Hello,
Some of you may know that I've just been relocated to Vancouver from Toronto. My wife and I have been thinking of buying a place. We came upon Pitt Meadows that we quite like. I'm wondering what are the locals thoughts on this place? The other place is Port moody by Heritage Mountain area. My wife works in Richmond and I work in Burnaby/East Van area.

Wow, if you are working in Richmond/Burnaby that would be one hell of a commute; about 1 hour or more each way. Also, it is sort of a redneck town, haha.

Richmond is nice and so are parts of Burnaby but they are pricey as hell. You are coming at a bad time for buying real estate. Prices in my opinion are way too high right now, although depending on who you talk to, some people think prices are going to keep going up.

Its funny, I am thinking of relocating to TO because housing is such a rip here.

Port Moody is nice and there's a lot of new development going on. I like it by the water. Heritage Mountain is nice, too. (I live on the other side of the mountain in Westwood Plateau). You'll definitley get more of an urban feel in Port Moody (especially at the bottom of Heritage Mnt.) and it's close to Burnaby. If you're looking for a house on Heritage Mountain, you're going to pay more. There's also a lot of new condo developments in other parts of Port Moody.

Pitt Meadows is nice but it's definitely more "country" plus your commute would be terrible. I guess that's why house prices are more affordable there.

Depending on your budget, you may want to try to find somewhere in between Richmond and Burnaby for a better commute. Actually, I used to live in the Marpole area (south Granville/Vancouver) and it was really easy to get to different parts of town and it was nice, too--not too expensive.

I live in Port Moody and honestly, I think it's one of the best places to live in the lower mainland. You are not in town, but close enough that you can get downtown in 30 mins for work - gotta love the barnet. Plus, I can get to richmond fairly easy when I need to. Housing costs here are a bit more realistic then say burnaby but still a bit high imo.

Pitt meadows is too far out from town for me, although they have some nice neighbourhoods there. The commute would just be too much.

Housing prices in TO are pretty insane from what I hear too. You must be moving to a suburb of TO like our pitt meadows?

Hmm, interesting you mention because I have been actively looking for a condo for the past few months.

I think a place in Burnaby would be ideal. Burnaby is 20 minutes from everywhere: Surrey, Downtown, West End Vancouver, East Vancouver. It also depends on your overall budget and hw many sq/ft you are loooking at.

www.mls.ca is an excellent site to venture to for real estate.

Check your PM :)

thanks for the info. we've been looking around and to be honest, burnaby strikes us as old and confining. Not too crazy about richmond due to the proximity to the ocean and it being below the see level. LOL! Actually the only thing we like about Richmond is Steveston. I'm chinese and apart from the occasional chinese food cravings, i rather stay away from richmond.
Port Moody is what we like. I'm not sure if the commute from there to richmond for my wife's job is any better than Pitt meadows as Heritage mtn is quite up north eh?
No no.... Surrey for us. White Rock's nice too but too far south and no real means of mass rapid transit. =/
But yeah, we're from Mississauga and I commute daily to TO for 1.5hrs for years. So....

Squamish Baby, Squamish. You guys are heading the wrong way.

Squamish Baby, Squamish. You guys are heading the wrong way.
that commute on the sea to sky would be an awesome way to start/end a stressful day of work :lol:

..unless you get stuck behind a convoy of RV's.. :mad:

well i'm in PortCoquitlam so it's right in the middle of portmoody and pitmeadows might want to think about here but yes reallly have to see what is your budget how much SQ.ft your looking for and are you looking for new or used. house or condo planning to start a family or not yet coz have to consider how many rooms your going to need.just a few things to think about

If you're ok and willing to deal with the commute into the city for work and whatever else, then by all means all those places you've listed are great since housing prices will be cheaper there.

