$1-million homes to become more common in Whitehorse
The average price of a home in Whitehorse hit a record $404,800 during the fourth quarter of 2010, reports the Yukon Bureau of Statistics.
The average price of a home in Whitehorse hit a record $404,800 during the fourth quarter of 2010, reports the Yukon Bureau of Statistics.
That average won't be dropping anytime soon, according to the past president of the Yukon Real Estate Association.
The housing crunch means it's a sellers' market, Terry Bergen said early this afternoon, and now
people are starting to see Whitehorse real estate as a good place to keep their money.
"Mostly residents I would say, locals looking at them as investment opportunities,” he said of who is buying investment properties.
"Once people realized we weren't going to have a big depression, it picked up and carried on.”
According to a survey released this morning by the territorial bureau of statistics, the cost of buying a single-family detached dwelling in the territory's capital shot up $80,000, or 24.6 per cent, compared to the fourth quarter of 2009.
Gary Brown, a bureau spokesman, attributes the continuing climb in real estate value to a population increase and the lack of supply to meet the growing demand for housing.
"There were a couple of high-end sales in the last part of 2010 that skewed the average slightly, but even if we take these out of the mix, the average (price of a single home) is in the $396,000 range,” Brown told the Star today.
Bergen noted that million-dollar-plus homes will become more and more common in the Whitehorse market.
"Formerly, people looked at housing in the Yukon as just a place to live for a period of time. Now people are starting to build fairly spectular places,” he said.
A property in Meadow Lakes sold for just shy of a $1 million at the end of last year, he noted.
Condo sales during the last quarter of 2010 were the highest on record, noted Brown, hitting $10.8 million.
That trend will also continue, Bergen predicted. Condos are attractive to both first-time buyers and investors, he said. They also come on the market with more regularity, as one condo complex provides multiple homes, as opposed to a single-dwelling lot.
Even so, there are only about two dozen condos on the market right now, Bergen noted.
"It's a very difficult market on every level,” he said.
The most common request from potential buyers is still single-family homes with three to four bedrooms, Bergen said. Condos come next, followed by country residential properties.
"In the last couple years, about 200 (country residential) lots have come up, so that has satisfied (the market),” he said, but added the demand for large rural lots will always be there.
As for where the market is going, Bergen said he expects home prices will double in the next 10 years, just as they have every decade for the past 60 years.
"Our prices have been moving along with Canada,” he said. "We're following the trend.”
In the third quarter of 2010, the average price of a home in Whitehorse was nearly $380,000.
The population of the Yukon is 34,847, compared to 34,124 in 2009 and 33,378 in 2008.
The total value of real estate transactions in the territory for the fourth quarter of 2010 was $50 million, which was an increase of $2.4 million over the fourth quarter of 2009's sales of $47.6 million.
By JASON UNRAU
and Justine Davidson
Comments (13)
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brian on Mar 16, 2011 at 3:23 am
The fresh water point was just to point out our quality of life in the yukon and canada, but obviously some people can't comprehend this.
DG I rent a house with 3 roommates. Everyone in my house is waiting out the housing bubble then I'll start to look at buying. Until then complaining about this on the internet probably won't do anything for me, so ill just leave that to people who have nothing better to do.
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Andre Roothman on Mar 15, 2011 at 8:34 pm
Well said Brian.Most of us in Canada live a life of privilege. We are spoilt with all the luxury. We consume and waste and plead poverty when we can not have all the gooddies and toys. But then there are many Canadians who do not have clean drinking water or are on the street and we close our eyes to that! We do not have to look to the Third World to find those people, they are in our own backyard.As for the house prices, that bubble will burst one or other time. Newton´s law, what goes up must come down.
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dg on Mar 15, 2011 at 2:00 pm
@ brian
Who complained about garbage pickup or road clearing.
We do not live in 2/3 of the rest of the world we live in Whitehorse Yukon The debate is about Whitehorse Yukon.
I don't want to live in 2/3 of the planet I want to live here. ergo I am gonna debate about here.
Brian what kind of house do you live in rent or own is it a crappy trailer that has drafts or is it a new home in one of the new developments like copper ridge or Takhini.
We want homes that the GENERAL public can afford not the elite govies that get paid to take sick days and 2 months of holidays.
9-10 years ago my inlaws were able to put a mobile home on a piece of land that they owned for $105,000. Today with lot prices the way they are it would be 160,0000-190,000. Prices of mobile homes and transport and installation has not gone up that much maybe a little more fuel cost but that isn't 60-75,0000 dollars.
