Ah… Friday!
As another week draws to a close, our thoughts turn to the weekend and another Free-for-all open topic discussion thread!
Here are a few recent links to kick off the chat:
–whats the NDP doing about housing?
–nation wide drop not seen here
So what are you seeing out there? Post your news links, thoughts and anecdotes in the comments section below and have a fantastic weekend!
We need a story on the SearsCanada wipeout. I mean, Brick n Morter Retail just got an axe to the head in this country, while transactions On Line is everything to people.
Ahhh, isnt retail like real estate? and online transactions? Thats you in your comfy car, out in the parking lot beside the Killarney Community centre, taking care of business before yoga.
Foreign investors flock to Montreal
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-construction-boom-economy-politics-1.4377497
From the article.
Ly, who arrived in Canada 29 years ago, said the downtown landscape has changed significantly in the past five years. The recent addition of direct flights between China and Montreal have attracted Asian investors who comprise 35 to 40 per cent of condo owners at the project’s first phase, he said.
Crazy. The story is coached in terms of RE being investments, never as places to live as the inhabitant goes to work somewhere.
Quebecistanis all make it down to Floridee this winter.
You can’t see that Ly is a property developer and is using this article as an opportunity to trot out the usual “it’s a good time to buy” line? Next he’ll be claiming that foreign investors are purchasing homes from helicopters….
A housing crisis of a different sort is causing grave concern in some B.C. municipalities
http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/cemetery-space-dwindling-in-many-b-c-communities
Bela Legusi and Boris Karloff ghosts makin the Caskett Generation Pay for those cheap Saturday matinees
Vancouver brokerage’s purchase of Chinese real estate listing site Vanfun.com falls apart
https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/vancouver-brokerage-cancels-purchase-of-chinese-real-estate-listing-site-vanfuncom/article36763801
The website’s activities highlighted the role of foreign firms in B.C.’s real estate market. A Globe and Mail investigation into Vanfun prompted the superintendent to announce a review of regulations that allowed offshore companies to submit bids on properties in B.C., though no changes have been made.
Note: no change was made. Still possible to buy real estate in B.C. using WeChat. Remotely. No questions asked.
Good for the economy? Or good for retirees in need of cash in exchange for their homes?
Va fun is a glaring example of how our regulators dropped the ball on offshore demand.
This explains the psychology of mainland Chinese investors, sinking money in brick and mortar with no fear of loss.
Billionaires Keep Bubbling Up as China Property .
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-29/billionaires-keep-bubbling-up-in-china-s-soaring-property-market Market Soars.
It is a self-reinforcing loop on steroids.
Trchnology in your hand allows this to happen
… The supply of mobile people that want to gamble on fixed assets, seems counter intuitive to me
It sounds like Oracle is not all that wrong.
Douglas Todd: Surging temporary foreign resident numbers tighten Vancouver’s rental squeeze.
Federal Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen is scheduled on Nov. 1 to release Ottawa’s new immigration target, which the Liberals recently increased to 300,000 per year.
But federal immigration announcements rarely mention the levels the government is setting for non-permanent residents, who are by far the fastest-growing cohort of newcomers to Canada.
The number of non-permanent residents in Canada last year, 891,000, was more than twice the total in 2006.
“International students and other temporary residents are the main driver of rental prices in Metro Vancouver,” said research scientist Gary Liu, who is with a group dubbed Housing Action for Local Taxpayers.
At the same time that the rental crisis has widened in Metro Vancouver, more than 30,000 new immigrants each year have been moving into the city.
Such immigrants and permanent residents, however, are strongly out-numbered by non-permanent residents, who last year added another 140,000 to Metro’s population, with most seeking a place to rent for their several years in the city.
SFU urban studies adjunct professor Wu Qiyan said non-permanent residents are pushing up the cost of renting in Metro Vancouver.
And guess what? Temp residents are not included in StatsCan population figures. That’s why the head of the agency resigned last year….deceiving the public on true population growth. Even ICBC will not release YoY figures for Car registration issues etc.
