NY Times on Whistler and Vancouver
An article in the New York Times today contains some optimism about both Vancouver and Whistler's real estate markets and outlook with the upcoming 2010 Olympic Games as the catalyst.
Although the housing market is going through a rough time righ now, real estate agents remain optimistic, though, that the market in general will snap back, perhaps in time for the Olympics. Dave Watt, a veteran residential agent and president of the real estate board, said prices “ramped up too much, I think.”
Mr. Watt, who grew up in the area, added: “When I was a kid, people’s second homes here were cabins. Now, they’re far from being cabins.”
As Mr. Watt and others tell it, Vancouver became a much more international city after the World Exposition was held there in 1986. Asians began buying and developing property in the late 1990s. The city attracted Americans, too, many to a growing film industry.
Ten years ago, Steven and Dona Kirby, full-time residents of Reno, Nev., paid 1.35 million Canadian dollars for a three-bedroom, 2,400-square-foot condo next to Coal Harbour. Although the city has become more popular, they have kept their place, usually spending six weeks at a time in it. They also own a place in Fiji.
“It was inevitable,” Mr. Kirby, now a retired lawyer, said of the city’s growth, “but it has not changed the way we feel about Vancouver one bit. There’s been an influx of people, but it hasn’t affected our lifestyle at all.”
Real estate values nearly doubled between 2001 and 2006, Mr. Watt said, with typical single residences rising to a price of nearly 650,000 Canadian dollars and apartments and condos rising to about 400,000 dollars. Those prices began to slide only recently, influenced by the downturn in the American economy. “You guys sneeze,” Mr. Rennie said, “and we get a little bit of a cold.”
The Canadian dollar, which was worth more than the American dollar as recently as September, has dipped to a little over 80 cents. When the American dollar buys more in Canada, the number of visitors from the United States increases, and agents like Ms. Froese and Mr. Watt often field more calls from Americans asking about second homes.
The Olympics are expected to add more curiosity. In February 2010, the rest of the world will see, via Olympic telecasts over 16 days, the assets of Vancouver and expanses of British Columbia. “There’s no question that having Vancouver on that international stage can be nothing but fuel for the real estate market here,” said Mark Lester, a senior vice president at Colliers International, real estate consultants.
“Personally, I think we’ll see even more interest after the Olympics,” said Beverly Kniffen, president of Cascadia Pacific Realty.
No one knows for sure what Vancouver will be like after the Games, though everyone agrees the city, and Whistler, will become more popular. The attractive waterfront, Vancouver’s biggest selling point, will have been virtually developed. As Mr. Rennie said, “Vancouver better hang on tight, because this is as calm as Vancouver will be.”