[Halifax] The Sister Sites | 2X29 m | 2X9 floors | Completed

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

I would insist on a unit with porthole windows!

[goldeneye77]

Asked about rents for a few units here last week -- all 2 bedroom + den varieties . . . ranged between $2400 - $2500 in case anyone is curious.

[teddifax]

Originally Posted by goldeneye77

Asked about rents for a few units here last week -- all 2 bedroom + den varieties . . . ranged between $2400 - $2500 in case anyone is curious.

Easily Affordable??? - what kind of salary would you have to earn for this?

[Jonovision]

That is really high. You would need to be netting at least $100k a year to afford that.

[teddifax]

Originally Posted by Jonovision

That is really high. You would need to be netting at least $100k a year to afford that.

I guess I'll take 2... NOT!!!

[Drybrain]

More like $80,000, going by the 30-percent-of-income rule, but yeah, that`s really high for a rental. Is that the average? That’s like the absolute top end price for other new-construction, high-end rental buildings in the area. Most are $1,400-$1,600 range.

Hell, you could buy a two- or three-bedroom house on the peninsula, and your mortgage plus utilities/taxes/etc would be significantly less than that.

[portapetey]

I have to agree this seems pretty outrageous.

Now, I'm not one of those people who thinks it's always better to own than to rent. I think the financial advantages of ownership over renting tend to be grossly exaggerated. If you can afford $1000 a month only, you are quite possibly better off renting than buying something in that price range (depending on your other financial circumstances.) And ownership is a rather large hassle that has to be weighed against what else you want in life.

But when you're talking $2400 per month, it just seems like you could spend so much less to buy a rather nice house...

I have to say, I earn right in that range that you're talking about and I couldn't even begin to imagine handing over a full bi-weekly paycheque every month for rent. I find the idea quite laughable.

[someone123]

There's more to it than that though. A lot of people don't want a house, and a large condo can easily cost $600-700 a month in fees, upkeep, and taxes. So really an apples-to-apples comparison is against maybe a $1,800 a month mortgage payment.

The mortgage may be better if you expect prices to appreciate but that is not guaranteed, and a lot of seniors don't care about selling at a profit.

I'm not sure what Halifax prices are like but I've got friends renting a $2,800 a month studio in downtown Vancouver. Their particular neighbourhood isn't as nice as this one. This pricing is still quite a bit lower than what it would be in larger cities.

[counterfactual]

Originally Posted by someone123

There's more to it than that though. A lot of people don't want a house, and a large condo can easily cost $600-700 a month in fees, upkeep, and taxes. So really an apples-to-apples comparison is against maybe a $1,800 a month mortgage payment.

The mortgage may be better if you expect prices to appreciate but that is not guaranteed, and a lot of seniors don't care about selling at a profit.

I'm not sure what Halifax prices are like but I've got friends renting a $2,800 a month studio in downtown Vancouver. Their particular neighbourhood isn't as nice as this one. This pricing is still quite a bit lower than what it would be in larger cities.

But Vancouver is the craziest rental and buyers market in Canada. Halifax is, or perhaps was, one of the last few more sane housing markets.

The pricing seems high to me.

[Hali87]

That would be for the largest units though. They're probably quite large and very nice - consider that everything is brand new and probably nicer than average quality, and Spring Garden is almost certainly the de facto nicest neighbourhood to rent in. I'm assuming a small 1BR would be much less.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Two renters would each pay 1,200 (or a different amounts adding up to 2,400) if its a two bedroom. Its pretty steep, but $14,400 a year in rent isn't bad if you are netting 50k.

[Hali87]

But even that is including a den, and most people renting with roommates wouldn't necessarily need that extra room. Two couples sharing a 2-bedroom + den would be paying about $600/person/month, which is a reasonable tradeoff assuming everything is high-quality and the apartment is relatively spacious (and everyone gets along). I assume utilities are included in that price?

