Cost Of Living In Vancouver British Columbia For 2020

If you've been looking at moving to Vancouver, you've undoubtedly heard about the cost of living here. People almost religiously discuss how expensive everything is in Vancouver - from housing to gas. Sadly, this has an effect of turning people away from this great city, even though the reality is a lot more complicated than that. Vancouver's reputation for high prices is at least partly unfair because much of it depends on what you are looking for in terms of housing and lifestyle.

To better understand the cost of living in Vancouver, let's take a look at some key metrics and see how they stack up against similar word-class cities (specifically, Toronto, Seattle, and San Francisco). In particular, we'll be looking at ten metrics:

·       Rental Prices

·       Housing Prices (buying to own)

·       Grocery Costs

·       Dining Costs (when you want to go out instead of eating in)

·       Utilities

·       Gas Prices

·       Median Income

·       Property Taxes

·       Sales Taxes

·       Childcare Costs

Rental Prices

Despite Vancouver's reputation for elevated housing prices, Vancouver rental prices are more affordable than some comparable markets. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Vancouver is $2,200 per month. For a two-bedroom apartment, that figure rises to $3,000 a month.

In the closest city by proximity, Seattle, a one-bedroom runs $1,900 US whereas a two-bedroom goes for about $2,500 US. In Toronto, those numbers are $2,300 and $2,850, respectively. And, of course, when compared with San Francisco, Vancouver looks cheap. There, rents are $3,690 US for a one-bedroom apartment and over $4,500 US for a two-bedroom unit.

So, while Vancouver is pricier than cheaper cities, it's certainly not the most expensive. Rent here is slightly less costly than in Toronto. When accounting for currency conversion, Vancouverites pay about the same as Seattleites. Vancouver looks like an absolute bargain to anyone in the Bay Area!

To summarize, when it comes to rents, we have high rents, but many, if not all, major metro areas have high rents. Our prices are not too bad in the big picture.

Housing Prices

There's no doubt that Vancouver has elevated housing prices. An infographic using late 2018 data showed that Vancouver had the second-highest home price in North America. San Francisco was the highest, Vancouver second, Seattle eighth, and Toronto took the eleventh spot.

However, this infographic is somewhat misleading. Vancouver has a significant price disparity between condos and houses. There's a relatively consistent supply of condominiums, which keeps prices slightly in check. According to Zolo, a Vancouver condo sells for $811,000, whereas a Toronto one sells for $655,000. More expensive, yes, but the average detached home in Toronto is $1.3 million, whereas a Vancouver one clocks in at almost double at $2.5 million.

Vancouver is more expensive, but if you're in the market for a condo, it's not that much pricier than Toronto. Additionally, if you're willing to commute, the prices drop substantially in the suburbs like Maple Ridge or Delta. And it's still more affordable than a place like San Francisco.

Grocery Costs

Groceries are a mixed-bag for Vancouverites. Residents of this city pay more for some groceries and less for others. For example, according to Numbeo, when compared with Toronto, Vancouverites save on milk and cheese but spend more on bread and rice. According to the same site, people living in Vancouver pay a similar grocery cost to those living in Seattle, except that while a Vancouver person might pay $0.83 for a banana, someone from Seattle will pay $0.83 US for that same banana. It can sometimes be cheaper to buy groceries in Vancouver as compared with US cities, after considering the currency differences. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Vancouver is pretty much always on par or less expensive than San Francisco.

Dining Costs

Dining out in Vancouver is not incredibly expensive when compared with other cities. According to Numbeo, for an inexpensive restaurant, a person here can expect to pay about $16. For mid-range place for two-people, that number rises to $80. These figures seem reasonable.

In Toronto, those numbers are $20 and $80, respectively. So while Toronto is a little more expensive, Vancouver's pretty much on par. For Seattle, Vancouverites pay about what Seattleites pay, just in Canadian dollars instead of US dollars. A person in Seattle will pay $15 US, but a person in Vancouver will pay $16 Canadian. Of course, continuing with the trend, San Franciscans pay more in US dollars than Vancouverites pay in Canadian.

Utilities

When it comes to utility costs, Vancouver's residents enjoy a break when compared with other large metro areas. Numbeo ranks utilities based off of how much a 915 square foot apartment should expect to pay. They estimate Vancouver residents would pay $90 per month versus Torontonians who would be looking at $138. Both of these figures are less than San Franciscans who pay $140 and Seattleites who pay $162 US per month.

Vancouver also enjoys relatively inexpensive electricity. A report by the Business Council of British Columbia showed that Vancouver's electricity costs were the lowest of all four metro areas at 11.42 cents/kWh on average. Toronto clocked in at 13.24 cents, Seattle at 15.02 cents, and San Francisco was a whopping 28 cents on average!

Gas Prices

Another thing that people love to discuss is the cost of gas here in BC. At approximately $1.50 per litre, Vancouverites have the highest price of gas in Canada. However, at $1.15 per litre, Toronto is not too far behind. At approximately $3.00 per gallon ($1.03 Canadian per litre) in Seattle, Washingtonians have the least high price overall. At roughly $4.00 per gallon ($1.37 Canadian per litre), people in San Francisco have it bad stateside.

While there is no doubt that gas prices are higher in Vancouver than in other places, they are not insanely high. If you're driving to and from work every day, gas prices out here won't break your bank too much more than living in other world-class cities like Toronto or San Francisco.

Median Income

Unfortunately, when it comes to median incomes, this is one area where Vancouver has some catching up. According to Statistics Canada, the median income for this city was $72,662 back in 2015, the latest year available. In Toronto, the average was $78,373.

For Seattle, the average income is $93,481 US, and for San Francisco, that number unsurprisingly rises to $112,376 US.

Of course, our southern friends need to deduct extra expenses like health insurance from those salaries. Still, there's no doubt that Vancouver and other Canadian cities have some work to do to catch up to wages in other large metropolitan areas.

Property Taxes

Vancouverites pay $2.56 per $1000 in value for property taxes. On the other hand, Torontonians pay approximately $4.50 per $1000 of property value. The US has very high property taxes by comparison as both San Franciscans and Seattleites frequently pay $10-20 or more per $1000 of property value.

Sales Taxes

Despite its reputation for being expensive, Vancouver has decent tax rates. Sales tax in BC is 12%, and there are many classes of products that are exempt from PST (like restaurant meals). Torontonians pay 13% HST. Seattleites pay 10%, and San Franciscans pay 8.5%, the lowest of all the cities.

