BC, economy, opinion, prices

Vancouver Emergency Housing Town Hall

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112 Comments

At least one local politician seems to think that house prices in Vancouver are not just a problem, but an emergency.

David Eby is hosting an ‘Emergency Housing Town Hall‘ on March 16th at the St. James Community Square on West 10th.

Join MLA David Eby and local experts for an Emergency Housing Town Hall

This meeting is to discuss the causes of, and solutions to, an out-of-control real estate market in the Lower Mainland that has little or no connection to average household income. Issues of international speculation in our housing market, shadow flipping, real estate agent accountability, and other concerns will be addressed. Bring your stories, questions and concerns. The media, along with MLAs from both sides of the legislature, both BC Liberal and BC NDP, will be invited.

This is a meeting to hear stories, demand answers, and send a message to the Premier and the government to start to value the people of Metro Vancouver who make the communities we call home possible.

For full details see the event page here.

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[…] –Bank of Canada good on rates –We’re building lots of condos –Who’s doing what –We’re not realtors –Think of the children –Local demand irrelevant? –Empty homes are low – […]

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southseacompany

“Bank of Canada keeps key interest rate at 0.5%”, CBC News

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/bank-of-canada-interest-rate-1.3483080

“The Bank of Canada kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged as expected today, as the central bank will wait and see what Ottawa plans to spend on stimulating the economy ”

“”Fiscal stimulus from Ottawa is no miracle growth cure for the economy, and any relapse in oil prices will simply expose the underlying soggy growth outlook,” BMO’s Doug Porter said. “The scalding housing market in some cities would be a good reason for the bank to stay put, but they seem to have washed their collective hands on that front.””

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southseacompany

“Markets betting on near-zero interest rates for another decade”, Reuters

http://ca.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idCAKCN0WB1QG

“World markets may have recovered their poise from a torrid start to the year, but their outlook for global growth and inflation is now so bleak they are betting on developed world interest rates remaining near zero for up to another decade.”

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Oracle

The federal liberals just raised immigration to 305,000 and Christy Clark just pledged to double the number of international students. I honestly feel sorry for the Caucasians here. You way of life will be lost within 20 years. 1 million new Asian inmigrants, 0.4 million Asian temps, and already 50%+ babies born in the lower mainland are foreign ethnicities. Your government just sold out the best place in Canada. Unbelievable. No other country would ever allow that. And those of you who are condoning this. Just wait until the majority bans Christmas trees and Easter holidays. Why can’t we have Holidays on Diwali and Chinese New Year ? It is coming. There is already talk of a petition to be circulated in the south Asian community to have provincial holidays on Vaisakhi and Diwali. I will support it. You guys… Read more »

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ostritch

Remember the leaky condo crisis. Remember how it was a hot potato issue where government blamed developers who blamed government who blamed building codes. Remember the blog that was set up to help unsuspecting buyers from buying a leaky mess? Remember how no one was really ever held responsible and rain screening and a small and short insurance plan was put up to placate complaints

I think that when the various levels of government move to solve this housing crisis, it will be as effective as that.

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patriotz

The problem is excessive prices and the solution is lower prices. If you’re opposed to lower prices you’re opposed to a solution. It’s not a matter of competence, but intent.

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ostritch

Huh?

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franko

No matter where you run to, to escape the Chinese invasion of Vancouver, you will need to compete with the 300,000 immigrants that McCallum has just promised to bring in. Meanwhile, Justin appeases our worries with earthshattering announcements that our currency will be adorned with a Canadian female whose identity will be announced later.
The suspense will surely keep us awake for many nights.

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The Man

I’m rooting for Pamela Anderson.

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southseacompany

“Bubble fears spread beyond housing bears as Vancouver condo building smashes records”, Financial Post

http://business.financialpost.com/news/economy/bubble-fears-spread-beyond-housing-bears-as-vancouver-condo-building-smashes-records

“Demand for condominiums is soaring in big cities like Toronto and Vancouver, prompting some analysts to worry about a potential bubble.”

“BMO Capital Markets economist Robert Kavcic noted that housing starts in British Columbia hit their highest level since 1990 while Vancouver recorded the most condominium starts on record.”

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watching

Fyi bil works for CRA has been assigned to audit flippers in Vancouver particularly reno assignments and making sure no one claim principal resident. He says some people about to get nasty surprise. ..lotsa non reporting hahaha

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Bubble Tea

It was the IRS that brought down Al Capone. Maybe the CRA can bring down the housing bubble but we need more of them.

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Royce McCutcheon

Virtual high five to your BIL!

