What can $400,000 buy in the Vancouver and New York Real Estate Market?
Quick Facts:
- Vancouver was ranked #4 for Quality of living rankings, while New York was ranked #49 for 2010 by the Mercer Survey
- The Economist named Vancouver as the most Liveable City in the World in 2010, New York did not make the top 10
- Neither Vancouver nor New York made the top 10 list for Monocle’s Most Liveable Cities Index 2010
I love browsing through real estate listing whether if its MLS or in a local newspaper wherever I’m visiting. Despite the plummeting real estate market in the US, Canada’s home prices have been somewhat stable and while prices have eased off a bit, it’s hard for anyone starting out in Vancouver to realistically buy a home. I thought I would take a look at what $400,000 would buy in today’s market. Sure Canadian dollars are different from US dollars, or is it? We’ve been going back and forth between parity the past week and as I write this, USD/CAD is sitting at 1.00288 (less than a penny difference), so let’s call it even shall we?
Beautiful Vancouver and Sexy New York
With the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Vancouver has gained a reputation for being a beautiful city. There’s a reason why our license plates say, “Beautiful British Columbia” because it really is. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the dead center of downtown or in one the countless number of parks in this city, Vancouver is breathtaking. And yes the air is very clean.
New York on the other hand is well known for too many things to name. Wall Street, the music and fashion scene, 5th Avenue, Soho, Harlem, and much more. That was random, but you get the picture. It’s a sexy place to live, regardless of how quality of living might be ranked, it’s a place to be if you can handle it.
The Two Comparable Properties
Here are two properties that I found. One property is quite close to where I live in Yaletown, Vancouver and it’s the brand new Dolce building that was just completed recently.
Vancouver:
Dolce Suite #801, 535 Smith St.
List Price: $409,000 CAD
1 bedroom and 1 bath, 509 square feet
Monthly Maintenance Fee: $156
Built: 2010
With this property you’re in the heart of downtown Vancouver. Young professionals gather in Yaletown and it’s a great place to live with the seawall a short walk away. You get all luxurious appliances and a bathroom to match, a truly beautiful condo that isn’t huge but is enough if you want to live downtown. I did go a little over budget, but that’s the cheapest listing I could find for this building, gives you a taste of what the real estate in Vancouver is like, expensive!
Take a look at the realtor’s page for other listings:
New York:
#2B 111 W. 113th Street, Harlem, NY
List Price: $395,000 USD
1 bedroom and 1 full bath, 557 square feet
Monthly Maintenance Fee: $175
Built: 2010
This is a brand new condo in Harlem with more square footage that the Vancouver comparison. The condo is actually located steps away from Central park, which is really nice and has a private balcony. The suite has an open concept that makes it feel very spacious.
Here is the NY Times Listing.
Of course it’s difficult to compare two different cities since there’s many things to consider. This comparison is just for fun and I don’t want you packing your bags and moving to New York tonight to find a new condo! But it’s safe to say that real estate prices in Vancouver are very expensive. Do I think they’re inflated? Maybe, but I guess that’s what comes with being name the most liveable and desirable city in the world a number of times. It’s a great place to live and investors from all around the globe have bought properties to get a piece of the action.
What I found while looking for a property in New York is that there’s plenty to choose from. There are properties on the NY Times Real Estate page that have been listed for over 500 days! So yeah, you probably won’t have to pay the listing price and could get away by offering a price significantly below it. I doubt you could say the same things about prices in Vancouver, but this will depend on a variety of factors.
Something else I noticed is that you find a lot of very old condos and apartments on the market in New York. Some are as old as 1900 and possibly older. If you’re seriously considering buying in New York, be careful, as there are a lot of time-shares mixed in with the listings. You can always filter your search or do the common sense check, if it sounds too good to be true, then it usually is. I mean full furnished with all utilities, internet, door man, and a box of Goldiva chocolates included for $350,000 on 5th avenue? Yeah, sounds fishy to me.
New York photo by Fabio on Flickr.