The rise in price of RE is directly correlated with the explosion in foreign students and 10 yr visitor visas. It is now being sustained by loopholes in the FBT and local Permanent Residents buying multiple homes in the Valley with illicit foreign money from China.
But the local posters here won’t believe this until it is published in the VancouverSun.
Incidentally, Douglas Todd is the best columnist on the Van Sun.
He is the only one willing to touch thorny issues like immigration, corruption and Chinese investment. Many other columnists keep off these topics in fear of being branded racist, xenphobe or who knows what.
Thanks Mr Todd for being a serious voice in an ocean of opportunistic misinformation.
Which is why any post on Garth Turner’s website with any link to a Douglas Todd article is DELETED because Turner calls Todd a “xenophobe”. It’s not too hard to see where GT’s allegiances lay.
Freedom of information and free journalism are not supposed to be preserved if they get in the way of billions of dollars of business. And real estate is a multi billion dollar business.
The legs of the NDP politicians are shaking at the idea they will have to deal with it.
The 891,000 don’t include 10 yr visa holders.
66,000 units in metro Vancouver are occupied by non-permanent residents. Countless more are left vacant by 10 yr visa holders who are owners.
Ottawa accused of new tax grab after DISABLED TAX CREDIT CUTBACK hits tose with mental illness. http://business.financialpost.com/news/purported-cra-clampdown-leaves-mentally-disabled-increasingly-restricted-from-key-government-tax-credit “What the CRA has done is set the bar so high that it is almost impossible for people to apply”……..”the DTC eligibility often expires without the persons knowledge, usually without a notice letter warning them to reapply”………Observers say that people who are deemed ineligible for the DTC also lose access to the Registered Disability savings Plan, a program introduced by former finance minister Jim Flaherty in 2008” Never thought they’d stoop low enough to go after the most needy and helpless Canadians while foreign tax evaders get a free pass, and thousands of foreigners are welcomed and supported after crossing the border illegally. Raising fees for birth tourism to a justified level would more than make up for what they can squeeze out… Read more »
Seem to recall that the Chretien Liberals , with Paul Martin, circa 1990’s…claimed to be fiscally “conservative”, but raped and pillaged the UI funds in order to claim a quasi balanced budget.
God forbid these people in need should expect what was previously legislated…..aka CRA must deflect attention from pumpkin- stealing whale gamblin money launderers.
The rather pathetic playbook that is used is
(i) Canadian Citizens are effectively prisoners so F@ck em
and
(ii)non Canadian citizens are potential voters so kiss their @ss till they wake up
I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt on this one assuming they are trying to make it harder for those scamming the system. Oracle’s sources told me that a disproportionately high number of new immigrants receive this credit.
The Trudeau government suspecting those new immigrants and future voters that they’re importing in droves ?
Highly unlikely.
Dear Real Estate Zeus, Please grant these bears: 1) the intelligence to change the things they can. 2) the courage to accept the things they cannot change. 3) and the wisdom to know the difference. They are here because: 1) They do have the intelligence, but they try to change the things beyond their ability. First, they waited for the magic wand from NDP, and now they put their faith on Green. We all know how that will turn out. 2) They do not have the courage to face the facts. Instead, they keep pulling all the articles to justify their inaction to change their own lives. They reply too much on their cracked crystal ball. 3) They are lack of wisdom to tell the difference. Beside that, happy Sunday, everyone. It’s a truly beautiful Sunday on this best place… Read more »
What is your definition of taking charge of one’s life? Join the madness and buy real estate?
Is that what you are blathering about?
You sound deranged, seek help.
You have many options aside from buying.
Seek help? I am not the one who whine and bitch every day, am I?
How has the NDP worked out for you?
honk, hoooooonk… hey, horn works, but dont need it in Canada, cause the traffic lights work, public toilets flush… what’s to complain about?
Maybe the van with tinted windows, parked in front of your house?
Come out of your debt prison and say hello sometime? i’ll treat you to dinner.
were you the one who parked next to mine at killarney cc yesterday?
no, im on Vancouver Island, havent parked n your neighbourhood since last Feb n Mar
Is that Mao’s speech routine that you were trained before or you’ve run out of the pills on Sunday?
