This letter is in response to a story posted to Pique’s website on May 13, “The cheapest homes for sale in the Sea to Sky.”
The Whistler property at 9179 Emerald Drive is listed at $1,995,000 and last sold for $63,500 in 1989. To put the current plight of Whistler’s youth in perspective, let’s see how many years of minimum-wage income this would cost. This will better determine “who had it tougher?”
In 1989, B.C.’s minimum wage was $4.35, or about $9,500/year assuming 2,000 hours per year. So the house cost about 6.7 years of minimum-wage income.
In 2023, the house is listed for $1,995,000, which amounts to about 63.7 years of today’s minimum wage income ($15.65 x 2,000).
After much detailed analysis, I’ve come to the conclusion that kids today are hooped! If only they’d stop ordering avocado toast and quit their cellphone habit they too could save up for a home...
