BC vs Ontario area

[skunker]

I get a land magazine called Dignam Land that oftens sells land for cheap in Canada (around 5k-15k is usually the price for around 4 - 40acres). Now, I recently took a trip to British Columbia and thought it was incredible. I've been to Yellowstone and seen Yosemite, but I really liked BC in terms of scenery and unrestricted access (and lots less people).

While prices in BC are not expensive (yet), it is hard to find land not sold by a realtor.

Anyone here have land out there? How does it compare to Ontario area?

[JZ]

I live in BC but have no knowledge of land costs in Ontario.

I can tell you that BC is a very large Province and the land costs vary significantly across the province.

An acre of land close to Vancouver (major City) would probably be a pile of money if you could find a vacant one. We live in Abbotsford (population of about 100,000 and about an hours drive from Vancouver). A vacant acre of land here is in the order of $400,000.

The further from the lower mainland (Vancouver area) the cheaper the land. And as always the further from any Cities the cheaper.

We were looking at 15 acres parcels about 4 hours north of Vancouver and the asking price was between $90,000 and $120,000. We ended up buying 132 acres in the same area for $172,000 but it will cost about $60,000 t0 $70,000 to get the power / phone, well and septic in to the building site.

Futher north or east the prices will be even less. I am sure if you get into remote areas close to the Alaska border the land would be real cheap.

Your best source of info is the MLS real estate listings. Go to mls.ca and search the areas you are interested in. Once you find a listing you like just call the realtor who is listing it and they will be happy to show you the property.

Good luck.

[skunker]

Thanks Jz! Yea, the land area I was talking about was the Cassiar District (sp?) like West of Prince George, etc. Carribou region. It's pretty remote out there, right? What are people's general attitudes about that area? Good point about the cost of phone/electric....but the whole purpose of building a cabin out there, for these people, I think, is to do away with those expenses.

[JZ]

It been a long time since I was in Prince George and I hear it has grown a lot. Land west of there should however still be real cheap.

The Caribou and Prince George areas are beautiful. My parents lived in the Caribou for years before their passing and they both loved it. My sister lives there now and would never return to the Big Smoke as they call it.

One word of caution about those areas - they get pretty cold in the winter. One Christmas at my mothers place it got to -45C and I can tell you that is cold. The seats in my truck felt like concrete. That was an unusual event though.

Another cocnern is the pine beetle infestation that is killing our forests - it is massive. If you want to see trees you really should visit the area you are interested in to check out the forest health. If the area you are considering is primarily trees other than pine it wouldn't be a problem.

Good luck.

[adubar]

skunker,

have you tried browsing the craigslist listings for BC?

The reason you might be seeing realtor ads is the very fact that BC is a large area. With quite a bit of area between choice land owned by individuals and populated/metropolitan areas, it is not very cost effective for FSBOs to run province-wide or national ads.


You might try posting your own as looking for land for sale by owner.

See if you get any replies.

BC is beautiful, but I can tell you that other posters on the this thread are correct in warning you about prices. I lived two years on Vancouver Island, and there are homes located there that would put most upscale urban areas to shame pricewise.

-A

[christopher]

I purchased land in the south east area of BC and I love it. I got a good deal last year, but it is picking up in price as the central and east part of the province is getting expensive because it is close to Calgary. You can still pick up house lots for around 45,000, which is about 80' x 100'. I have also seen 5-15 acres plus for around 100,000-150,000. Like the other member said, check out MLS.CA. Unfortunately it is realators only, but the only other alternative would be to get online and check local buy and sell or the papers. Good luck. I am bias as I rather like the mild climate of the area.