Okay, we’re not talking about multi-millionaires, billionaires, or I am sure there are a few trillionaires as well.
I am referring to those who have just about one million bucks to spare for a residential property.
What do you imagine their nest is going to look like ?
Like this classic Chateau mansion ?
Or perhaps this cool modern luxury villa ?
That could be the case years ago.
Of late, it appears millionaires’ choices for residence are not that pretty in Canada.
Let’s take a look what kind of homes are available to our millionaire brethren ?
In Vancouver, a typical millionaire lives in a posh villa that looks like this one …
In Toronto, slightly better. A millionaire lives in one of these …
Vancouver Housing Absurd Prices Highlighted
Amid the weekly up and down reports on Vancouver’s housing market is one constant: a regular blog feature called “Absurd Vancouver Property” that highlights the city’s ridiculous property prices.
Melissa Carr aptly calls the section “Are you f*%#ing kidding me?” on her blog, the thirties grind.
Starting in March 2012, Carr finds eyesores, teardowns and just plain dumpy houses often selling for $1 million and up in Vancouver.
The reality is more astonishing when Carr compares what $1.7 million can buy — for example, this 2,700 sq.-ft., three-bedroom, five-bath Hollywood Hills home originally built for Charlie Chaplin and owned by Robert Downey Jr. …
… versus this fixer-upper in Vancouver’s Dunbar neighbourhood. With six bedrooms and three bathrooms, the three-level home is described as having “fabulous future potential.”
A report by Fitch Ratings released this week suggests that Vancouver homes are overpriced by about 26 per cent. The U.S. credit rating agency said Greater Vancouver’s housing values could drop by as much as 15 per cent over the “next several years,” News1130 reported.
Check out the top 10 absurd Vancouver properties of 2012:
Home of Canada’s Millionaires !
I thought that’s not very inspiring …
You know what ?
If you didn’t inherit a fortune, or perhaps you haven’t accumulated a mountainful of equity through decades of highly paid job/income, chances are your starter home will not see a single strand of grass, and very likely to look something like this one …
Canada’s Smallest Condos … 297 square feet starting at $109,000 (exclude taxes, fees, charges and whatever you see here, other than the four walls … everything else is extra).
Remember, it’s starting at $109,000. So, I imagine the average selling price for this 297 square feet “thing” (I don’t really know what else to call it. I’d like to call it a room, but the developer says it’s a condominium, and the realtor will say this is a luxury modern highrise mansion or something in that direction) … should be realistically speaking, costs around $150,000 a pop. And if you add the taxes, fees and charges, the damage should be very close to $200,000.
But hold on … You can’t even move in yet. To make it really livable, you need to throw in at least some toys from IKEA (I don’t expect you to be able to afford anything better since you’re looking at real estate that costs $109,000 in Canada). So, all in all, you would have to burn close to quarter of a million bucks just to live in a ROOM ! (Parking extra … I was told parking spot in downtown Toronto can fetch $60K grands each)
Obviously some people will say: “Hey, this is what we call Avant Garde lifestyle … Cool, Chic, Charming … and big stoned abstract words like Minimalist etc. ”
Well, 290 square feet of Avant Garde lifestyle for family, anyone ? Guess even Pablo Picasso will have to think trice.
And after all that we have gone through, Government of Canada will say this represents inflation rate of less than 1%.
Creativity is indeed a very powerful thing.
All Homo Sapiens must master the Art of Creativity in everything … in order to have any hope to survive, especially in the Great White North, where a room costs about $250,000.00 ie. quarter of a million bucks (not Dong, Ruble or any other “frivolous” currency) … Nice.