I bought a condo in the Monaco 2 December, 2014. In spite of the loss of valuation over the years, don't regret it, and believe in the community with projects coming down the pipeline. However, I took the gamble that the poster above is thinking and found myself out of work with our contracts on hold coming back from Christmas break. I spent five months looking for work with most of my savings in the down payment and resorting to bottle picking and cash advances off two credit cards to get me through until I found a job.
Eventually I found work that completely changed the direction of my life, was able to rent the condo out at slightly less than the mortgage/fees/taxes. The job had me live in 22 towns across BC and Vancouver island in the following 24 months. I camped in the truck a great portion of that to collect the per diem money, spent nights by bio luminescent water, met a couple incredible women in that time, and eventually bulked up enough capital to protect my mortgage and return back to school as a 30 year old student for a Petroleum Engineering Tech program. Got honors, attained work with job security, a defined benefits pension plan, make the most I ever had, and live on the west coast.
Before I start to sound like an old man rambling at clouds, I want to say that my point is that nobody can tell you if it's right for you to buy a home or not, we can advise you on the high level of risk in the real estate market and direct you to investments with a better ROR, but as long as you're okay with depreciation, and are capable of living within your means if you have to find alternative avenues of revenue, then it's never a bad time to buy a place - especially when you plan to live in it long term.
My opinion? Now is a time to hold, bulk up your savings, and monitor for any lagging indicators in the real estate market over the coming months. Prices aren't going to soar anytime soon but are likely to go down.
