The New Reality of Buying a Strata Property in Vancouver

The reality of buying real estate in Vancouver has changed over the past couple of years. The perception in Vancouver for the past 10 or so years has been that you are going to make money on anything to do with real estate, whether pre-sale or resale.

In most cities in the world, people haven’t been “trading up” every few years. Historically purchasers would buy a property and keep it long term. In Vancouver, that changed when real estate started to appreciate rapidly and our city saw an abundance of smaller homes become available (bachelor pads and one bedrooms), with the big push for densification.

It used to be that you would make money on real estate twofold. Not only were you reducing your debt by paying down your mortgage, but you were also seeing a substantial increase in the value of your property.

These days, some sellers can’t quite wrap their head around that what they paid for their property two years ago, is what they are selling it for now. In fact, with transaction and moving costs, they aren’t recognizing the profits that they have grown accustomed to.

If you are looking at purchasing a strata property now, your goal should be to hold onto it for 3 to 5 years, more if possible. If this is the difference between stretching yourself a bit now in order to acquire a home that will suit your needs for a longer period of time, it can mean the difference between realizing a profit or not.

Buying a strata property now is still a winning proposition in terms of building your equity by paying down your mortgage.

Just remember to think long term. Gone are the days of the fast flip for profit.