wise move to have all mortgage applicants as of APRIL 19th have to qualify for a 5 yr term when applying for a mortgage. This will protect all of us down the road, when interest rates do creep up. People wont be in positions they cant handle and have to panic sell!! and while that good for some who jump to take advantage of it. Its bad for the market in general. If you can boroow a million dollars at 3% and cover the payment, you may not be able to cover that when rates are 6%.
So, while I still see great buying opportunities out there daily, It is a great time to sell! Sell with a longer close or Sell with a subject to finding a home and you may just come out ahead. There are no indications of any crash coming but the trend will be for prices to come down a bit if rates go up. So far, the market is very active!