The people of Vancouver have sold their souls for a real estate windfall. I thought the NDP might be serious about addressing affordability, but looks like they aren’t. We left last year and highly recommend it! Getting out of that corrupt, ego-driven town was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made! Now we live a normal life, with normal people and have zero concerns about foreign crooks, or financial ruin. Best Place on Earth?! LMFAO!!
Had a look at Zolo right now. Prices in Vancouver are totally out of control. Two millions and up for shacks in Renfrew. Really crappy townhousesin Mount Pleasant for close to two millions. Townhouses pre-paid leaseholds (that you don’t even own, and carry hefty strata fees) on UBC land for over two millions.
Whatever the NDP and Eby are planning to do, better be good. Enough of meddling with rental legislation. We need to stop the flow of money from China, as well as local “investors” who profit from land speculations. Plots of land must not be made an inviting option for becoming instant millionaires.
Buy a used van for $3000, gut the seats, throw in a 48″ mattress for $600. Yearly insurance $1000. Gasoline.
The rest of your wages spend dining out, actually helping delay the asian hollowing out of the city.
Why? Grow some balls and take back what’s yours. Enough is enough. Enough people stand up to the machine and it will be ours.
grow balls? that’s interesting. how do i invest in that?
Don’t forget to mimic/feign various mental and physical afflictions
…aka i’m not White…I’m an albino”_______”
and related to Omar Kadhr
Kaching $$$$$
NDP and Eby are a bunch of MotherFuckers.
What else you need to know? We were deceived. If we had any organization, we could fight and not back hard. But we don’t.
Hit*
David Eby’s letter to constituents (highlights): Money Laundering In my role as Attorney General, I have taken action on allegations of money laundering in BC casinos by appointing Peter German, a former RCMP deputy inspector, and author of Canada’s leading legal textbook on anti-money laundering law, to conduct an investigation into the matter and make recommendations to me. Housing I sit on the new government’s Housing Cabinet Committee, where I am supporting my colleagues in their work on several initiatives related to increasing affordable housing supply, but also, and just as importantly, addressing the toxic speculation, money laundering and tax evasion which we know is taking place in some areas in the province, especially in the Lower Mainland. Stay tuned for important announcements on this front. For Vancouver, addressing immediate supply issues has meant my colleague Selina Robinson has rolled… Read more »
Why appoint a single former RCMP inspector to study money laundering when it should be the RCMP with all its resources investigating and charging people. The study was completed last year and we know what is happening. You also have the power to immediately implement policies to stop the money laundering at the casino right away. This is just stalling plain and simple.
RCMP are not much more than politicized goons and thugs given a badge doing their political masters bidding. They are nothing more than a Gov’t mandated contractors for police services. They are notorious for gouging Local Gov’ts stupid enough to contract them.
BC is ill served based on the fact that rookies tend to be sent to BC ….based on the affordability issue,…………as well as our multicultural millieux is deemed to be a prime training ground for Regina ‘s best/worst
Dudley Do right was probably the first and last competent one.
RCMP investigation ?= WHITEWASH……..this detracts from there role as revenue generators via seatbelt checks ,speeding tickets and babysitting Surrey drug dealers.
To be fair, the RCMP came by my van one winter night and handed me a blanket.
I find the more recent hatchlings of peace officers ..err LAW ENFORCEMENT……to be punks who love to strut around in their bulletproof vests in “I’LL BE BACK” robocop mode.
The recruitment process cherry picks the bare minimum intelligent…..for good reason..and its even more watered down when political correctness is in play. You have to laugh when a short 99 lb female is engaging you.
The RCMP is an old Hollywood relic that should be disbanded.
I know one and he is an uneducated moron.
