Sobering Warning from the Governor of the Bank of Canada on Vancouver housing costs

[Tindalos]

Sobering Warning from the Governor of the Bank of Canada on Vancouver housing costs

To deliver his key address on Housing in Canada in June 2011, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney chose his venue carefully, appearing in Vancouver at the Board of Trade. (1) He noted that Vancouver’s average selling price was now 11 times the average family’s household income—a level is so extreme that its primary comparable is Hong Kong—the least affordable city in the world.
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Relative to household income, our property values are now among the most severely unaffordable in the world. Relative to income, Vancouver’s property values are 56% higher than New York’s, and 31% higher than London’s.

In its November, 2011 report on the Canadian housing market, RBC notes that 94% of average household income is required to cover the ownership costs of a 2 storey detached home in Vancouver.

http://votesandy.ca/2011/11/28/vancouver-housing-costs-unaffordable/

It's getting ridiculous here. I have a friend who shared a two bedroom apartment with 6 other people (2 families with children) and another who rented a house with about 15-20 people (no one was ever sure of the exact count). Meanwhile condos are selling for $5 million.