<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Vancouver Real Estate Anecdote Archive]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://vreaa.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[vreaa]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://vreaa.wordpress.com/author/vreaa/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[&#8220;I&#8217;ve got friends in Vancouver, and I&#8217;m sort of horrified and entranced by the situation. Half a million is a lot of money. This bubble just baffles me. Canada has land. Canada has trees.&nbsp;WTF?&#8221;]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://vreaa.wordpress.com/2011/07/04/in-vancouver-you-need-a-family-income-of-at-least-250k-per-year-to-be-able-to-afford-a-house-save-for-retirement-and-save-for-your-kids-education-unfortunately-on-140k-we-can-only-do-two-of/#comment-12498">Yank at VREAA 4 July 2011 6:39pm</a> &#8211;<br />
<strong>&#8220;I’m a US ex-pat living in Canada, enjoying the country and the people very much. For bubblelicious reasons, I’m concerned about buying — especially as I might not be in town for more then 5 years. I&#8217;m not in Vancouver &#8212; prices are just mildly insane in the prairie city where I live. I&#8217;ve got friends in Vancouver, and I&#8217;m sort of horrified, entranced, and baffled by the situation.</strong><br />
<strong> Until recently I was living in the medical and university center in a rural midwestern state. My small city had the most expensive housing in the state: 5000 square foot mansions were going for 400 – 500K. A large 2 story was going for 200-300K. Townhouses with 2story attached garages, 1400 square feet, not including the finished basements, new construction were selling for 150K.</strong><br />
<strong> About a year ago friends bought a detached house in a nice area near Greenlake (Seattle) for 350K. You can get a good house in the nicest suburbs of Chicago, with the best public schools in the nation for half a mil. (Northbrook, Glenview, Willmette, Evanston). I’ve also seen nice two stories in those suburbs for as low at 350K.</strong><br />
<strong> Half a mil is a lot of money. This bubble just baffles me. Canada has land. Canada has trees. WTF?&#8221;</strong></p>
<p><em>We also experience the bafflement, the horror, the entrancement.<br />
And the fascination appears to have gone up a notch this last 6 months.<br />
It&#8217;s like we&#8217;re watching a freak show and the rubber man is pushing limits we hadn&#8217;t anticipated.<br />
Even his handlers are aghast; surely he can&#8217;t do <strong>that</strong> without hurting himself? &#8211; vreaa</em></p>
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