[URBAN NOTE] "Generational shift in real estate forces Gen Y to downsize"

[rfmcdonald]

Reporting from Vancouver, The Globe and Mail's Brent Jang reports on Generation Y's saturated housing market.

First-time buyer Jordan Hopper paid $383,500 for a place to call his own, getting a taste of what a difference a generation makes in Metro Vancouver’s expensive housing market.

A couple of weeks ago, he signed a deal to buy a one-bedroom condo in the municipality of North Vancouver. Mr. Hopper, 22, is thrilled that he will be moving into the 632-square-foot condo in late May, though he admits it’s a far cry from his parents’ 2,400-square-foot detached home, which they bought for $336,000 back in 1996.

Mr. Hopper has adjusted his expectations. His parents’ 53-year-old bungalow has tripled in market value to at least $1-million. The detached home is located a 15-minute drive away from his condo but seems a world away financially. Kids grew up with plenty of space in the neighbourhood of his childhood. “I played road hockey on the street and had all those sorts of things that come with growing up in a detached house,” said Mr. Hopper, who now works in North Vancouver as an account manager at Vancouver City Savings Credit Union (Vancity).

Mr. Hopper said his generation got squeezed out of the market for detached homes many years ago.

The average price for new and existing detached properties sold within the city of Vancouver surpassed $1.9-million last year, up 173 per cent since 2005. Vancity forecasts that the average detached price within Vancouver’s city limits could top $4.4-million in 2030, based on pricing growth in recent years, though real estate experts dismiss the projection as fantastical.