The problem is, salaries have not kept up with the cost of real estate.
The seemingly ever-increasing real estate prices throughout the Cowichan Valley, including the Cowichan Lake area, are more of a problem for some than others.
Those who are already in the market, or especially those who bought homes years ago and have ridden the wave of spiking prices, may be in a pretty good position. Should they want to sell, they can get a lot more than they originally paid for their property. Should they need to get into something else afterwards in the same area, they’ll be well-served by the price tag they can put on the old place.
But for those who are trying to find a home for the first time, the ballooning prices can be difficult if not prohibitive.
The problem is that while, yes, what many people get paid has increased since 1977 when you could get a nice house at Lake Cowichan for $27,400, it hasn’t increased enough to compensate for the now $300,000 price tag on a home (and that’s a modest home, too).
The ratio is off. Compared to those previous decades, your home will cost you a significantly greater chunk of your paycheque, likely over an increased number of years. That’s if you will even qualify for a mortgage.
And yet, it’s no less per month if you have to rent.
Something has become badly skewed.
We’re not yet to the point of Toronto or Vancouver, where you can forget about list price or a home inspection, or any conditions on your offer whatsoever, and even then you may be outbid. This kind of crazy market has started to infiltrate Victoria as well, as folks from the Mainland look for a, relatively speaking, cheaper place to bail out to.
But it’s coming ever closer.
It’s wonderful that people are recognizing what a desirable place to live the Cowichan Lake area provides. The hope is that all these new people can boost the lake’s communities which have struggled to attract and retain businesses since the collapse of the forest industry.
But it must remain a place where people can both find a place to live and afford it.