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Sue Greetham on Mar 15, 2011 at 9:30 am
Whitehorse will not satisfy market demand until lots and new home values reflect a construction cost to build. That means that the value of a resale is not exhorbantly greater than the replacement or construction cost of a new home, considering a land the building ratio of 25/75 of overall value. Pricing is so far out of whack in Whitehorse, you would almost think that those managing the creation of lots had an interest in keeping prices moving up....or that high density living is the real goal. It's all a matter of planning.
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brian on Mar 14, 2011 at 12:00 pm
I too am a 3rd generation yukoner and yes the housing prices are stupid high.
At the end of the day as Canadians we have a quality of life that 80% of the world dreams about. We sit in our warm homes, drive our cars, and eat as much food as we want in the greatest country in the world. While many people suffer and struggle to get the simplest things that we take for granted. When they are privileges not rights.
Did you know that 2/3 of the world does not have access to clean drinking water?
Yeah paying 7% more tax in a year isn't that much of an issue for me.
I just believe that there are far bigger things in the world right now then complaining about when my street gets plowed or when my garbage is picked up.
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Kailey on Mar 12, 2011 at 5:47 am
The market is crazy right now, I'm 24 and have a good career started but finding my first home is near impossible because I'm in a younger age group and have just passed the three year mark with my current employer. Condo's are the only units within consideration for me so I am glad that there are more being developed but cost of living here is gettin insane. In all honesty alot of the people in my age group actually have to leave the territory because they can't afford to live here.
FP,
You need to look at the fact that rental prices in this town cost more than a mortgage and bills on a condo in this town. Most people are starting to realize this and would rather pay onto their own mortgage than pay rent to someone else to pay off that person's mortgage. Plus nothing in this town allows pets (especially dogs) so those who have family pets only really have the option of trying to get a mortgage on a place.
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DG on Mar 11, 2011 at 2:11 pm
@ waja and brian.
I don't know what francias' position is but I do know that as a 25 year old myself I was only able to afford and purchase anything within the last 5 years. I got somewhat lucky and picked a trailer in northland in '06.
Some of us just weren't capable of purchasing a "real" house.
That said your statement about the highway being two ways what will you say to my peers who are just finishing secondary schooling be it at college or university when they want to purchase a reasonably priced home in the yukon and can't find one.
Like I said I got lucky and got something when the price was somewhat lower. My peers mostly did not.
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Francias pillman on Mar 11, 2011 at 10:32 am
Sorry, I am a 3rd generation Yukoner. I will voice my opinion, and what are you going to do about it? I'm tired of seeing my home town destroyed by outsiders and telling me how it's going to be. I will assume waja is one of those people I'm talking about. You people aren't Yukoners. How about you leave? Or how about you counter the things I say? How about instead of childish insults, you have a healthy debate. You won't, because everything I say is fact. And it's easier on your brains to just label me a complainer and be done with. No one on this forum can never say a single intelligent thing to me, it's always a childish remark. Then for added effect they probably signed up multiple accounts to make some fake responses to their own posts. So it appears that all these people agree with a response a 5 year old would approve of. Good one.
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northone on Mar 11, 2011 at 9:19 am
Enough with the house price whining. I have seen several duplexes sell recently for well under $400k. People move to Whitehorse and somehow think they're entitled to purchase a large, four bedroom home with a double garage for cheap. Welcome to the reality that Canadians in other cities learned long ago: you have to start out small and work up to a larger house.
Prices are high all over the place. Looked at prices in BC's cities lately?
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brian on Mar 11, 2011 at 2:47 am
thank you waja.
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Waja on Mar 10, 2011 at 9:55 am
Fp
Sort it out man, enough with the whining. We get it, you can't afford a house. Should have got in the market in 2000 or even 2005. All you do is complain about Whitehorse. The highway goes in two directions pick one.
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mark on Mar 9, 2011 at 11:53 am
whitehorse is the wrong market for million dollar homes, we have more low income families here than anywhere in the world, who struggle to meet ends meet. How about adding more low income housing, which would benefit the yukon greatly.
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Francias pillman on Mar 9, 2011 at 9:38 am
What was once a great place to live is turning into another Fort McMurray. They say it's a sellers market, great. What about the buyers market? Even in my case, I have a good paying and can't even imagine getting a home at these ridiculous prices. How can something keep going up and up for no reason? The more expensive things get it seems the more and more are sold. People sure must be flush with cash here. This is not Vancouver. I seriously hope commodity prices crash again, to give people a real wake up call. No wonder why Canadians have passed the USA in income to debt figures. Every Joe bloe in this town can get a $500k mortgage like it's a pack of gum. Living beyond your means is the norm today. Then these ridiculous prices just keep going up with no end in sight, so in turn your assessment will go through the roof aswell. Don't worry just take out more equity on your house and continue living in your fake reality.