David Eby wrote a newsletter to his constituents today and a friend forwarded it to me. In it he has a section on housing. Now I’m as disappointed as many of you about the NDP action on the housing file, and yet I’m also not ready to give up on some action being done. Many here have said Eby has kept silent, I hope this refutes that accusation now. It makes no promises, but for the first time I believe Eby directly mentions that they are looking to address housing speculation and tax evasion: Directly from David Eby: “I sit on the new government’s Housing Cabinet Committee, where I am supporting my colleagues in their work on several initiatives related to increasing affordable housing supply, but also, and just as importantly, addressing the toxic speculation, money laundering and tax evasion… Read more »
What happened to all those ideas and policies Eby tabled for legislation prior to the election? He had a press conference every week. Funding 78 tiny 250 square foot modular homes for Vancouver homeless people is an insult. The NDP are doing less than the Liberals on housing.
The NDP housing solution. Converting shipping containers into shoe box homes. If you want one quit your job and go live in the streets for a few weeks. There are only 78 so better hurry.
Dumb. Better off with a land yacht.
And dont even consider a truck, and using a cross-over wont work either.
In fact, the auto builders Designed the All Lease X-over Specifically so it cant be slept in because they knew Addicted HelocHer would eventually bunk in it.
Meanwhile there are thousands of empty homes in Vancouver siting idle by offshore speculators.
““I sit on the new government’s Housing Cabinet Committee, where I am supporting my colleagues in their work on several initiatives related to increasing affordable housing supply, but also, and just as importantly, addressing the toxic speculation, money laundering and tax evasion ”
Figured as much, Eby isn’t going to let Selina run the housing file by herself. He will be deeply involved.
There will be legislation to address the criminal activity, loopholes and speculation in general.
Not that it matters to the bleating idiots who expected everything to be fixed yesterday.
I think eBay has a peek to this blog or others, from time to time, to gauge the mood of the public. If so, he must have realized people are furious. And penned a letter to defuse and postpone.
Hopefully, you are correct in your guess we need to wait a little longer to see meaningful action. If not, we will pay a price but so will the NDP politicians. Their careers will be in jeopardy. Including Eby’s.
Yeah, they all look in here to get material for their studies and … Bwaaaahaaahaa …
CoReLaTiOnS
The bleating idiot is the one who can’t see that they’ve walked away from their own campaign promises, and will not even state that they have the intent to follow through. Nobody expects anything to be fixed yesterday, but they’ve been given multiple opportunities to re-iterate their commitment to their own policies but have chosen to avoid doing so. That should be obvious, even to you.
“Eby isn’t going to let Selina run the housing file by herself.”
Horgan is in charge and the only person who matters for making policy. He took Eby off housing for a reason. Horgan has already stated they will protect home owners equity (in other words the NDP will not do anything that makes prices go down) and they will not target foreigners in their housing policy in the coming budget. That is all you need to know. Unless Horgan changes his mind on both of those very clear recent policy statements nothing substantial will happen with respect to the price of housing going down. But there will be 78 shipping containers coming! Get in line.
I fully agree with your invitation. And we should all email our government representatives. But if you think to find any support in YVR and company, you are delusional. They do not reason logically where it comes to politics. They just see an enemy in the NDP, not a party that (like it or not) we should leverage to do the right thing.
WOW! Eye opener. We are getting hosed,big time . Canada wake up!!
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2015-11-02/china-s-money-exodus
New Bosa Waterfront Development open house. These are office Strata units for sale in downtown Vancouver. Huge Asian presence. They will be your new landlords for anyone wanting new office space in DT Vancouver. Good luck. They will jack up rents as they see fit! Great for money laundering as well. LOL!
Hey, as our old Christy Clark used to say: it is good for the economy!
The new NDP government does not seem to disagree in the slightest.
Whether commercial or residential, Asians snap up property with cash of unclear provenance. And we keep taking the cash. Mr Bosa must be gloriously happy today!
You guys are totally on the wrong path. Commercial, retail, and industrial real estate is the best place to park foreign money if it must be parked in real estate. This segment of real estate is much more strongly tied to fundamentals.
The only problem I see right now are speculators who buy up retail space then leave it empty hoping that it gets rezoned into residential (and thus suitable for building highrises). That’s why you see the many empty stores now along Granville street.
Also commercial RE pays much higher property tax rates than residential. That’s the tax that nobody can evade.
