Potential buyers are attracted to lower housing prices in the Robson Valley, but at what cost?

Money versus happiness: it’s an age old battle and one that rears its head when someone considers buying a home in Jasper. Simply put, buying a home in Jasper is expensive. But is there a way to enjoy all that Jasper has to offer and get an affordable house at the same time?

One tempting escape option is to live in the Robson Valley and drive to Jasper for work. The drive might seem long, but houses in places like Valemount are much cheaper, and residents there express similar levels of happiness. 

It is certainly theoretically possible to work and play in Jasper but live elsewhere. However, is it worth it?

For the initial price of a home, it certainly seems so. The differences in price between a home in Jasper and the Robson Valley is staggering.

“The big thing [in the Robson Valley] you know is that it’s bang for your buck,” said Cam Jenkins, a broker with Jasper Real Estate. He explains that in places like Valemount, your money is simply going to buy you more house.

For instance, right now, situated on Highway 16, just north of the turn off to Valemount, sits a Bavarian single story house on four acres of land. The house has a creek and a waterfall in the backyard (along with potable drinking water), decks, all manner of flora and fauna and a hot tub. Inside the home is two bathrooms, three bedrooms, and a finished basement. Its owners are asking $299,000 for the home and property.

In Jasper, that money is not going to go near as far. Right now, there is a home at 810 Miette Avenue which is selling for $599,000. Inside, there are two bathrooms and four bedrooms (two are in the basement) and a sauna instead of a hot tub. However, the floor size is only 900 sq. ft compared to around 1,200 in the other home, which was also constructed in 1979. The Jasper house was built in 1949.

Twice as much money in Jasper compared to the Robson Valley clearly does not get you twice as much house.

It does get you a lot more time in your car, however and, in turn, a host of gasoline, insurance, and vehicular wear and tear related expenses that people in Jasper, many who do not even own cars, don’t have to worry about.

According to www.albertagasprices.com, if the average cost of gasoline is 96.9 cents, driving to Valemount to Jasper and back five times a week (or 74,250 km a year) in a 2010 Honda Accord will eat up about $4,607 in gas annually. A 2010 Ford F150 truck (4.6 l engine, auto, AWD) will cost $8,345 a year. A 2010 Lamborghini Murcielago (6.5 l engine, semi-auto, AWD), $11,280. 

These prices don’t include other trips and don’t include the cost of more frequent repairs to the vehicle. There’s also the fact that a commuter is likely going to burn through more cars and more repairs than someone who stays in Jasper. In short, if living in the Robson Valley costs you a new $20,000 vehicle every four years, there’s probably an extra $10,000 to $15,000 a year in vehicle costs that someone in Jasper doesn’t have to worry about.

Over the course of a 35 year mortgage, that could mean up to $525,000 in car costs: a hefty price tag.

There’s also the two hours a day of time spent in the car driving back and forth. A 2004 research paper by University of Zurich professors Stutzer, Alois and Bruno S. Frey tried to determine whether people who commuted more made up for this burden with better jobs and living standards. They concluded, “in a direct test of this strong notion of equilibrium, we find that people with longer commuting time report systematically lower subjective well-being.”

So, while there are costs of living in the Robson Valley that aren’t reflected in the prices of homes there, there are things that homebuyers pay for that aren’t reflected in the physical parts of a house.

Jenkins said when he talks about the great points about living in Jasper, he talks about the community. There are numerous hiking clubs, biking clubs, schools within walking distance, soccer leagues for the kids, medical services that offer more facilities than the Robson Valley, a larger church network and opportunities for community connections that just aren’t physically possible in a home along the highway.

According to Irene Berndsen, a Royal Lepage broker who lives in McBride and sells homes in the Robson Valley, the area has been hit hard by the recent closure of the local paper mill. Jobs are not as plentiful and these things hurt the community. There’s still bird watching clubs, a vibrant quilting scene, neighbours who care for each other and hikers, quad trails, dirt bikers and plenty of opportunity for outdoor adventure. 

But the area is still hurting. Most of Berndsen’s clients these days are semi-retired couples who are self sufficient and who do not work full-time jobs, she said. That’s because there aren’t many to be had.

“The market is really very slow right now,” said  Berndsen. “If you’re a younger couple or person, looking for some nightlife, let alone a full-time job, I can’t see you getting your fix.”

None of these things though necessarily detract from the quality of life of an individual in the Robson Valley. They may even add to it.

“It’s really about the kind of lifestyle that you want and that just depends on different kinds of people,” said  Berndsen. The quiet of the valley may be seen as peaceful serenity. The lack of neighbours outside your front door might just be privacy, she explains.