Childcare Costs

Despite Vancouver having very high childcare costs relative to other cities in Canada, it's still the cheapest of the three other cities to which we're making the comparison. In Vancouver, childcare costs $1,400 a month per infant, which is less than Toronto. There, the average monthly cost is $1,685. Both of those numbers are less expensive than both Seattle and San Francisco, where people will pay $1,680 US and $1,955 US, respectively. While Vancouver daycare is pricey when compared to Winnipeg, for example, it's not as pricey as other large metropolitan areas.

Overall Cost of Living Assessment

There is zero question that Vancouver is not the cheapest place to live in Canada. However, when compared with three other world-class cities, it is not the most expensive, and it's not the most affordable. On average, Vancouver tends to be about the same or have a slightly lower cost of living than Toronto. When compared with Seattle, Vancouver is often less expensive when factoring in currency conversion. However, unfortunately, Vancouver salaries don't match Seattle's. Finally, Vancouver is almost always significantly less costly than San Francisco, which is not surprising considering that San Francisco is consistently rated as one of the most expensive cities to live in the world!

One of the fantastic things about British Columbia is that there are ways to make it very affordable. For example, picking a condo will give you a reasonably-priced place to live with lower property taxes. You'll then be able to take advantage of the lower electricity costs and lower grocery costs to save for your dream home (which, if you're willing to look at a suburb of Vancouver like Maple Ridge or Coquitlam, isn't as pricey).

If you're looking to move to Vancouver and are wondering about the cost of living, speak with your real estate agent today. There's a good chance that there's a way to move to this beautiful city without breaking the bank!

Cost Of Living In Maple Ridge, BC

Anyone who has ever been to Maple Ridge knows that it is a beautiful little town. With a population of fewer than 100,000 people and nestled up against the Golden Ears, Maple Ridge is a fantastic place to live and raise a family. There are many outdoorsy things to do, and you're only a 35km drive from downtown Vancouver. It's a perfect family-friendly destination for people who are looking to move to the city. The good news is that it also has a smaller cost of living as compared to Vancouver proper.

To understand the cost of living differences between Maple Ridge and Vancouver, we'll need to look at multiple vital metrics. In particular, this post will look at the following ten measures of affordability:

·     Rental Prices

·     Housing Prices (buying to own)

·     Grocery Costs

·     Dining Costs (when you want to go out instead of eating in)

·     Utilities

·     Gas Prices

·     Median Income

·     Property Taxes

·     Commute

·     Childcare Costs

Rental Prices

Anyone who has looked at the Vancouver rental market knows how crazy it has become. While rentals in Vancouver used to be somewhat affordable, that has all but gone away in recent years. Rents in Vancouver are now $2,200 per month for a one-bedroom apartment and $3,000 for a two-bedroom one. These are some of the most costly rents in the nation.

Fortunately, Maple Ridge is significantly less expensive. Estimates for a two-bedroom apartment in Maple Ridge are cheaper than a one-bedroom in Vancouver. These apartments run for about $1,950 per month. A one-bedroom apartment typically goes for $1,350 per month. Electing to rent in Maple Ridge as opposed to Vancouver can save you approximately 40% per month in rent costs.

If you're looking to rent temporarily and purchase a house later, saving this much on rent will enable you to do that much faster. If you rent a two-bedroom apartment in Maple Ridge, you'll save over $1,000 per month on average relative to Vancouver. You can take these savings and put $12,000 per year extra towards a home. Within five years, you'll have an extra $60,000 of your down payment saved!

Housing Costs

Compared with Vancouver, the housing prices of Maple Ridge are significantly cheaper. A single-family home in Vancouver runs for over $2 million, whereas a house in Maple Ridge costs approximately $860,000. One of the beautiful things about Maple Ridge, BC, is that you can get condos reasonably cheaply. A condo in Maple Ridge only costs $495,000 on average. Of course, a condo in Vancouver proper is close to $1 million.

Your monthly mortgage payment with an average Maple Ridge home would be $3,590, which is less than half of the mortgage payment for an average Vancouver home (both assuming 20% down).

If you're looking for a place to live that's close to the city with fantastic schools but doesn't have quite the same cost of living expenses, then Maple Ridge is an excellent choice.

Grocery Costs

As is often the case when looking at the cost of living differences between the suburbs and a city, housing costs are not the only place you save money. Groceries and other products are also cheaper. People who live in Maple Ridge save an estimated 14.3% on grocery expenditures per year relative to their Vancouver counterparts. If you spend $200 a week on food, that will mean you'll spend approximately $30 per week or $1,500 less per year compared to living in the Vancouver metro.

Dining Costs

People living in Maple Ridge also save on restaurant meals, albeit not to quite the same level. Restaurants cost an estimated 11% less than in Vancouver. As people who live in Maple Ridge know, you're not getting less quality. There are lots of fantastic dining choices in the region, no matter what you feel like having!

Utilities

Utilities are slightly less in Maple Ridge than in Vancouver. Electricity rates are the same in the mainland as well as Vancouver Island, so those don't change significantly. However, water, trash, and other utilities are cheaper in Maple Ridge than in Vancouver.

Numbeo estimates that a 915 square foot apartment would incur approximately $73 in charges per month in Maple Ridge compared with $90 per month in Vancouver. It's a small saving, but it helps a bit.

Gas Prices

Unfortunately, gas prices tend to be high pretty much anywhere in British Columbia. Maple Ridge is no exception. While gas may be a little bit cheaper there, on average, you won't be finding any fantastic deals. You're still going to be looking at the same $1.30-$1.50 that you would pay in Vancouver.

Median Income

During the last census, Vancouver had a median income of $72,662. This figure was on the rise, however, so it wouldn't be surprising if it were much better now. Maple Ridge's income, according to TownFolio, is $86,178, which is quite a bit higher than Vancouver's.

Property Taxes

Unfortunately, you will pay more as a percentage in property taxes by living in Maple Ridge even though your absolute dollar value will be less. Maple Ridge's effective property tax rate is 0.0044% for residences. By contrast, Vancouver has an incredibly low tax rate of 0.00256%.

On a $1,000,000 property, you'll pay $4,400 per year in taxes by living in Maple Ridge versus $2,560 in Vancouver. However, that doesn't tell the full story. Recall that the average single-family home in Vancouver costs $2 million or more. That means if you buy a home in Vancouver, you can expect to pay $5,120 in property taxes each year. However, homes in Maple Ridge run for $860,000 on average. Therefore, if you buy one of these properties, you'll pay $3,784. Since the average home price is much less, even though your property tax percentage is higher, you're still paying less overall.

With that said, if there were to all of a sudden be an extreme demand for Maple Ridge homes and your assessed value were to skyrocket, then, in theory, your property tax bill could become much more expensive. However, it's doubtful that Maple Ridge homes will be exceeding $2 million in value any time soon.

Commute

If you live in Maple Ridge, it's pretty hard to avoid a commute. There aren't as many public transportation options in the suburbs are there are in Vancouver. You should expect to own a car if you live in Maple Ridge. Owning a vehicle means that you'll be paying car maintenance, gas, and approximately $1,832 annually in car insurance every year. While it's not extremely expensive, it's also not cheap. You'll have to plan and budget accordingly.

The cost to commute to Vancouver depends heavily on how you get into the city. The West Coast Express train can take you from Maple Ridge to downtown for $17.75 per day round-trip or $251 monthly. While this isn't cheap, it's also not insanely expensive either, and you save quite a bit of time as you're not in traffic. For people who work in downtown Vancouver, it's a worthwhile monthly expenditure!

Childcare Costs

Vancouver's childcare costs are some of the most expensive in Canada. Putting an infant into daycare currently costs $1,400 per month on average. Very few cities in Canada top that amount.

Fortunately, Maple Ridge is much more affordable. You can expect to pay less than $1,000 per month in this part of British Columbia. There's even a pilot project to provide $10 per day daycare at one of the childcare facilities in Maple Ridge. By choosing Maple Ridge instead of Vancouver, you will save substantially on childcare expenditures.

Of course, if you can save $1,000 on your daycare expenses, that lets you set that money aside for other family expenses like a down payment on a home, your RESP, RRSP, etc. Being able to save $1,000 per month on childcare is a significant upside for living in this city.

Maple Ridge Is An Alternative To Downtown Vancouver Living

Your overall expenses in Maple Ridge will be quite a bit lower than in downtown Vancouver. For starters, in Maple Ridge, restaurants and other activities will be much less since rents are not as high. You'll be able to go out to places like The Keg without fighting the crowds of downtown Vancouver as well. Maple Ridge also has plenty of grocery stores, which helps keep the cost of living lower as well.

Maple Ridge has excellent public schools to which you can send your kids. These schools are free, so you also don't need to factor in the cost of tuition into your calculations.

It still has proximity to Vancouver, so if you want to be close but don't want all the costs, then Maple Ridge might be the answer for you. It's quite a bit cheaper than living in Vancouver city, and the West Coast Express makes it easy to get to downtown for work. The fact that restaurants, grocery stores, and other fun activities are cheaper means that you won't be spending quite as much there either.

If you're looking for a lower cost of living place than Vancouver, speak with me today so we can see if Maple Ridge might be a good fit for you!

The Top Private Schools In Vancouver For Children & Teens

If you're looking to move to Vancouver and you have kids or teenagers, then you're going to want to buy a place near a fantastic school. If you pick a place close by, that means that your kids won't have to walk or bus far to school. Additionally, if you choose a home in an excellent school area, then your teen has a better shot of getting into top-rated universities like UBC. Fortunately, Vancouver is home to some excellent private schools.

Fraser Institute released a list of the top high schools for the 2017-2018 school year (the most recent available). Without further discussion, let's dive right into the top 10 private schools in Vancouver.

1. Little Flower Academy

Located off of King Edward and Granville, this all-girls Catholic high school ranks at the top of the list for a myriad of reasons. First, from 2014-2017 the graduation rate was 100%, only dipping to 98.9% in 2018. Second, it has an average exam mark of 86.7%.

This high school does have a yearly fee of $7,525, but the academics are worth the price of admission.  It is also an all girls school.

2. York House

York House is also an all-girls high school with excellent ratings. They have a 100% graduation rate from 2014-2018 and an average exam mark of 86.3%. This school, much like Little Flower, is also located off of King Edward and Granville. However, it is not a Catholic school.

Tuition is also significantly more expensive at $23,400 per year.

3. Crofton House

Situated in the southwestern part of Vancouver, in Kerrisdale, Crofton house ranks third on Fraser Institute's list. It boasts fantastic marks, graduation rates, and prepares students well for university. It is an all-girls school as well.

Tuition is $22,900 per year, which puts it at the higher end for private schools.

4. West Point Grey Academy

Located in the heart of affluential West Point Grey, this school has marks of 85.5% on exams and a perfect graduation rate. It is a coed school, so teens of all genders are welcome. The school is relatively new as well. It opened in 1996.  JK-Grade 12

Tuition is on the pricier side at $24,590 per year.

5. Mulgrave

Technically located on the outskirts of West Vancouver, this school is an excellent option for anyone considering living near Westmount, West Van. It boasts a perfect graduation rate and excellent exam marks.  Pre Kind to 12

Tuition for Mulgrave stands at $26,310 per year.

6. St John's

St. John's is a fantastic school choice for those living west of Granville. It has a 79.4% exam mark average and a perfect graduation rate. It's also a coed school so both girls and boys can attend  Jk-12

Tuition fees range from $21,550 per year up to $25,050.

7. St George's

Boasting a perfect graduation rate and an 81.8% exam mark, this school for boys is a fantastic option for people looking to live near Pacific Spirit Regional Park.  All boys gr 1 to 12

Tuition runs at $25,945 per year, making it also one of the more expensive options.

8. Collingwood

Located in West Vancouver in the Renfrew-Collingwood area, this coed school is a fantastic option for any teen student. It has a perfect graduation rate and an 81.9% average exam mark. JK-12

Tuition for grades 10 through 12 is $25,500. For grade nine, the cost is slightly less at $21,450.

 9. King David

A Judaic community high school, King David is a fantastic coed school that offers academics with extracurricular activities. King David has a perfect graduation rate with a 75.8% exam rate.

Tuition is a little cheaper at $20,550 per year.

10. Vancouver College

This school is the "brother" college for Little Flower Academy. The Vancouver College all-boys Catholic school ranks tenth on the list with a 75.8% exam rate and a perfect graduation rate.

Tuition costs $7,825 per year.