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southseacompany

“The insane expectations driving the Canadian housing market”, Maclean’s magazine

http://www.macleans.ca/economy/economicanalysis/the-insane-expectations-driving-the-canadian-housing-market/

“For homeowners, even the tiniest shred of a possibility that their home might eventually fetch several million dollars equates to a powerful psychological windfall. Canadians have readily tapped that paper wealth through home equity loans. The latest data from Statistics Canada shows the outstanding balance for personal lines of credit was close to $270 billion in January, up from $115 billion a decade ago, and $30 billion in 2000.”

“Meanwhile, those who have been sitting on the sidelines and seeing 17 per cent annual price increases are prone to panic, fearing they’ll miss out on further gains or be priced right out of the market. That may entice them to leap in before homes become truly unaffordable, even if it means stretching their finances dangerously thin.”

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southseacompany

“Should you rent or buy? This real estate calculator will help you decide”, Global News

http://globalnews.ca/news/2563940/should-you-rent-or-buy-this-real-estate-calculator-will-help-you-decide/

“Should I rent or buy? Try Global’s real-estate calculator to help you decide.”

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southseacompany

“Vancouver real estate: vacant home rate flat since 2002, says city report” CBC News

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-empty-homes-report-1.3481195

“The percentage of vacant homes in Vancouver has remained flat over the last 14 years despite longstanding complaints that investors are buying homes and leaving them empty, according to a new report released this morning to city council.”

“The report says Vancouver’s non-occupancy rate was 4.9 per cent in 2002 compared with 4.8 per cent in 2014, which is line with other big Canadian cities.”

“The study found that more than 90 per cent of the city’s 10,800 empty housing units were apartments.”

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teddy

don’t get why my comments are not being posted here goes one more try.

Does anyone remember the street of dreams in the 80’s. It was a HAM promoted subdivision in coquitlam. Properties sold at insane prices then crashed. Does anyone have the data on that. I would imagine this run up might end the same way but on a city wide basis.

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Bubble Tea

CMHC revs up hunt for flows of foreign money into Canada’s torrid housing market.
Canada’s housing agency, looking for new methods to track foreign ownership in the country’s soaring real estate markets, may tap money laundering police and classify international university students as foreign buyers, according to internal documents.
http://business.financialpost.com/personal-finance/mortgages-real-estate/cmhc-revs-up-hunt-for-flows-of-foreign-money-into-torrid-housing-market

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squeak

“Yesterday she had a bit of a housing crisis of her own and basically asked how can we in all good conscience raise our kids in the Lower Mainland? They’ll never be able to buy a home and eventually will probably be living as an English-speaking minority in a majority Chinese city. The culture will slowly come to reflect the majority Chinese population. That will be great for Chinese people, not so much for non Chinese. It’s not saying their culture is better or worse – it’s just that most groups enjoy living in a climate/culture that somewhat reflects their own values, traditions, and language. I’m finding it tough to make any good argument for staying here. How would others here answer such a question?” I think it would be cruel to the kids to stay in Vancouver. I have… Read more »

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YVR

Agreed. You should avoid Greater Vancouver. You will get beat up. We don’t like losers here.

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FEDup

You’re a fool

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Ulsterman

I’ve basically had a very understanding wife who never nagged me to buy. Of course i now wish she had been a nagging, nesting wife who would probably have forced my hand 5 years ago like so many did. Yesterday she had a bit of a housing crisis of her own and basically asked how can we in all good conscience raise our kids in the Lower Mainland? They’ll never be able to buy a home and eventually will probably be living as an English-speaking minority in a majority Chinese city. The culture will slowly come to reflect the majority Chinese population. That will be great for Chinese people, not so much for non Chinese. It’s not saying their culture is better or worse – it’s just that most groups enjoy living in a climate/culture that somewhat reflects their own… Read more »

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w00t!

Hyper-mega-Bull9 hours 11 minutes ago
LEARN MANDARIN!

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OpenCourse

China punishes over 35,000 corrupt officials in small towns.
Disturbing. Stealing from the poor and downtrodden, their own people.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/national/China-punishes-over-35000-for-poverty-relief-corruption/shdaily.shtml

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YVR

I can’t think of a good argument for you to stay here either. I say leave now.

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UnagiDon

Ulsterman, let me ignore the Chinese issue and focus on the housing and career issues. In many ways Vancouver can be a nice place to raise kids, so I am happy to stay here for now.

But I think that after my kids finish schooling and start a career, I would like for them to move elsewhere. And at that time, I would be happy to leave Vancouver too. I don’t want the family baggage to be tying them back here. So I am trying to steer my own career so that I will have options to find a job elsewhere, 10-15 years down the road.