People really need to understand this FACT…in the context of what lays ahead. Our political prostitutes think increasingly short term as their Dr. Frankenstein urban planners straddle the fence of (i) Civil Servant aka we pay their salaries (ii) B*tches of developers. Doubt moi? Perhaps follow COV ex planner B. Jackson(more later) As has been discussed earlier, Re- Zoning Commercial and Industrial properties avoids the NIMBY-ism. What the Developer – City hall cabals do is mount an attack on Commercial/ Industrial property via OCP amendments..the dreaded ” Higher and Best use” designation kicks in, and the property taxes shoot up. Local Gov’ts loved this..as even though businesses pay a far higher tax rate…the tax revenue of a condo hi rise far exceeds what a Ma and Pa pizza shop pays in property taxes including triple net. If one “conservatively” speaking… Read more »
Err… commercial and industrial real estate is exactly where we want foreign money to go. If we had banned foreign money from residential real estate but let them stay in commercial real estate we’d not be in the dire straights we’re in today.
What’s more, the commercial real estate vacancy rates in Downtown are very low right now. We desperately need these investors to jumpstart more inventory so that companies can continue to hire and expand.
Don’t let your bias of foreign money blind you to how it can be directed into constructive investments in our economy.
I never saw it that way. You might have a point.
Why don’t politicians legislate to that effect then? Do you have an answer to that?
I gave an answer a long time ago. There are too many homeowners who are planning to fund their retirement by selling their houses to a rich foreigner, or to a local who plans to do the same.
True. There are many of those.
But the vast majority of the voters who supported the NDP in the last election do not belong to that group. Rather, they represent the opposite view that we need to stop the wholesale of real estate and land to foreign money.
The NDP so far has pretended to ignore the view of its voters. That is a dangerous game.
Some people claim I am impatient. Fine. I would be very happy to be proven wrong.
But there are too many negative signs: one for all, Horgan talking about preserving the equity if homeowners. That runs counter to everything we voted for.
There are also a disproportional number of blood$ucking Civil $ervants with gold- plated entitlement in their DNA who our elected officials either fear and/or ally with to keep rest of us plebs in line.
Canada is waaayyy behind its global comrades in the ultimate SHTF reality that Civil Servant numbers/pension and pay grades are not sustainable. Suggest do GOOGLE search and how USA local Gov’ts are going bankrupt mainly due to civil servant salary and pension obligations.
Homeowners that are planning their retirement via sale of principal residence should not be condemned…they are hostages to the various rules and legislation of the corporation called GOV’T……and adapt accordingly.
Our Gov’t and the civil service mandarin class seems to continually avoid scrutiny and accountability. Time to challenge the wizard….
NOPE..politely disagree
Commercial and Industrial Land is continually converted into hi-density residential..moreso than existing residential neighbourhoods where NIMBYISM may exist.
I have yet to see a public protest with respect to Commercial and Industrial land being converted and thus lost forever, along with the jobs that go with it.
Right. Here is the answer I was looking for above. Politicians do not legislate that way because they routinely choose the path of least resistance. In this case, converting commercial zoned to residential — no annoyed voters to deal with later……
I thought I was missing something. It is quite reasonable when you say it.
I guess commercial real estate is a losing proposition in cities where you can sell fishbowls for $2,000/sqft.
“I have yet to see a public protest with respect to Commercial and Industrial land being converted”
You may not have seen people in the streets waving signs, but interest groups have been protesting the loss of industrial land for years. For example:
https://www.biv.com/article/2012/1/loss-of-industrial-land-alarming/
Duly note “Port Metro Vancouver(PMV).”…..a FEDERAL body…rock paper scissors.
I’ve outlined in much detail the SCAM the ALR is…
PMV has purchased a lot of Richmond ALR land…given it is a federal body…it can trump the ALR zoning and use the lands as they see fit. ..aka turn “farmland” bought for pennies on the dollar into industrial land etc. at the stroke of a pen.
As I have stated in numerous posts, the ALR is simply a land bank…to be withdrawn and rezoned as various gov’t agencies see fit and convert to their pet projects.