I personally refuse to have a commute like that, and therefore am stuck (in the future) with the exorbitant prices of Vancouver. Got to have a compromise somewhere I suppose.

yeah. i am enjoying my stay at Yaletown right now. But in terms of long-term future, we can't see ourselves living here. I don't even know where are the elementary schools here!
We feel that if we're to stay in PoCo we might as well go to Pitt Meadows. What's a savings of an extra 10 minutes? I dunno, some people told us to avoid PoCo, but when we were there, it's alright place. Can't beat gun central Scarborough or Jane/Finch. :)

Honestly, we'd thought of Squamish, but come on.... 7 mths of snow? that's worse that Toronto!

Have you looked in Vancouver? Not downtown Vancouver, but Vancouver East and West? Lots of unique neighbourhoods here: Mount Pleasant, Main St., Fraser St., Kerrisdale, Kits, Oakridge, Marpole, Killarney...

Never heard of Burnaby being old and confining before! ;) I guess compared to new suburbs in TO, Burnaby would be old - There are a lot of houses that are over 50 years old here.

If you want "new," with your own property, you'll have to either build-up a house yourself, or move out to Surrey, Delta or Langly - somewhere out east where they've got more land.

Then again, I'm biased - Burnaby born, raised and residing here!

Have you looked in Coquitlam? Close to Port Moody and it's closer to Vancouver/Burnaby/Richmond.

Also, try taking a look at New Westminister. There are some hidden jems in there.

Where did you look in Burnaby? If you're looking at condos and townhomes, they aren't expensive as a house. If you're willing to wait a while, I think more houses will be coming on the market as interest rates rise and people start dumping houses that they can't afford.

In terms of being "central" to Greater Vancouver, that'd be Burnaby. Unfortunately, we don't have a mega-highway running through Greater Vancouver like they do in TO. If we did have a highway, it'd run smack dab into the water on the west, into the north shore mountains going north, and then to our neighbours too the south!

Good luck!

LaterZ!
Darren!!

We feel that if we're to stay in PoCo we might as well go to Pitt Meadows. What's a savings of an extra 10 minutes? I dunno, some people told us to avoid PoCo, but when we were there, it's alright place.

10 minutes? :lol: That's a good one! Actually, the bridge is what sets Pitt Meadows apart and if there's any problem, you're sitting in traffic a loong time. PoCo's alright--most of the new development (until Burke Mountain starts) is near the infamous Pickton farm :D.

Port Moody is where you want to be. Heritage Mountain is nice and lots of new homes and schools up there. Easy access to the Barnet Highway and Vancouver. Newport Village at the bottom of the mountain has nice shops with a small community/Whistler feel to it. Rocky Point park is nice. So are Belcarra and Buntzen Lakes so there's lots of nature nearby.

The commute to Richmond won't be that bad compared to what you're used to. I used to commute to UBC. It only takes 40 min to go to Richmond with no traffic, 1 hour if there are no major accidents.

amongst the tri-cities that we like is port moody, coquitlam then poco.

The problem with being up on Heritage mountain as I see it (and I am contemplating buying up there, because it IS nice) is that the hill is so steep and winter time driving will be a pain - not because I can't drive, or even that I think my wife would have a problem, but because other people dunno how to drive...

The other problem is access out of Heritage mountain area. As far as I can tell, there are only 2 routes down and they are single lane roads? Whenever I drive by Ioco in the morning on my way to the bank or starbucks, it's jam packed traffic there.

yeah, Ioco being the only link out of Heritage mtn, can be a bottle neck. time to look for a job in Kelowna....

Oh, I like kelowna and since I work for myself, I could live there.. except my wife is stuck in her job downtown!

Kelowna is pretty cool. I like that whole area...

yeah, Ioco being the only link out of Heritage mtn, can be a bottle neck.

Ioco? That's the roundabout, long way around, backroad! What about Heritage Mtn Blvd? It also depends where you are on the mountain. There are several routes up there (Johnson, Landsdowne via David). If you go up over the top, you're on the Westwood Plateau (Coquitlam) and there are even more routes down the hill (Pinetree, Robson/Pipeline). It's just not that vast and the only problems you'll get with traffic is around the schools (8am for the high schools, 9am for the elementary).

