I always find it interesting to compare real estate markets in other provinces and cities to see how far your money will go. It is fascinating that the same amount of money gets you such a wide variety of real estate – from a tiny condo to a large detached home.
Currently, the average sale price in Nanaimo for a single family home is around $525,000. Rents and purchase prices vary immensely from province to province, and city to city. Even real estate costs in cities in close proximity can vary greatly. For example, the average price of a home in Cowichan Valley is $480,000 and the average price of a home in Port Alberni is $274,000. Cowichan Valley is approximately 40 minutes away from Nanaimo and Port Alberni is around 1 hour and 15 minutes away. So, we can see that even cities that are near each other can still vary immensely in price. Real estate prices can vary greatly due to many factors such as geographical location, amenities, and population.
So how far will your $320,000 go?
Using $320,000, Murat Yukselir of The Globe and Mail composed a graphic illustrating what that amount of money would get you in four major Canadian cities.
As you can see in the graph above, in Vancouver your $320,000 would only get you a 527 square foot apartment with 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom, likely in an undesirable area. Comparatively, in Winnipeg you would get a home with 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, and over triple the amount of space at 1,860 square feet. Many factors will have affected these drastic price differences, such as demand, geographical location, jobs, weather, etc.
According to the National Average Price Map on the Canadian Real Estate Association website, the average price of a home in Vancouver is $1,029,786, while the average price of a home in Winnipeg is $294,216. What an enormous difference!
In conclusion, we see that $320,000 can seem like lots of money, or barely anything. If you are willing to make certain compromises, you can perhaps get more bang for your buck. However, you may then be living in chilly Winnipeg!
What are your thoughts?!
Do these numbers surprise you? Would you prefer to have a bigger and nicer house in a less desirable city or a small apartment in a bustling and beautiful city? Comment below!
