Quote:
Originally Posted by Blake
The whole 70% thing gets spun way out of context...
...The reality is, you can still buy condos in places like Langley and Maple Ridge for under $200,000 and anyone making about $35,000 can qualify for a mortgage on that - so there are plenty of housing options for those earning the average household income.
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Yes, it is taken out of context and misunderstood. There are (hopefully!) few residents in (greater) Vancouver shelling out more than 70% of their income on housing. What the "70% thing" refers to is a metric: how much of the median household income in the area would it take to be able to finance a median-value house in the area--assuming a certain percentage down, the inclusion of property taxes, and at prevailing interest rates? What it does give you is some indication of how far beyond the norm the Vancouver market is right now, even for Vancouver, which has historically had the highest prices in Canada.
The second part has me scratching my head, but also confirms that it isn't drug money, or foreigners, etc., that is fueling our bubble. It is the belief that somebody making the equivalent of $17-18/per hour is able to afford to buy something that costs $250,000! That's a price/yearly income of almost 6.