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ostritch

Back to Ireland. It’s booming again.

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Royce McCutcheon

@Ulsterman: Something to put in the background: even if you HAD bought in 2005, you would probably have to ask yourself these same questions, no? I know people with young families and very fortunate circumstances that own detached houses on the west side and still question the long-term viability of their community as they think of their children. With young kids, they’re less concerned. But as they age and need to range more (which is maybe where you’re at), they worry about the relative absence of other families and kids in the area. Since having a family, I have moved away from very nice detached house rental circumstances precisely because the neighborhoods suck from a family/kids perspective. Anyhow, YMMV so it’s hard to say anything specific to you. But the first thing (IMO), regardless of your circumstances or what you… Read more »

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Ulsterman

I basically accept that I made bad choices regarding housing because i based my choices on rational factors such as price-earnings ratios, local incomes etc. It didn’t work out for me. What i simply don’t understand is how we explain this to all the kids who are going to leave high school or university in the next few years. We’ve presided over public policies that have allowed “owning a place to live” to become impossible for 99% of the population. This is through no fault of the young generation. They didn’t sit on the sidelines reading bear blogs. The current generation are the stewards of our housing stock and they have a responsibility to care for it and pass it along to the next generations, in the same way that we would be expected to protect and pass along a… Read more »

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ostritch

Hmmmm. I’m not totally with you on the kids angle. Look, we’ve been fat and soft for a while now. There are other people out there on the planet who are lean and hungry. They work harder than us. Their kids, in our schools, work harder than our kids. So who should be the doctors, dentists, and smart-thinking, fast-acting business people.

It’s our fault that we’ve made it so easy for them but our own literal application of “political correctness” at every turn and for every thing is proof of our stupidity and nothing else.

This story is as old as humanity. Goodbye old-school, gentle, WASPish Vancouver, it was short but sweet.

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GreenSalad

NDP appears to sell headquarters to foreign buyer

Burnaby building fetches $2.15 million

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/appears+sell+headquarters+foreign+buyer/11771478/story.html?__lsa=6598-6c2f

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patriotz

The article gives no evidence to back up the headline, in fact it indicates the buyer is a BC corporation which is subject to the same taxation as any other regardless of who the ultimate owners are.

It’s also funny that a commercial property on Kingsway is selling for less than a house.

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paulb

New
349
Sold
240
TI:8207

http://www.paulboenisch.com

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crabman

Just when you thought this shit show couldn’t get any worse, another explosive story for Sam Cooper.

http://www.theprovince.com/touch/story.html?id=11771306

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p123

http://www.theprovince.com/touch/story.html?id=11771306 CRACKDOWN ON CHINESE CAPITAL FLIGHT ‘WILL IMPACT’ LOCAL REAL ESTATE When China’s stock market crashed and the government rapidly devalued the yuan last year, newly rich Chinese raced for the exits. Bloomberg calculated that US$1 trillion left the country in 2015, with the highest outflows in December. Much of that money was destined for hot West Coast real estate markets from Vancouver to Los Angeles. In Vancouver it’s debated whether President Xi Jinping’s government can stop the flood. Seattle lawyer Dan Harris ­— an expert on facilitating trade with Chinese businesses — said that since January, China has aggressively clamped down on capital flight. Harris said U.S. realtors are calling his firm more and more often for help in getting cash out of China for luxury home sales that were easily completed in the past. “That will impact real… Read more »

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Many Franks

Another day, another RE scheme causing a frenzy in the local media.

A dark side of Vancouver’s red-hot real estate market: Unlicensed ‘wholesalers’

B.C.’s Superintendent of Real Estate on “Amanda”: “Yeah, if she could just volunteer to incriminate herself, we’ll get right onto it.”

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bullwhip29

incorrect link or article yanked from site

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Bubble Tea

I would like to post this question for the readers of this blog about what might happen with the Capital Gain on March 22nd budget and what may happen to the Vancouver Housing Market.

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Tiger

“Asian” came out as the most used search term for British Columbians visiting Pornhub,

http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2016/03/vancouver-top-porn-search-terms/

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crabman

Looks like some good times in the Maritimes!

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bestplaceonearth

and what does it have anything to do with real estate? is that what you do all day?

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Tiger

NO IDIOT .I SAW IT IN VANCITYBUZZ WHEN I WAS BROWSING.

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Zero Down Forty

“Emergency Town Hall”

Unfortunately, I believe more people will show up at a condo pre-sale opening than to a town hall meeting on high home prices.

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