The Vancouver Sun ran an article recently highlighting the affordability of housing in Northern B.C. and cited an increasing number of people leaving Southern B.C. (focus on the Lower Mainland) and moving north. This causes one to consider affordability and the whole concept of Quality of Life.

Ask yourself the question, “where will I (we) be in 20 years?” – or more to the point, “where would I (we) like to be in 20 years?” Clearly, no human being can, or should, dictate another’s concept of that quality (but financial factors sure have a way of doing so!)  The article touched on the “north of Kamloops” lifestyle, used qualitative terms such as “getting out of the rat race”, “better atmosphere for the kids” and the like. There were quotes from local mayors, my friend Glen Holling of Re/max, the current president of the BC Northern Real Estate Board and various others who had relocated there. Subjective language, as we know, is often used to justify one’s personal decisions. Another way of putting it is that the Pro’s and Con’s lists of the wider spectrum of people can differ radically. Clearly though, it is the collective similarity of different groups’ Pro’s and Con’s  lists that dictates the higher demand for living in, say the Vancouver area and, a good specific example, a location such as our desirable North Shore. Higher demand – higher prices; less demand – lower prices. See just how many ways there are to discuss affordability?

A quick note on the CMHC 2nd Quarter Housing Market Outlook (available online). Their economic analysts remain bullish on Greater Vancouver (Lower Mainland) stating their estimates to be 3.1% growth for 2007 and 3.4% for 2008. They further predict a positive in-migration of “more than 30,000 people in each of the coming years”. Despite some minor short term mortgage rate increases they feel rates will stay “low over the remainder of this year and in 2008”.