Vancouver Is Home To The Best High Schools

If you're looking for the best university-preparatory education for your teen, Vancouver has the best private schools you could ever want. Check out some of these schools today and find one that works for you.

Canada is a country that has natural beauty but also have economic growth opportunities. Many people from all over the world migrate from their countries to the different cities of Canada. Almost all the Canadian cities have individual specialties but today, we are going to discuss about Yaletown Vancouver BC.

The history of the city was very old but it has been changed into one of the city's chicest neighborhoods, occupied with high rises and luxury condos, walkway bistros, cool eateries, remarkable shopping, and verdant parks. Sitting along the south side of the midtown Vancouver landmass, Yaletown condos for sale is flanked by Homer Street, Robson Street and False Creek.

Yaletown condos for sale:

Condos is the luxurious residential area or houses and flats that are owned by sole owner or a family. In short, condos and townhomes are very pricy in this part of the Vancouver. Yaletown condos for sale are readily available on MLS or through your Realtor. If you are interested, you can reach out to our team as well or search on this site here. The living cost of Yaletown is higher as compare to other residential areas of the city.

The living cost is also depending on the number of people and their monthly cost, so if you are living with a family that means you need around $5000 minimum for food and many other arrangements of a four membered family. Let’s check out what would you can enjoy in this city with less money.

General view:

The waterfront parks are a major attraction in Yaletown. The city's seawall runs directly along the water, interfacing two of the greatest green spaces: David Lam Park and George Wainborn Park. Walk, run, bicycle or inline skate along the Seawall and you'll discover a lot of local people doing likewise and getting a charge out of the brilliant open craftsmanship sprinkled along the waterfront. The area's authentic roots are likewise clear as Engine 374, pulled the primary cross-country traveler train into the city in 1887, in plain view at the Roundhouse Community Center.

Eating and Drinking

Yaletown's old redbrick stockrooms were worked to incorporate outside stages to take into account simple stacking of materials onto trains to be sent back east. Those equivalent stages are currently repurposed as bright, urban yards for the ideal early lunch, evening beverages and midyear meals. Yaletown is an incredible spot for a celebratory fish lunch, a casual bistro dinner, or a family-accommodating dining experience; there are a bunch of feasting alternatives making it simple to walk the region first before picking a café.

Shopping and Souvenirs:

Yaletown offers vital nearby shopping alternatives, and even window shoppers will cherish the cool boutiques, inviting assistance and novel things that the generally privately claimed stores offer. From style to originator homewards, the stores in this area are peculiar, sharp and a great deal of fun – think creator hound dress, present day baths, and notable caps.

Moreover, the living cost of the city also depending on the live style of the family. If you have a small family, you can save money by moving in a smaller one bedroom and den condo in Yaletown. If you can afford a bit more then Yaletown offers many amazing condos for sale for you.

If you are looking to move to Canada from another country or you are looking to move within Canada, you've undoubtedly looked at two of the most popular destinations, Vancouver and Toronto. They're both big cities that are continuing to experience sizable growth due to their expansive economy, fun activities, and fantastic scenery.

It is often a hard choice to pick between these two cities, mostly because they are different. Toronto has an east coast feel, and many people think of it as a Canadian New York. Vancouver, on the other hand, has a distinctive west coast feel. It feels more like San Francisco or Seattle (which is only three hours south).

Let's take a look at how these two cities stack up and which one you should make your new home within the country!

Since there are so many topics we can compare about Vancouver vs Toronto. This video will focus on the economy, weather, nightlife, outdoors activity and finally housing.

Economy: A Pro For Vancouver And, To A Lesser Extent, Toronto

If you are looking for employment, British Columbia is the place to be. With Canada's current lowest unemployment rate, the BC economy is generally diverse and robust. In Vancouver, people work as software developers, accountants, marketers, advertisers, and across a wide variety of jobs in various industries. Outside the city limits, there are many outdoor jobs for people of all skill sets. This trend is not new. BC generally has one of the most robust and diverse economies within the country.

Toronto's economy is also good, but not quite as excellent as Vancouver's. A lot of this is due to diversification. Banks and financial institutions have a strong presence in Toronto. The Toronto Stock Exchange is within the downtown area. While this means that Toronto has a strong banking sector, it also means that Toronto's primary industries tend to be related to finance. If you are in banking, this is fantastic. However, if you want to work in other sectors, then Vancouver is often the better choice.

Weather: Pro For Vancouver, Con For Toronto

The Pacific Northwest gets a bad reputation for raining steadily. Because of this reputation, people all over North America tend to question why people want to move here. The reality is that, while it does rain in Vancouver, the overall climate is excellent - especially when compared with the rest of Canada. Winters are mild, and summers are warm and sunny. There isn't anywhere near the level of humidity that exists on the east coast. Vancouver also doesn't get much snow, although we do frequently get a week or two of it, which is just enough time for the kids to have fun!

Usually, people who move out to BC from Toronto find that much of the doom-and-gloom stories of weather are greatly exaggerated. Vancouver is milder than most places and still gets more sunlight than other world-class cities, like London, UK, for example!

By contrast, Toronto summers are frequently muggy, and the temperatures reach well-below freezing in the winter. While Toronto might get less snow than some other big cities like Montreal, it still gets hit pretty hard. The Toronto climate is not as envious as Vancouver's and typically is a con for most people.

Nightlife: A Pro For Toronto, And To A Lesser Extent, Vancouver

If you're looking for fun and vibrant nightlife, then Toronto is the place to be. Downtown Toronto has numerous restaurants, bars, sporting events, theatre options, and clubs. You can see top-rated shows, have fantastic drinks, and eat great food in Toronto.

Vancouver does have a fun nightlife scene as well, but it is not quite as epic as Toronto. You can go to clubs, bars, and restaurants, but when top chefs and the like choose to open new establishments, they often choose Toronto as their first destination. A large part of that is population, however. The Greater Toronto Area has just under 6 million people, whereas the Greater Vancouver Area has around 2.5 million.

Outdoors Activities: An Amazing Pro For Vancouver, A Con For Toronto

If you are into outdoor activities, Vancouver is the spot for you. Vancouver has epic scenery. Mountains, trees, beautiful rivers, and streams, all make Vancouver stunningly gorgeous. If you take the ferry to Vancouver Island, you'll witness splendour along the journey. There are many places to hike in Vancouver. Driving up to Whistler will provide you with lots of fun outdoor activities, like skiing, in the winter. Vancouver is a great place to be outdoors.

