The price of land

[Glacier]

Realtors like to pump up the price of land as a good thing, but unless you're going to sell your house, and go live in a quiggly hole on the banks of mighty Mississippi, you are only gaining wealth on paper. Expensive land is really a drain on the economic engine, and as it sits right now, current prices are not sustainable. Financing the average house in Vancouver is now to the point that it takes 80% of a two income household's salary. Eventually, there will come a point where almost all non-homeowners will not be able to enter than market.

They tells us that property values have continued to rise in the Okanagan, and in some areas this might be correct, but this is not the case in the North Okanagan. We would like to buy a small hobby farm so we could have horses, so I've been keeping track of land values of late. One need only look at the BC Assessment website to see that land values have dropped 10% in just the past year. If this keeps up, we might actually be able to afford 5 to 10 acres in a couple more years.

I don't foresee a pop, but it looks like the air is slowing going out of the bubble, especially on land that holds more than a small city lot. This is a good thing for 95% of the population.

[hobbyguy]

I agree that real estate gains are, for home owners, pretty much an illusion. They only add to net worth on paper, and mean very little as long as you are on the correct side of the grass.

There are places where small acreages can be had at much more reasonable prices. The problem is they aren't worth having due to the climate. 5 acre parcels are much cheaper in places like Prince George, but the growing season is so short, and the "soil" is so poor, you can't do much with them.