VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Real estate is real insanity, especially for people trying to break into the market.
There are more warnings the housing climate over the past decade has set many people up for a financial implosion. An entire generation of homeowners thinks cheap, easy credit and soaring prices are normal.
Joe Castaldo with
Canadian Business Magazine says their perceptions are warped. "First-time homebuyers the past decade, the norm for them has been big price appreciation and low interest rates. Neither of those things are set to happen to the same level over the next few years. It's not going to continue."
He adds there is a lot of social pressure to buy a house and most people cave, joining the 68 per cent of Canadians who have bought a home. They've jumped into mortgages, and household debt is at record levels.
Some economists say we are perched right at the very top of a bubble that is going to burst. But Castaldo says buyers should remember one thing:
"First and foremost, it's a place to live. The financial aspects should be secondary," he explains. "As long as you're happy with your accommodation and you're buying a home because you want to live there, I don't think anyone is necessarily setting themselves up for disappointment."
The disappointment will come if they think owning a home will still make them wealthy.