Toronto doesn't have this. There aren't the same level of hiking opportunities in Toronto. Toronto also doesn't have the same mountainous terrain. Therefore, while you can go skiing outside of the city, it's not quite as impressive as Vancouver. If you love the outdoors, Toronto probably won't cut it for you.

Housing: A Con For Both Toronto And Vancouver

There's no denying it - housing costs in both Toronto and Vancouver are high. The difference between the two regions is what the governments are doing to address housing affordability.

Vancouver and British Columbia are actively working to keep costs within reason. BC has implemented both a vacancy tax and measures to tax foreign ownership. These moves have started to keep Vancouver property prices somewhat in check. If you're willing to commute, homes out in Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, and Langley are all comparatively reasonably priced, given the square footage.

The Toronto and Ontario governments, however, have taken a more hands-off approach. As a result, 90% of earners make too little in Toronto to even afford a mortgage. If you are looking for a place to live and buy a home, Toronto may not be doable.

More Pros For Vancouver, But Both Are World-Class Cities

Vancouver is the second most livable city in North America and the sixth-ranked city in the world. Toronto comes in close at seventh place.

Both of these cities are world-class places to be. They offer robust economies, fun activities, and both cities are fantastic places for both families and single people. However, on the whole, Vancouver does have the edge. The natural beauty, economy, and weather make Vancouver a better destination, on average.

Thank you for watching the first part of this series on Pros and Cons of Vancouver & Toronto… stay tuned for the next one…..and if you are looking at moving to Vancouver, get in touch with me today. I can help you find the right home for your needs!

3 Reasons Why Harry & Meghan Should Move To Vancouver

The news that rocked the Monarchy and set the internet ablaze last week was that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex - Prince Harry and Meghan - were looking at resigning from their positions as senior royals and looking to split their time between North America and the United Kingdom. In case you were living under a rock last week, or you were off in some faraway land with no internet service whatsoever, here are all the deets on what's happening.

There is immense speculation about where the Duke and Duchess will head. However, almost everyone agrees it will be somewhere within Canada. They loved their stay in North Saanich, BC, on Vancouver Island, and Meghan has a lot of familiarity with and love for Toronto, where she spent a lot of time filming Suits.

However, while these places are beautiful, they don't have quite the same pizazz as Vancouver. Vancouver is an incredible city, one that I would argue is fit for Royalty! So here are three reasons why the Duke and Duchess of Sussex should consider this beautiful city to be their new abode.

It's Stunningly Gorgeous

Vancouver is an oasis of beauty. With beautiful mountains, waterfalls, and trees, it exudes charm everywhere you go. Whistler's a short drive away, and if they want a weekend getaway on Vancouver Island, they can still do that. There is so much to explore and do north and east of Vancouver. The former senior Royal family could have a blast with Archie in Stanley Park, go on the Capilano Suspension Bridge, or enjoy the sights in Granville Island.

Rumour has it that the Duke and Duchess want to go to a place where they can avoid the paparazzi and constant pressure of the Monarchy in Britain. Vancouver is a fantastic place to get out, enjoy the fresh air, and get away from all that!

Vancouver Is No Stranger To Wealth

The former senior Royal family might want to move to a more remote place, but in those places, a family of that much wealth and with that much of a security detail might find themselves out of place. The city of Vancouver is no stranger to people with wealth. There are many superbly wealthy people within the town - from billionaire Jim Pattison to Brandt C. Louie, chairman of London Drugs - that the Meghan and Harry would fit in perfectly. They would be able to enjoy impeccable dining experiences and fabulous shows, all while remaining relatively hidden compared with their life in the UK.

Vancouver's Weather Is Still Better Than London's

A lot of people complain about Vancouver's rain, but we still have it better than in London. London, like much of the UK, receives just 1,633 hours of sunlight per year. By contrast, Vancouver gets a comparatively sunny 1,937 hours!

Admittedly, we do get more rain than London does. However, we don't get quite the same levels of fog. So it all works out in the end.

Still, Vancouver would most certainly be an upgrade weather-wise from London!

Hopefully, Meghan And Harry Are Happy!

While I might think Meghan and Harry should consider Vancouver as their ultimate destination, at the end of the day, hopefully, they are happy no matter where they choose! It's an ambitious next step for the Duke and Duchess, and I wish them the very best on their journey!

Top 10 Tips When Buying a Foreclosure in Vancouver

Hey guys, this is Solomon from the BC Elite Real Estate Group.

Welcome to my channel Living in Vancouver.

Now today's topic. We're going to be talking about foreclosures.
Now if you're a buyer and looking to move into the Vancouver area or an investor, some people might consider foreclosures to be a good deal.

So this video is all about that. I'm going to share with you guys all my tips as I have sold many of these properties and I have also listed many of these homes and have worked with lots of buyers and I have been able to secure them some really good deals.

I'm going to share with you guys. These top 10 tips for buying a foreclosure in 2020.

All right. First of all, let's talk about these foreclosures or court order sales as they are in British Columbia and how the system works. So what happens is a listing goes up for sale that's sold by the bank and the banks are in the market to not hold properties, but to sell them liquidating and get enough money ,market value anyway , to pay off their debt and any excess left will be given to the person that has been foreclosed.

So what happens is you find a property you make an offer and if the bank accepts it, you have few days for your subjects if you have some and then once your subjects are removed you then have a court date set. So now the court date set is usually between three to four weeks later and also your accepted price is public knowledge.

So the court date is set. So now you’re going to show up in court and hope that nobody else is there to outbid you. So on court date , what's going to happen is you and your Realtor will go to court. Your realtor will be able to tell you how many offers are currently on this property and that there might be none or they could be even 20 as I've experienced in the last.

Three four years you will also have another chance at providing a better bid. So the person that has the accepted offer will have another chance at making their offer any better. Every buyer has to provide to their realtor. They're sealed bid and their Realtor will hand it over to the Realtor that's representing the bank and that's all handed over to the courts and then the judge will decide which is the best offer that's going to be accepted.

Usually the higher offers are accepted, but that doesn't mean that's always the case if Original bidder has a good offer and it's close to all the other ones and you know, the judge might consider giving that original bidder might give them the benefit of the doubt and have them win that property...

