Housing costs?

[cowman]

One of the posts below got me thinking about housing costs? The traditional 3 bedroom bungalow in Red Deer is fast approaching the $300,000 mark! You want the bells and whistles and extra space add about another $100K! You can still buy an old shack for about $200 grand!
Now I built a new house in 1988. 1600 sq ft extra large two door garage, most of the bells and whistles! Energy efficient, fir joists and plywood...no chip board! By the time I'd upgraded darned near everything that came with the deal, drilled a new well, septic tank , brought in power and phone, NG etc. it came to right around $100 K! This was using a general contractor.
Now I wonder how much it would cost me today? I suspect, about the same percentage that my electricity bill has gone up, or maybe more?
Just lately there has been some "condos" put on the market at Pine Lake. Now in reality these are not condos at all but basically shacks that were built as summer cottages back in the late seventies! They were poorly built and most of them are fairly rundown? They definitely need some siding! The asking price is $115K and the "condo fees are close to $200/month!
Now when they were built the price was $35K...and most people considered that outrageous! Things sure have changed?

[rookie]

A lot of costs have sure seemed to rocket skyward, cowman, and relatively fast these years. Do you think it will last at this rate?

[furrowtickler]

When you make big money, you spend big money - sometimes foolishly. Thing is , one can buy that house for $300,000 and in 1-2 years still make money selling it. Good to see an economy so close doing so well, as they say it takes money to make money. Unstability in the middle east is going to make alot of people rich in Alberta for a long time. Should be the case here in Sask too but until the NDP are booted we will just sit and watch our children flock to Alberta.

[coppertop]

I am just very glad that I am not in the market for a new home. Doing renovations on the house I have is costly enough, upgrading windows etc, has cost me almost as much as the house did 30 odd years ago !!

[cakadu]

You can still make money in the housing market, provided the bottom doesn't drop out of it. Mortgages are generally almost as high as the housing costs - most people can only manage to save up 10% or so of the down payment and in many cases these days, aren't they getting in with 5% down?

The ONLY thing saving people when it comes to high mortgage values is the fact that interest rates are so low right now. Personally, I can't imagine a mortgage for $275,000 or more.

Having done a lot of mortgage take-backs and foreclosures in the early 80's, it could be far more far reaching this time around. You loose one of them "big" wages and you are pretty much hooped.

The lower income earners are really feeling the crunch. The rental vacancy rates are almost down to zero and rents are pretty high. They can't afford to buy because they'll never be able to qualify for those kinds of mortgages.

I'm with coppertop - awfully glad it's something I don't have to be thinking about. Maybe the renovating thing but even then I think we'll be waiting.