hey everyone!
ive never posted on this thread before, but when this article came out, I thought I should post it, and see your thoughts. I think this writer is pathetic, and by writing garbage like this, it exacerbates the complacency, jealousy, and small-minded attitudes that people exhibit when trying to blast Vancouver and Calgary. Yes, our real estate is expensive, we all know that, but reading this article hardly makes young people want to move to rural Saskatchewan; it makes them want to move to the cities and live a better life...
House payments actually affordable
Christalee Froese, The Leader-Post
Published: Monday, June 19, 2006
I just thank my lucky stars.
That's what I do regularly, and particularly every second Friday when our monthly mortgage payment comes due.
I'm not going to tell you how much our house payments are because if you live in Toronto, Calgary or Vancouver, you may just fall to your knees and weep.
But I will share with you just how affordable living in rural Saskatchewan truly is ... not to mention how great our air, neighbours and coffee-row gossip can be.
And, just to prove to you how serious I am about pointing out the affordability of rural living, I even pulled out my calculator. The numbers are wildly unbelievable and astounding.
Statistics Canada reported last week that urban home prices made the largest jump in 17 years. Canadian housing prices across the country are up by about 13 per cent in the last 12-month period (34.8 per cent in Calgary, 29 per cent in Vancouver and 18.6 per cent in Edmonton).
I recently sat down to take a non-numerical look at what these housing prices might mean for you and I and any aspirations we might have of living somewhere other than Saskatchewan.
Dream with me for a moment: let's just say you've always wanted to move west to walk barefooted in the rising ocean tides of the Pacific and to breathe in the salty sea air along the Vancouver coastline. Let's settle you into a nice little neighbourhood in West Vancouver -- we'll give you a modest detached bungalow with 1,200 square feet, three bedrooms, one and a half baths and a single-car garage (not to mention a ramped-up security system to protect your belongings from urban hoodlums).
The folks at Royal Lepage say you'll only need to come up with about $742,500. And if your bank is nice enough to give you a reasonable lending rate of 6.5 per cent (with $74,250 or so as a down payment), then my dear new Vancouverite, your grand total monthly mortgage payment (without property taxes included) is the $4,973.45 monthly.
And since you're new to Vancouver and could be looking at a minimum-wage job to start off with (a whopping $8/hour in B.C.), you'll be earning $16,640 yearly, or $1,386.66 monthly. Not quite enough to cover that nearly $5,000 mortgage payment I realize, but if you get six or seven jobs, you may be able to afford a home, and a Pizza Pop or two. Oh, did I mention you'll need 25 years of working those seven jobs in order to pay off that loan, and at the end of the day, you'll have paid $749,718 in interest to the bank of your choice? Happy job hunting!
If you can land something that pays about $60,000 net annually, that will at least cover your mortgage payments -- we can worry about paying property taxes and eating later.
If you'd like to move closer to home, say maybe Calgary, that's far more affordable. If you want to live in a decent part of town in a modest three-bedroom bungalow, we can get you set up for about $402,000. But, I think after the Vancouver experience, your standards have probably dropped by now, so let's just go with a 900-square-foot, two-bedroom condo in a mediocre area.
Well, good news -- only $230,000 on average, meaning you're looking at only $1,540.60 for a monthly mortgage payment (if you have $23,000 for a down payment). And after you've paid the place off in 25 years, you'll only have given the bank $232,235 in interest. At Alberta's minimum wage rate of $7/hour, you'll be earning about $1,213 monthly. So, looks like you're going to be needing more than one job in Calgary too.
Perhaps you might want to stay in rural Saskatchewan. We can set you up with a nice three-bedroom bungalow, large yard and friendly neighbours for around $50,000 to $70,000. If you want to go smaller, or more modest, we can even find you something decent for $20,000 to $40,000.
Let's say you pick out that three-bedroom one on the corner with the big trees, double lot, finished basement, attached garage and 1,100 square feet -- that'll be about $60,000. With a 25-year mortgage, at 6.5-per-cent interest, you'll be paying about $360 monthly.
At a minimum-wage rate of $7.55 in Saskatchewan, you'll be earning around $1,300 monthly. Minus your $360 mortgage payment, that's $940 left over. With property and income taxes still to pay, as well as the grocery bill and the odd movie rental, your cheque will be eaten up pretty quickly. But at least, you can consider having your own home.
Gotta go. I'm off to the bank to pay my mortgage, and to make plans for what I'm going to do with what's left over.
- Christalee Froese welcomes comments at
[email protected]
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