All right. So let's talk about the top ten tips for buying a foreclosure. Foreclosures don't necessarily mean that's a good deal. If do your homework on it. Make sure that there's not a lot of problems in that specific property, maybe it’s a strata. So you want to make sure you did all your homework and your due diligence.

However, they tend to be a little bit cheaper than what you buy market value. But there is a reason for that so definitely have your Realtor double-checked and you do your homework as well. And also if you're going to be competing with other bidders on that property, the price does tend to go up. So that's another reason why you don't necessarily always get a good deal on foreclosures.

You can't just go and buy directly with the bank.
You have to have your own Realtor and it has to go through the court systems for you to take ownership of that property. Make sure you get the property inspected. You are going to be buying the property as is and make sure you understand that you've checked everything out and once you buy the place, you basically can't walk away. It's yours.

Always budget for repairs or even appliances because usually the bank's remove some of the valuables in there and they  sometimes also take the appliances so you might want to budget for that and as well as foreclosures tend to have a lot of repairs so budget for that as well into your numbers.

Be on time usually Court starts at 9:30, but you do definitely want to be there early so you can scope out the scene and make sure you have your ducks in a row and have the best bid going in.

All right tip number five is make sure you get your financing in order have the cash ,have the mortgage because again, once you are the winner, you basically have to purchase it. You can't walk away from the deal it's yours. And so that's important step is make sure you're pre-approved.

Make sure you got your money and all your ducks in a row. And also make sure that you could do have the appraisal done on it if you are getting a mortgage.

Now tip #4.. being first to bid and having your offer accepted does have some role like I mentioned earlier the judge might consider your offer over the others on the court date. If you were the first one to bid it and offers are pretty similar. So so there's an advantage for being the first one to trigger the court date.

Now tip number 3 like I mentioned earlier as the judge would allow you to submit another sealed bid in if you feel that your bid is under what you think you want to pay and you want to improve it. You do have the option to submit another offer on court date now tip number two.

This is pretty obvious. But a lot of people forget to bring their deposit to the Foreclosure it is so if you are going to be going to court make sure you have your deposit in hand and inside the actual sealed envelope

Okay, and finally tip number one, where do you find foreclosure list now?

That's a good question. You would have to contact your local real estate agent or you can even contact us we have access and a filter that we can find all the foreclosures that are in the market today.

And as you know, I am a local real estate agent and we sell our team and I from Chilliwack, Fraser Valley, and of course the Lower Mainland, so we do get a hot list of homes that are under foreclosure and we do have this monthly newsletter with the foreclosure list.

So if you would Access to it. Don't hesitate to sign up on our website YVRBankSales.com sign up for our monthly list of foreclosures, or you can text me at seven seven eight, six five five, seven nine nine nine or send us a message of below.

Don't forget to subscribe, comment below and let us know if you have any questions about the foreclosure process, and we love to help you out.

Thanks for joining in today.

2020 BC Assessment For British Columbia! Vancouver Has Dropped!

Happy New Year, British Columbians. Guess what?

Your property values are considered 5 to 15% lower according to the BC assessment website.

Hey guys, my name is Solomon and I'm a local real estate agent and today's video is all about the new BC assessment values.

That just came out as of January 1st.You're able to now log into the BC assessment website and see what your home is worth in 2020.

Now, I've also got this chart that I'm going to display for you to show you exactly what the values range all across British Columbia here.

All right. So let's look at this graphic here showing The Province showing single-family homes condos and commercial. So the typical market value changes as of July 1st, 2019.

Let's focus in on the Lower Mainland. So homes have dropped from single-family homes from 5% to 15% lower condos are zero percent to 15 percent and Commercial properties have range between 15% drop to actually increasing by 15% . If you look at the Island , homes are dropping single families - 10 % to increasing 15% condos minus 5% to 15 percent increasing and Commercial has gone up so Islands looking pretty good. The Northern BC homes are dropping between 5% and increasing by 20% condos.

I've actually gone up by 10% and Commercial properties are up 30%. And if you look at the Thompson Okanagan 5% drop and an additional 10% for single-family condos some have dropped 10% some have increased 15% so I mean surprise will be again in the Lower Mainland section as you can see that's where the biggest hit has happened.

Where does this information come from to determine the value ? According to the BC assessment site our assessment is based on the market value of your property as of July 1st of the previous year and when determining the assessed value our appraisers consider your properties unique characteristics including the location of the home, the view from the home, the size of the home ,the age of the home, garages ,carports ,decks, pool. etc and comparable sale prices and other real estate market information and their appraisers also consider recent sales of properties with similar characteristics to your home.

And if you're not satisfied with the results of your assessment you have until January 31st to file a concern or complaint and I have posted a link to in the description of where to go for the process to do that. Now the good news is that not all assessment values are considered to be accurate the BC housing market has recently experienced an uptrend and the values have significantly increased. There's been more activity. Now if you wanted to know exactly what it's worth.

You may want to contact your local Realtor or you can reach out to our team.

So what do you think do you agree or disagree with the assessments?

Please drop a comment below and let us know your feedback.
And again if you want a true representation of what your home is worth in 2020 don't hesitate to reach out to Me.

Thanks for watching.

Pros & Cons Of Living In Pitt Meadows

Hey guys. this is Solomon here from the BC Elite Real Estate Group.

So today, we're here in Pitt Meadows.

And we're going to be talking about the pros and cons of living in Pitt Meadows

So Pitt Meadows is a beautiful city. It's situated in between Coquitlam and Maple Ridge.

It has approximately 20,000 residents living in Pitt Meadows now,

we're very close to the Golden Ears Bridge

as well as Highway 1 and Lougheed and we are a 30 minute drive over to Vancouver.

We also have West Coast Express

here and as well as great Transit service now. Pitt Meadows does have a lot of amenities so we have several shopping centers, several grocery stores.

As local ones local farm markets as well as 2 theatres.

We got the Hollywood three and the Cineplex.

We have a Winners & Canadian Tire here.

Some great coffee shops. There are several local walk-in clinics as well as great dental offices in town. Now several of you know me as a foodie and Pitt Meadows is known for some really good restaurants. So we have several Sushi joints here.

We've got some great pubs. There's the Foamers’ Folly.

There's also Vietnamese soup if you like PHO, Fo, there's a great one off of Ford Road and Harris as well as there's an OPA there.

There's just lots of places to eat out here. And Pitt Meadows is known for its Great Schools so that we got the Pitt Meadows secondary school.

There's several Elementary's like Pitt Meadows Elementary.

