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Sell or not to sell, that is the question

Robert’s column
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Robert Barron

A report on the Cowichan Valley Citizen’s website this week stated that the average price of a house in the Greater Victoria area rose by as much as a whopping 10 per cent over the last year.

That means a single-family home in Oak Bay, the most expensive area for real estate in the capital region, is now selling for $1,045,000.

For homeowners who bought their houses and properties decades ago for a mere fraction of their current worth, or who are fortunate enough to have inherited them outright, the profit margin for selling their homes in the current market is staggering.

The housing market is said to be cooling on the Island recently, but the average price of a single-family dwelling in the Cowichan Valley is still almost $400,000, which is about $55,000 more than they were worth as recently as 2015.

Home sellers in the Valley wouldn’t make as much as those in Oak Bay these days, but they would walk away with a substantial sum of money by any standards.

I bought a two-bedroom house on a quarter-acre lot in Nanaimo seven years ago for approximately $220,000.

At the time, I thought I was being robbed because some of my siblings had bought much larger homes in the city a number of years before my purchase for much less than what I paid for mine.

And, in fact, the assessed value of the house went down for several years after I bought it.

But, like the tide, its value rose along with all the other properties in the region as the ongoing housing boom continues.

The average home in Nanaimo is now in the $450,000 range, although I can’t be sure just how much mine would sell for on the open market.

But, judging from what I’m hearing from friends who are trying to buy a house these days, potential buyers are offering well above the asking prices, and are doing so sight unseen in many cases.

The possibilities are staggering.

I’m entertaining the idea of selling my house and clearing every debt I have.

I would still have enough money to travel the world for some time with no financial worries, and pick up a smaller, less expensive house, when I got back.

After all, I have no wife or kids that would take exception to the loss of the familiar surroundings of their home.

And I did originally buy the place as an investment that I could cash in on at a later date, and maybe now is as good a time as any.

Housing prices go up and down all the time and many realtors have been saying recently that the bubble will soon burst on this housing bonanza for sellers, so I fear I’ll regret any hesitation to take advantage of the high prices.

And everyone knows that true success in a market economy is to buy low and sell high.

I’ve heard that in every movie about Wall Street ever made.

But, of course, the other side of the coin is that there really aren’t many housing choices to pick from around here these days if I chose to sell and downsize.

After all, that’s one of the main reasons why the price of houses is so high.

So I would run the risk of being homeless, albeit a rather well off homeless person.

At least until the money runs out.

It’s hard to say what one should do.

But I have a funny feeling that I’ll find myself in about 12 months writing a column complaining about how I missed an opportunity to make a lot of money a year ago, and now my house is worth a mere fraction of what it was.

And, knowing how hard it is for me to make these big decisions, I suspect I should reserve the space for that column now.



Robert Barron

About the Author: Robert Barron

Since 2016, I've had had the pleasure of working with our dedicated staff and community in the Cowichan Valley.
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