Like residential real estate, they will probably leave the units empty. It’s all about money laundering!
From the CBC website: “The government’s plan for annual immigration levels, which was set at 300,000 for this year, is expected to be tabled in the House of Commons next week. Immigration minister Ahmed Hussen told The House that the government will not go below that level next year. “Three hundred thousand is now our new normal,” he said, while not closing the door to a higher number for 2018.” “As a government we went from 260,000 to 300,000 because of the need to meet the demands of Canadian families who wanted to reunite with their loved ones,” Hussen continued. “But also employers who are asking us to allow them to continue to use immigration more and more as a way to meet their growth needs.” Hussen added that he’s been in the process of consultations since April to put… Read more »
300,000 free jobs and welfare housing, flow through $$ to uncle
…. the rest of you born here, stay out in the parking lot
NDP is going after those Liberal voters who only like Them because of housing. It’s betting that about 15% of Liberal voters will switch to NDP when nothing is done on housing. That will dwarf the 10 percent who leave NDP due to inaction.
Last election they got 40%. They hoping for 45% even if it means the hell with the housing supporters.
Thats the only logical scenario that make sense. Otherwise they committing political suicide.
NDP will lose way more than 10% of its current voters if it does not take meaningful action on housing. Based on my small sample of friends and acquaintances in Vancouver, well over 50% of them voted NDP mostly (or only!) because of their apparent willingness to take action on housing AND reduce prices.
They did not vote for them to better regulate rentals. They voted for lower house prices.
Lived through (3) NDP Gov’ts, can’t think of one thing they have done that is of benefit to the average citizen. They impose their ideology onto the deluded masses.
NDP 3.0 ( Horgan )is simply taking up space….to0 scared because of NDP 1.0(Barrett) and NDP 2.0(Harcourt/Miller Dosanjh/Clark)
F*ck em.
Damn. How old are you?
Guess….
Regardless…we all have stories as to how we were politically attuned aka how the political system really works as opposed to the terminally naive that think a change in Gov’t can work miracles.
Luckily enough I lived through much of Pierre Trudeaus reign of error and terror and how one person and toady syncophant MP can take down a nation.
Canada is permanently broken.
I don’t think this has been mentioned before. Oracle will love this.
This week the King George Hub condo presale in Surrey was launched. I think this is known as “Surrey Central”. Apparently the units are going for $700/sq ft and there’s more demand than units available.
I think the units won’t be available until 2022.
The location is arguably good, within 2 minutes walk of the Skytrain station and quite close to “Surrey Central”, but the fact we’ve come to the point where a 1BR 500sq ft condo in Surrey is selling at $300-350k and that people are desperate to line up for this should be really frustrating and sad to anyone who truly loves this city.
Why would I love this? You guys are so out of touch that your brains have rigid preconceived notions that you can’t see the forest for the trees.
I’m for a 50% correction FFS.
all WE know is that you love Welfare disguised as immigration. Growth, not Value
IMHO anyone that buys a pre sale now is F*cked….
This King George Hub condos won’t complete till 2022?
…….that ‘s over 4 years away..lots can happen between now and then..mostly BAD.
They are paying peak price now ?? Dumb and dumber
PS who don’t banks REFUSE to loan for presales…aren’t these the main contributor to an RE crash ?
Banks do not give a loan to a presale until the deal is about to close (eg in this case, in 2022). They may pre-approve you during a presale as a part of a promotion, but you would likely have to go through a formal application when it’s time to close, during which a property value assessment will be key to the loan value.
I’d personally not want to get into a 4-5 year presale deal now when the US is purportedly raising rates and we don’t yet know how the market will react to the OSFI stress tests.
Thanks for info..
But one assumes a downpayment is required from some source to secure the purchase..is this the purchasers own funds and/or the BC Gov’t loan program ?
IMHO. potential purchasers should perhaps research parties who are desperate to unload their purchases that are near closing or have closed…aka something “concrete” no pun intended.