As for winter driving, I don't know how Port Moody handles it, but on the Plateau they are really quick at clearing the roads (bus route I guess). The only times you have to watch out is when it suddenly dumps really fast (rare) and people try going up/down without snow tires. But there's always an alternate route and Johnson (two-lanes) is always clear.

I used to live up there 8-10 years ago. Back then, they were very slow on clearing roads and the bus service was bad. But not so many people were living up there I guess...

Like I said, I think its a great area.

If you're willing to wait a while, I think more houses will be coming on the market as interest rates rise and people start dumping houses that they can't afford.

In terms of being "central" to Greater Vancouver, that'd be Burnaby. Unfortunately, we don't have a mega-highway running through Greater Vancouver like they do in TO. If we did have a highway, it'd run smack dab into the water on the west, into the north shore mountains going north, and then to our neighbours too the south!



Darren points out some good points. Back a few years ago, people were putting 5% downpayment and now some people are starting to default on payments because they can't afford the monthly mortgage.

BTW, do you own the place you have in Yaletown right now? I'm looking strictly for Downtown apratments or Burnaby townhomes.

But if you want a home at a relatively 'regular' price, and you dont mind the commute, definately look towards Port Moody.

The real estate boom isn't expected to go down until at least after the Olympics.

The real estate boom isn't expected to go down until at least after the Olympics.

agree with you there the way i see it is 09-10-11 these are the 3 yrs. i'm going to hold off on.if your going to lock in on the rates max till 09 then in 2010 open coz if the boom starts to drop you can sell or upgrade at good prices my 2cent. :rolleyes:

good point on the rates. thing is would you keep renting and help pay off the other guy's mortgage or would you rather get something small and build equity in the mean time? 3-4 years is quite long.

^^ well, in the first few years of the mortgage you are mostly paying interest not principle. So, the equity you build is not that much in the short term.

I've thought of buying, but the only places I can afford are small crap places with poor resale value. My worry is that if the market does tank, these crappy places are the first ones to drop. I'd almost rather either wait or buy a nicer place that will hold it's value better.

^^ well, in the first few years of the mortgage you are mostly paying interest not principle. So, the equity you build is not that much in the short term.


That's true. But if you're young and have no children, you can buy a small condo/bachelor suite somewhere desireable (downtown, etc) and try flipping it when property values rise. Those places will always be in demand and real estate values can rise more than the interest rate that you're paying (for now anyway). It's all about location, and a good gem may be hard to find but it's still possible.

The thing is, you have to jump in to play the game at some point in time. Life just passes on by while you wait (i.e. don't wait too long, but who knows how long "too long" is?)

One more edit: with news reports saying that there are major shortages for employees, that's going to spread the word, and even MORE people will be moving to Vancouver. That will increase demand and prices will rise even more. Jump in now to take advantage of it, or wait until BC is in the dumps again and people start moving away?

was at Newport village 2 weeks ago. When we arrive for a coffee before exploring more of heritage mtn, we saw a huge line up for a condo project - crescendo or something. some people camped overnight for it! the prices weren't bad. 350k starting for a 1000 sq.ft unit. the project is due for completion in 2-3 years time. dunno. 2-3 years time the place may sell for 450k? who knows. or it can be like that Bambu project in Victoria.
You westcoast people must be paid a whole lotta more than us Torontonians. I've never seen such a mad grab of real estate in my life. There was a townhome project in Pitt Meadows by the Osprey village and I heard from area residents that there were campers there for freakin 2 nights! Nuts nuts nuts.
Screw being a doctor or lawyer or engineer.... real estate agent is where it's at!

Real estate is hot right now. But I think salaries are higher back east then here. Not sure. I heard a report that BC has the highest housing costs in the country?

Yes, BC, more specifically Vancouver has the highest housing prices in Canada. We're also ranked pretty high up in North America as well.

And no, sadly income here in Vancouver is NOT as high as Toronto.

so either these buyers are wealthy immigrants (you know who you or your parents are...) or vancouverites love large mortgage debt.
i guess partly is due to the lack of land. being how the geographical area is hilly and surrounded by impenetrable mountains, ocean and US....
say where are those rivers that have gold again? ;)