A city couldn't possibly be more expensive to live in than Vancouver, could it?
Yes, some could. But maybe not forever.
San Francisco's median home price jumped 12 per cent year over year in March, putting it at about C$1,040,231.69, BMO economist Sal Guatieri pointed out in a Thursday note.
Meanwhile, in Greater Vancouver, the benchmark price, which represents typical homes in an area, was only C$844,800, about 20 per cent lower than San Fran's median value.
But this also represented an increase of 25 per cent in the same period — and it could top San Fran if prices keep climbing as they have in the next two years, Guatieri said.
A tech boom has fueled San Francisco's housing market to new heights, with the average price going from US$895,000 in 2007 to about $1.1 million today, according to Forbes.
But media reports have expressed concern that the market there resembles housing conditions prior to the dot-com bubble bursting in 2000, when prices fell by about 10 per cent.
Then again, Vancouver hasn't been immune from warnings about real estate, either.
The Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC) said single-detached home prices in the West Coast city "are now observed to be at levels higher than those consistent with financial, economic and demographic fundamentals," according to The Globe and Mail.
They're not so different, they and them.
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