In general….one may presume that to keep the pre-sale ponzi scheme going, is it logical to deduce foreign buyers prime the pump?
“But one assumes a downpayment is required from some source to secure the purchase”
Let’s get the terminology straight. A down payment is something you pay at closing time, i.e. when you become the legal owner of an actual property and obtain a mortgage.
When you buy a presale you pay a deposit. This deposit may or may not be adequate to meet the down payment. If the market has gone down you may have no equity after the deposit. The BC Govt. loan program does not pay for presales, it’s actually a 2nd mortgage.
The OSFI stress tests, I suspect, will be like everything that came before them. Nothing more than a blip. I wish I could be proven wrong ten times over. But I expect I won’t.
The only way to reintroduce some sanity into our RE market is to have a Provincial government that goes after offshore “investors” and other wise guys who are taking us all for a ride. Land prices have to go down. That is a necessary prerequisite. Policies must be drafted with that objective in mind. We voted NDP for that reason, not for tweaking with rental regulations.
I can sense the excitement among young bears here that the stress test will be the big one that finally causes a correction. Common sense says it should, but history is on the side of the bulls. We’ve so many “this is it” moments over the years and i have certainly learned not to get prematurely excited. Odds are if there is a correction it will not be what most readers here are hoping for.
I was just on Commercial Dr today and saw an open house sign for a one bedroom off Commercial and 3rd. $468,000. Shocking. I looked inside one on the very same street in 2001 and it was selling for $93,000. To think that incomes have only risen maybe 35% since then and the condo has quintupled.
This is classic chicken and egg…build it and they will come…blah blah barrf.
Where Skytrain/Canada Line etc goes….ultimately City Planners create high density zoning……….or vice versa?……
What begs serious inquiry is who is in charge ….Local Gov’ts or Developers ?
City planners are planning hi density on many major routes that have commercial zonings, thus displacing businesses via path of least resistance (aka don’t dare put one along Arbutus corridor and its creme de la creme SFH crowd ).
Looks like Broadway is next in line….maybe see how many developers have bought or optioned property along that route.
Let’s face it. NDP we know now isn’t going to do anything about housing as they ARE the developers and bankers.
What about the Greens? After what Olsen said yesterday. Part of me thinks they aren’t really going to truly push the NDP.
Where does that leave us? I’m just going to vote Liberal next time to make this Province a free for all that destroys itself.
Let’s put an end to the notion of OSFI B20 rules pushing buyers to alternative lenders with some facts and logic. The alt lender theory is pure fearmongering by vested interests who wanted to scare OSFI into aborting the B20 regs. It failed. 1) Alt lenders have limited capital to lend out, they aren’t going to be able to supply the funding that everyone failing a stress test needs. 2) Alt lenders are charging huge interest, often 7% or more. Recent articles posted here already say Canadians are having trouble after 2 minor rate hikes. 3) Suddenly we are expected to believe that people who cannot pass a 4.89% stress test can afford 7% interest rates. Uh huh. 4) Alt lenders admit they often lend with loose criteria because the rising equity in the homes protect them. If B20 triggers… Read more »
Immigration minister just announce immigration numbers for 2018. Ugh
300,000 minimum.
Immigration is relevant to Alt Lenders how? Is your thesis that housing in 2018 will go up because 300,000 new immigrants will become Alt Lenders to help locals buy overpriced condos?
Get your IQ tested and then post. If you think immigrations is y directly correlated to housing prices and rents then you are sooooo lost.
I am general pro-immigration. But why do we have to have targets like 300k or 400k. Would it not be more reasonable allow infrastructure and housing to adjust before bringing in more people? What is wrong with immigration numbers of 150k or 200k? Gradualism does not mean to be anti-immigrant. It means to preserve the quality of life of current residents while remaining an open society. There is a tradeoff between speed of population growth and quality of life of the average resident. Can we take that tradeoff into account? It seems to me that the immigration targets are partly due to ideology (misplaced idealism in open borders) and partly pushed by vested interests which profit from it (RE developers, immigration-related businesses, employers looking for lower wages). Governments should be able to strike a better balance between different motives. Right… Read more »
Good luck trying to convince anyone here.