There's Davey Jones as well as Edith McDermott school and some other great places to visit while you're here Pitt Meadows is Osprey Village which were in right now and it has some great little cute shops has a trail that you could walk on. Some nice subdivisions great-looking homes.

It's one of the places that a lot of people come and visit.

.

We've lived here for 10 years always had big dogs.

We love being able to walk along the river and what a lovely day,

isn't it a beautiful day. And what's the name of your dog? Zoey

And the people are really nice. It's a good Community.

Awesome. Well, I appreciate you taking the time to tell us about Pitt Meadows and you know, hopefully people that move into Pitt Meadows, what would you say is one of the one place you have to visit when you come to Pitt Meadows.

Well, you got to take advantage of this Trail which goes all the way to the Pitt

River and you can bike you can hike you can take your dogs and take your kids.

That's it's like a great Community to just be outside and enjoy whatever the weather has to offer. Well, that's great stuff. Thanks very much. So as you can see Pitt Meadows is beautiful.

It has some amazing Trails, Parks

as well as they have this place called Pitt River where you can

ride up your canoe up inside the interior

as well as Alouette River great place for canoeing now some other Pros about Pitt Meadows.

It's a very safe and quiet neighborhood.

Very tight-knit small community. Everyone seems to know everybody here. So if you like that type of environment, this is the place for you to be and as well as As Somerset is one of the best neighborhoods in Pitt Meadows, if you're thinking about the top neighborhood it’s probably Somerset because you're avoiding the train and you're on the north side of the tracks one of the places that I would recommend you join is the Pitt Meadows community group on Facebook where you can communicate with local residents find out all about the events.

Hold on in here and it's a great place to be if you want to know all about Pitt Meadows. All right. So another cool thing about Pitt Meadows is that we do have our own airport. So every year the first Saturday of June we have Pitt Meadows day, so At Meadows day is a local community event hosted by volunteers and sponsors where we have family events. It's runs from 7 a.m. Till about 10:00 p.m. And at the end there's a firework event.

Alright guys. So right now I'm here at the Pitt Meadows Dykes trail system.

And as you can see Pitt Meadows is so beautiful have a look at that mountain.

So now Pitt Meadows has a lot of trails like I mentioned this is one of them

and this is the north side of Pitt Meadows. So you have a lot of agricultural farm land out here. So there's also a pretty good spot called Hopcott Farms where they have a lot of local meat ,local produce as well as an amazing place called Swane Set with which has some great banquet centers there and as well as a good golf course.

All right. So let's talk about the cons of living in Pitt Meadows.

Pitt Meadows does sleep after 9 p.m.

Everything is pretty much closed down after 9 p.m.

So if you like the hustle bustle a fast pace type of environment this might not be the place for you. However, you like it to be quiet and you know, very close-knit tight as well as quiet neighborhood.

This is the place to be the second thing that I don't like about Pitt Meadows is

the fact that I know there's some good restaurants,

but there's not a lot of options other than There's a ton of sushi , a couple of breweries, but I wish they had some better restaurants out here.

Now. I've lived in Pitt Meadows for 3 years and one of the things that you got to be careful of is leaving your cars unlocked and valuables in them.

So I definitely recommend you lock your vehicles at night and leave your valuables at home.

We have been broken into once before.

So that's one thing that you should definitely be careful of now the last

thing about Pitt Meadows that I don't like is the train.

However, there's an underpass being proposed and possibly being built.

The next few years under the Harris Road that's going to be called the Harris Road underpass.

So that's going to help alleviate a lot of the traffic and backlog.

Sometimes you wait 30 minutes just

for the train to pass by so there you have it the pros and cons of living in Pitt Meadows. 

Now if I miss something or if there's any hidden gems that you would like to share to our audience, don't forget to leave a comment

below and as well as click the Subscribe button share it and like it so we can submit more content like this out to our audience now if you're considering a move out to the Lower, Mainland, Vancouver Fraser Valley or Chilliwack again?

Don't hesitate to reach out to us. Thanks very much for watching.

Why you should Invest In Chilliwack British Columbia In 2020

Solomon: (00:00)
Hey guys, this is Solomon from the BC elite real estate group and today I'm in the beautiful city of Chilliwack where I'm going to tell you guys why it's one of the best places to invest in 2020

Speaker 2: (00:12)


Solomon: (00:12)
Now if this is your first time here on my channel, I just wanted to let you know our team does service everywhere from Vancouver all the way to Chilliwack, Fraser Valley, so don't hesitate to reach out to us if you wanted to know all about the market out here in Chilliwack, if you wanted all the listings, all the rental properties, and I like to definitely make this video all about how Chilliwack is one of the best places to be investing in 2020 now I've been investing in Chilliwack since 2016 I've owned several properties out here and I'm always looking for some good deals for my clients. So I'm here most of the time and I've had some really good success here with finding renters as the vacancy rates are quite low out here, you're getting a good quality of tenants. Chilliwack is definitely booming right now and if for 2020, it's got some really affordable investment properties that you could look at buying.

Solomon: (00:59)
There's some good deals on townhouses here, brand new ones like the ones behind me. This is the Midtown complex out here on Midtown and Yale. We do also have access to a lot of homes with upper and lower suites that you could buy at potentially having a duplex style, a rental property. I own several of those myself and as well as Chilliwack has some really good future opportunity for job growth, population growth. They do have the Molson Coors brewery that just opened up. Now Molson's is attracting a lot of investors out this way. It has allowed 400 new jobs to be created out this way. Chilliwack is also really great for somebody that's looking to sell their property in Vancouver and wanted to relocate out to Chilliwack There's some really good affordable housing out here is there's also Sardis.

Solomon: (01:51)
Sardis has just South of Chilliwack as you exit off highway one. It's really right in the middle of the freeway. Very easy to get to. Chilliwack is an amazing spot. A lot of investors have started to come up this way and now the prices have come down slightly and this is a good opportunity for investors to eye Chilliwack as you can get a house, an average house here, you could probably get for about $550,000 a apartments are going for about $300,000 and townhouses. You can get a brand new townhouse for about $450,000 up to $500,000 and Sardis you can get houses ranging between $650,000 all the way up to 1 million. It is a bit of a more high demand neighborhood. Sardis has definitely more appeal. Higher rents now rents in Chilliwack are fairly good as well. You can get a one bedroom for about $800 a month. A two bedroom suite goes for about 1200 and then if you get a three bedroom upper level on a home, you can rent that out for around 16 to 1700 a month. So that's some really good cash flow out here. Some really good rental rates and vacancy rates are quite low. I believe there are about one to 2% vacancy rates.

