Although the US is facing a record number of housing foreclosures these days, this is not a problem in Canada. The economy here is still hot and people are pumping their earned and unearned money into Canada. If I had to guess, the buyers of high-end condo suites in downtown Vancouver must be from out of town. I don’t really see a majority of local people that can drop over $1500 a square foot for a 1500 square feet condo.

What Housing Market Crash and Credit Crisis?
The Ritz-Carlton Vancouver project will be situated between Thurlow Street and Bute Street on West Georgia. It will compete directly with the renowned Shangri-La hotel/residence that is across the street. Like the Shangri-La, the Ritz-Carlton Vancouver will be a hotel and private residence building. The first 20 floors will be for hotel occupants while the top 38 floors will house 123 luxury condoms that range from $1.4 million to $13 million! Anyone who pays $13 million for a condo is paying in cash to using it as a vacation home and/or investment. You’d be a fool to get a mortgage for that amount unless you know how to invest in the stock market to make higher returns than the lending rate.

Area where Ritz-Carlton will be:

No Condos For Me
Even if I had the money, I wouldn’t buy a condo right now. It’s just too expensive for what you get. $13 million can buy you an uber-nice mansion anywhere in North America and you don’t have to pay ridiculous monthly strata fees. I have friends who live in the higher-end Coal Harbour area and they pay around 45 cents a square foot just for monthly fees! For a 1200 square foot apartment that means they pay over $500 a month for the concierge, janitors, and fitness centre! That amount will only increase in the future and the fees are continuous and never-ending. Also for that amount of money, I can get really nice amenities that suit me like my own swimming pool, tennis court, and workout equipment. A big pet peeve I have with shared amenities is you always have a small number of people who abuse the equipment and/or do not clean-up after themselves.

Apparently there is no housing crisis in Vancouver because all the nice suites are already sold-out. Isn’t it amazing that you have to bid above the asking price to get a nice condo here?!

Artist rendition of Ritz-Carlton Vancouver: