We smiled smugly and sagely to ourselves and anyone who'd catch our eye when we swung a sweet real estate deal through Alex Grunenfelder's Cube Living art project on Tuesday. At $3 for two cubic feet of space, we were thrilled about the bargain.

But a Thursday morning data crunch from Bing Thom Architects proves the extent to which we were only playing house.

@221aweeee #VanRE Bargain! 1 ft3 for a $1, but, with 2013 @bcassessment, it should be $206 ow.ly/hU8po @thetyee @fabulavancouver

— Bing Thom Architects (@BTArchitects) February 21, 2013

Cube Living sells one fantastical cubic foot of space for $1. But one cubic foot of space in the city of Vancouver is actually valued at $206, according to 2013 BC Assessment values.

Bing Thom researchers explain their calculation.

Calcu bsd on 2013 @bcassessment ($248bn) dvded by 1.2 bn sq ft area of entire City of #Vancouver ow.ly/hUl3B @thetyee @221aweeee

— Bing Thom Architects (@BTArchitects) February 21, 2013

Grunenfelder's installation is a commentary on the absurdities of the real estate industry. The numbers from Bing Thom Architects prove that Cube Living's "Real Estate 3.0" has truly arrived.

More on the BC Assessment numbers here. (It's a PDF.)

Jackie Wong reports on affordable housing for The Tyee Solutions Society.