[portapetey]

Originally Posted by Hali87

But even that is including a den, and most people renting with roommates wouldn't necessarily need that extra room. Two couples sharing a 2-bedroom + den would be paying about $600/person/month, which is a reasonable tradeoff assuming everything is high-quality and the apartment is relatively spacious (and everyone gets along). I assume utilities are included in that price?

Do people do that (at least after the age of 25)? Two couples living in one two-bedroom apartment?

I doubt that is the typical scenario in this market segment.

[portapetey]

Originally Posted by worldlyhaligonian

Two renters would each pay 1,200 (or a different amounts adding up to 2,400) if its a two bedroom. Its pretty steep, but $14,400 a year in rent isn't bad if you are netting 50k.

This makes sense for a couple. I'm not sure so much for a "roomate" situation - I can't imagine paying that huge rent, and still being stuck with a room mate.

I've only been out of the rental market for five years, but maybe it's already been priced far beyond what I was used to.

These numbers just seem so insane to me.

[Hali87]

Originally Posted by portapetey

Do people do that (at least after the age of 25)? Two couples living in one two-bedroom apartment?

I doubt that is the typical scenario in this market segment.

It certainly wouldn't be unheard of.

[IanWatson]

There are a couple of 2 bed, 2 bath units in Bishops Landing that are for sale. They are not on the water side and they are $450k each, or about $1950/mo mortgage. Add in another $550 for condo fees and $300 in taxes for $2,800/mo (plus cost of repairs as needed).

So compared to owning a comparable unit it's not totally outrageous, but it's still certainly more than I would ever pay to rent. Also, while it's clear to me that we do have SOME people who can afford this much and have no problem with paying it, I still find it shocking/hard to believe we have enough people in that market segment to fill all of the buildings going up now that are at that price point and higher. Maybe my sense of market scale is just really off.

[goldeneye77]

Originally Posted by portapetey

Do people do that (at least after the age of 25)? Two couples living in one two-bedroom apartment?

I doubt that is the typical scenario in this market segment.

I was thinking the same. If you're going to live in a place like this, you don't have roommates . . . typically. I'm sure there are exceptions but . . .

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by goldeneye77

I was thinking the same. If you're going to live in a place like this, you don't have roommates . . . typically. I'm sure there are exceptions but . . .

Sounds like a little bit of hell to me. The young, single roommate dynamic is livable, throw in two couples, sharing one common area plus a kitchen is sure to end in disaster, unless they are all very close, compatible friends. Even then...

It's sad if it's coming to that, but in reality I think most couples would rather rent a 1-bedroom than to share a 2-bedroom with another couple.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by counterfactual

But Vancouver is the craziest rental and buyers market in Canada. Halifax is, or perhaps was, one of the last few more sane housing markets.

The pricing seems high to me.

Buying housing in Vancouver is really expensive but rents in general aren't that much higher than in Halifax (maybe 20-50% higher, not 3x). I was paying $1,600 a month for the ground floor of a nice house in Kits that was assessed at $2.2M, and something like $1,050 a month for a large 2 bedroom apartment near Broadway, which is I guess comparable to being by Robie and Almon or something like that.

The disconnect between rental and purchasing prices here is one of the signs that the market is kind of messed up and driven by investors and speculation. In the San Francisco area where prices are about as high but incomes are much higher the rents are high as well. Halifax seems fairly balanced.

[counterfactual]

Originally Posted by someone123

Buying housing in Vancouver is really expensive but rents in general aren't that much higher than in Halifax (maybe 20-50% higher, not 3x). I was paying $1,600 a month for the ground floor of a nice house in Kits that was assessed at $2.2M, and something like $1,050 a month for a large 2 bedroom apartment near Broadway, which is I guess comparable to being by Robie and Almon or something like that.

The disconnect between rental and purchasing prices here is one of the signs that the market is kind of messed up and driven by investors and speculation. In the San Francisco area where prices are about as high but incomes are much higher the rents are high as well. Halifax seems fairly balanced.

Fair points. Vancouver, I think, is one of the markets that seriously needs to look at limiting offshore property investment/ownership.