If you haven't visited the Museum of Vancouver (MOV) I recommend you do! It's a fantastic way to spend a rainy afternoon, not to mention a great lesson on Vancouver's history.
Here is what I learned about Real Estate history:
Real Estate Fever
Real estate purchases exceed all the heady expectations of eager investors in the boom years between 1908 and 1912.
Advertisements would have you believe that anyone can get ahead by investing in real estate “at exceptionally reasonable prices” with “easy terms”. There is a house for everyone, even those who could never have afforded property in the “old country”.
A Real Estate Bust
Vancouver’s economic boom collapses in 1913, leaving many impoverished homeowners with high mortgages on worthless lots.
The price of land does not recover to its pre-bust levels until the mid-1950s.
A City of Homes and Gardens
$12 down and $12 a month bought you a house lot in 1921
In the 1920s, cheap land and building supplies made home ownership a possibility for many Vancouverites. Bungalows, frugal buyers’ homes of choice, were easy to clean and maintain. With low-pitched gable roofs, textured sidings, and exposed rafters, beams, and brackets, Vancouver’s bungalows sat high in the ground to avoid the seeping water table.
In 1919, the province adopted the federal Better Home Scheme to ease the housing shortage and supply affordable homes to Great War veterans. Local real estate men insisted new homes be built on vacant lots in developed neighbourhoods, instead of clearing new areas, to avoid flooding the market and depressing land prices. One result was modest new homes in spotty clusters throughout the city.
For information on the Museum of Vancouver visit:
If you or someone you know has a great story or information about Real Estate history I'd love to hear it!
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