One factor that homeowners in Jasper and the Robson Valley don’t have to compare is mortgage rates. According to Jelly Darroch, a mortgage associate with Verico, CML, Canadian Mortgage Lender Inc. in Jasper, in town a home at $300,000 with 20 per cent down ($60,000) means a $240,000 with a 35 year amortization mortgage at 4.29 per cent (quick close rate) which equals payments of $1104.81 a month

In the Robson Valley, $300,000 for a home with 20 per cent down equals $240,000 plus a $3,360.00 CMHC fee (the fee is included because mortgage lenders worry that lending in the Robson Valley, where jobs are scare, means a greater risk of mortgage payment defaults) which means a loan of $243,360. Over a 35 year amortization mortgage at 4.29 per cent, that’s a monthly payment of $1120.27 or $15.46 per month more than in Jasper.

“There is no differential in the rate, both get the same rate. Any amount less than 20 per cent down would be exact same figures in Jasper or Robson Valley.  And of course as a mortgage broker, I look for the very best rates possible for the clients,” said Darroch in an email.

There are other benefits to living in the Robson Valley.

“The big allure out there is that you don’t have to deal with Parks Canada,” said Jenkins. “You wanna mow your grass... or not, it’s up to you.” said Jenkins.

He said that in a place like Valemount or along Highway 5, you can decide what to do on your land to a much larger extent that inside Jasper National Park. If you want to ride around a quad on your four-acre front lawn, you can. If you want to build a shed next to your detached two-car garage, you can.

“You have room, you have space, you have options, you can go for the rural lifestyle or the small community lifestyle, there’s just options out there that you don’t have [in Jasper],” said Jenkins.

Balancing Jasper’s higher prices and the lifestyles available in the Robson Valley might require an unconventional approach. Sandra Hodge is one woman who is driving that way. Hodge has a home in Tete Jaune and a home in Jasper. She works three jobs in the nursing field: one in Jasper, one in Valemount and one in Hinton. She’s spends a lot of time on the road.

“I just like the work out here,” said Hodge from the three bed medical clinic in Valemount while she takes a quick break from work.

Hodge’s little one room-cabin (“There’s a little loft, but it’s pretty small,” said Hodge) in Tete Jaune is situated on 10 acres of land. She has a garden where she can grow whatever she likes and plenty of green grass. In outdoor space terms, it’s a far cry from the apartment she keeps in Jasper.

“I really love the community in Jasper, but I love having my own lawn and room to just play around in my garden,” said Hodge. “I just love nature and this lets me really get back to it.

“And the driving is really not that bad.”

She said that after a stressful day of working with people’s ailments and sickness, the 45 minute drive from Jasper to Tete Jaune is a great way to decompress. She’ll turn on the stereo and just let the day melt away.

“I’m listening to music, I’m relaxing, I’m staring at the mountains around me, trying to pick up my next hike or climb. It’s just great,” said Hodge.

So, if Hodge is happy in Valemount and happy in Jasper, although for very different, but seemingly equal reasons, why are the prices so much higher in Jasper?

Cam Jenkins explained that part of the reason prices are so much higher in Jasper is simple supply and demand. Because the town exists inside a national park, it’s much harder to build new buildings to meet that demand. Houses in Jasper become a more valuable commodity, he said.

Mark Anielski, an Edmonton-based economist who spend his days quantifying what makes people happy and who has written a book titled The Economics of Happiness: Building Genuine Wealth, takes a different direction.

He says real estate prices are never likely to really value all of the variables that make an area desirable to live and work. They might gleam a few points, but they never tell the full story.

 He has conducted studies across Canada that rate and compare the quality of life in Canadian communities (Nelson, B.C. frequently tops the list as one of the best places to live in Canada) using so-called objective indicators of well-being. However, in spite of these ratings, the residents of most communities in Canada are generally as happy with their lives no matter where they live. Residents typically say things such as ‘I get along with my neighbours’ and ‘I feel safe at night.’ 

He suggests  a state of happiness is often relative and subjective. He said while a place like Nelson, B.C. and Jasper might have higher real estate prices because they consistently rate higher on quality of life tests, those prices (and tests) may make less sense when people in a place like Leduc are often saying the same things about why they like home.

“None of these tests are ever totally perfect,” said Anielski. “Often, the best way to really quantify the value of what makes a home valuable is to just simply talk to people one on one and just get their own story about why they choose to live in their community. What makes them feel happy about their choice? How do they feel about where they live? Those stories create a much better picture.”

He said that most of the time, happiness and value can really be found just about anywhere. He suspects that real estate broker talk about supply and demand and quality of life surveys is sometimes just a cover for higher brokerage fees.

Anielski said that his favourite place to go in Jasper for coffee is Coco’s, the popular haunt on Patricia Street. Anielski says, for him, going to that coffee shop makes him happy because he gets to see locals and sometimes former friends from Edmonton. In the end, maybe that’s one of the main things that can produce happiness anywhere; a place to get a good cup of coffee, meet friends and neighbours, and to just talk about things that matter.