Speaker 3: (03:05)
All right, so let's dive inside Chilliwack and show you exactly where it is located. So if I zoom out on this map you can see Chilliwack is not too far from the lower mainland. About Two hour drive from Vancouver, I would say an hour from Surrey, 20 minutes from Abbotsford, Tri-Cities, you're probably looking at about an hour away. And here is where Chilliwack is located just off of highway one. So on the North side you got Chilliwack. Southside is Sardis. So all this has started as higher demand, more expensive homes. Okay. Yeah, so you know, [inaudible] the places that I would recommend going in Chilliwack would be just before the train tracks, this is considered like the Midtown area. So I'll show you the train. Yeah. Pops up in here.

Speaker 3: (03:57)
Yeah, that's the railway. So anything below here I consider really good. Anything on the West side of Yale road. I like, this is the downtown core, a lot of redevelopment happening. If you [inaudible] buy something old, period, it's good for a holding property for multifamily in the future. There is a lot of apartments, townhouses being built on Spadina for example, right over here. There's also the VIBE building, which is right about here, the vibe. And that one has a, that's known to be notorious for some lawsuits and litigation is pending, but they're rarely really cheap. So it's a risk to jump on that one. So be careful. And up here you got Fairfield Island, a beautiful location, and also some, some good deals can be had here. If you keep looking about five 50 to 600,000 is good here and can higher rents, much more desirable.

Speaker 3: (04:58)
Yeah. And here you can get something about 500,000 to five and buying a 50,000 would be a decent purchase price out here. Mmm. And then you also got this mall Cottonwood are going to read the development. You've got the Walmart center here, you've got a, also the university of Fraser Valley is right here. Chilliwack Campus and then you've got Garrison crossing down here as well as Cultus Lake. So i will zoom back out. So yeah. Oh and not, can't forget Promintory Heights up here. Definitely some high end exclusive homes. Very Hilly as well. So there's not a lot of bus service going up that way. So yeah. So there's a couple of areas that you consider as well as Keith Wilson just down here. Peach rd, there's a bunch of townhouses you can jump into. So yeah, let me know. I'd love to share all the listings I can find out here. If you're in the market to move out this way or just looking for an investment property.

Solomon: (06:01)
One of the challenges of owning a rental property in Chilliwack is the distance. Now what I would suggest you do is hire a property management company and there are several in town that would be able to manage your rental investment out here. And there are costs for having a property management team watch your property is about 8% to 10% per month of the rental income. It's definitely worth it. And you don't have to worry about dealing with the tenants, dealing with the broken items in the house in the middle of the night sewer backup or any kind of claim and highly recommend you do get home insurance to protect you for liability when you do have a tenant living in that house. Now let's share with you how I first heard about Chilliwack. Now I had a buyer that I met online. They sign up to on our website and they wanted to look at some properties out in here in Chilliwack and I didn't know much about it, but I was up to the challenge of learning all about it and what I did was I took that person out to show several homes.

Solomon: (06:52)
They were looking at homes with an upper and a lower so they can rent the top part and the bottom part and have two incomes coming in. The good thing about that is if one tenant leaves there, you're still getting income from the upstairs or vice versa, but with the low vacancy rates in Chilliwack it's definitely always rented out. Now, what happened was we saw several properties in 2016 that were upper and lower, and I did some research located some homes out here. And I was surprised that they half the price of homes out here in the lower mainland Vancouver, one of the homes that I showed him, he passed on, but I kinda liked it. However, he ended up buying something a bit better in a different price bracket. So that one that I liked, in fact, they'd have an offer on it and we skipped it anyway.

Solomon: (07:40)
But a couple of days later the realtor called me and said, Hey, this property that you saw is back on the market. Are you interested? I had to tell him, no, sorry, my buyer bought something else, but I might be interested. As I looked into a deeper the price was pretty good. It was cash flowing, it was renovated. You know, these are the things that I look for that it's already done up. I don't have to spend much money and time on it. And basically I talked to my wife and we ended up buying it. And it was definitely a good investment because the prices went up. It's rent also went up due to the demand out this way. So it was a good investment. Ended up buying something myself roughly four years ago. And not only that, but I've, I've helped a lot of investors look at properties out this way and that was not my last one.

Solomon: (08:24)
I ended up looking at a few more properties that we put under contract that we purchased. So I do have a lot of experience in the Chilliwack market and if you again needed some help on that, definitely this is what we're here for. We can definitely show you all the hotspots, the good locations and as well as refer you to some good property management to maintain and manage the home. Now down here in Cultus Lake that we're in right now is a great community for coming in the summertime. It is also a great place for Airbnb properties. We have a couple of listings right, that we could refer you to that are Airbnb and that they're getting some good bookings throughout the year. This is also a great place for recreation. You've got fishing out here, you got boating. Great lifestyle. So overall Chilliwack , Sardis, the whole section out here is really good for the lifestyle, the affordability, there's jobs out this way.

Solomon: (09:16)
You're close to the highway and you've got shops, amenities, so people that are moving out this way, love the affordability. And for investors, this is where you want to be. This where you want your money invested. So I would definitely recommend you take a good look at it. Now, one of the other reasons why investors should look at Chilliwack in 2020 is that their property taxes are very low in Chilliwack. So it's very good. It'll cash flow really well. There's a lot of properties that are being built as well for townhouses, brand new homes. And yeah, the market's heading out this way. So don't miss the boat on, on Chilliwack. Western Investor has considered Chilliwack as the number three spot in 2020 for investors to buy it. Now, if you want it to know the rest of the list, just shoot me a message.

Solomon: (10:01)
You can text me and I can definitely give that to you and share it with you. So there you have it, the city of Chilliwack as well as Sardis which is a great place for 2020 to be investing in if you're a real estate investor. Now again, if you're in the market to relocate this way or you want it to get some investment properties, some information, some listings, don't hesitate to reach out to our team. Again, my number is (778) 655-7999 or you can visit our website at searchbcrealestate.com and we do make videos like this, across lower mainland Fraser Valley, Chilliwack. Don't forget to subscribe and be notified. Ring the bell and like and share, thanks very much. Take care.