Editor's Note: Real estate expert Clara Hartree talks about real estate investments in West Vancouver, as well as changes in the real estate market there over the last decades.
What is a safe investment?
Governments are printing money. As a result money will be worth less and less. So, how do we protect ourselves? Frank Giustra said on Michael Campbell's show: Buy Gold. I understand. Others say buy bitcoin. For me it has always been buy real estate. You live in it, you can rent it out, you can grow vegetables… and even though sometimes prices go down, like right now, that creates opportunities. I just sold 3094 Procter because several buyers recognized the value of unique and special. The price was lower than in 2017. Interest rates are super low and prices are lower than 3 years ago, what better timing?
Photo Credit: Video Open House
How have times changed for rates since a few decades ago?
Back when inflation was a threat, my dad sold the family vineyards in the north of Portugal and immediately put the money into rental condos in Lisbon. When I lived and worked in Rio, in the 80's - inflation in Brazil was 1000%. Alcan (a multinational from Quebec that had a holding company in Brazil, it has since been bought by another multinational - Rio Tinto) had a money market guy who collected our paychecks on Friday and put the money into the overnight markets until Monday, when I usually would go to a currency exchange and get it into $US.
Photo Credit: Video Open House
What was your first sale in West Vancouver? How have prices changed since then?
My first sale in West Van in 1986 was a house in Dundarave for $143,000. I predicted that soon it would be worth $500,000. A few years later I thought that people were overpaying at $800,000. In 1987, I had a listing on Westhill for $350,000 - a Tudor with a view of the city and harbor. The kind of property now sells around $4 million. I had people coming in and saying they would not buy because prices would come down. At the same time I had buyers moving in from California because they wanted their kids to be educated in Vancouver. They bought a house instead of renting which was their initial idea. Two years later they told me they wished they had bought five or more. In 1989, Hong Kong buyers started to come in ahead of the crowds to prepare for the changeover in 1997. Some realtors were showing them 10 houses and asking, “So, which one do you want?” The answer was, "I'll buy all 10."
Photo Credit: Video Open House