I suggest you start worrying about yourself rather trying to enlighten those who are too dumb to figure it out even when presented to them on a silver platter.
I’m sure ‘talking’ to airheads has been tried throughout history to no avail.
Just make sure to get a place where rents can’t shoot up (buy or?) and stay on this blog while rents shoot up to crazy levels for the naysayers.
Yum, flow through welfare for landlords
If anyone wondering what all those soon to be vacant Sears stores will be used for?
7 towers up to 65 storeys proposed for Sears Metrotown site
http://dailyhive.com/vancouver/sears-metrotown-redevelopment-concord-pacific-october-2017
Same with Guildford. But more towers and a LRT station.
Same with 50 acre Lansdowne Mall in Richmond.
It seems Local Gov’ts can’t rubber stamp hi-density residential fast enough/ Why?
Seems no long term vision for other land uses…just go for the quick and sleazy condo -a -go-go $$$$
However, here is the big chance for NDP 3.0 ( ie Horgan and crew ) to use legislation at their discretion to demand social housing using a formula.
That’s how NDP 1.0 was able to create the ALR scam…they had a loophole that allowed them, a Provincial body, to usurp Local Gov’t zoning designations and create a ” Land Reserve” zoning that applied provincially.
C’mon Horgan Selena Meggs and Eby……..here is your time to shine ….ya useless #$@%
The next NDP fast ferry debacle?
Surrey Light Rail will be one of Metro Vancouver’s worst transportation mistakes
http://dailyhive.com/vancouver/surrey-light-rail-skytrain-mistakes-underbuilt
“The next NDP fast ferry debacle”
What does it have to do with the NDP, except that the party has happened to become government after the project has been endorsed by Surrey, the mayors’ council, the former BC Liberal government, and the federal government. The project was first proposed by somebody named Dianne Watts.
If this white elephant goes forward it will be because the NDP have approved and funded it. It will also be the NDP responsibility for managing the project and all the cost overruns. I think it will be Selena overseeing this one which pretty much dooms it from day one.
If the NDP canceled the project all its opponents would accuse it of doing so out of spite against the BC Liberals and in particular against Dianne Watts who is one of their high profile candidates for leader.
Except you of course. 🙂
Reading this article in more detail,, it appears that the aim is to extend rapid transit to outlying Metro Vancouver cities. Apparently, light rail extended into the Fraser Valley decades ago. The article talks about light rail in a negative light, but is it implying by default that Skytrain is better? Skytrain is more expensive….then we are caught between a cheaper light rail with lower capacity versus a more expensive option with higher capacity.
In addition, , given the light rail would ultimately bring passengers that would feed into the Skytrain system..is Skytrain capable of handling this added volume? IMHO existing Skytrain/Canada line routes will have increased ridership over time,that’s why developers and planners jumped into bed in an unholy alliance to build high density adjacent to these lines.
Either choice….this has White Elephant written all over it.
One more example of how easy money has generated asset inflation (for pretty much anything tangible).
Paul Newman’s watch sells for record $18m at auction The watch had been expected to sell for $1m .
Steps:
Got to know a banker.
Take out huge loan.
Transfer money to another country.
Leave for another country.
Buy a house there.
Buy a White Mercedes SUV
Steal Pumpkins.
Regarding “steps”
May take a bit longer, but why not go for the motherlode?
-immigrate to Canada
-wait a few years
-get Canadian citizenship
-visit middle east
-get arrested
-sue Canada for $30 mil
-settle for $10 mil
and all faked, so that the insurance companies that paid out, can dictate new terms of Govt and Plebe behaviour
insurance is a favorite industry of the international dialectic classes, that govern based on court based rules
the whole thing set up, just like the thoroughly infiltrated CBC.
$18 million ..WTF? Its a small fashion accessory from a celebrity ???
Recall the high(exhorbitant) prices paid for art in the 1990’s…what apparently happened was the Japanese were encouraged by their financial advisors to pay top dollar for various assets. As we know, Japan’s economy took a major hit and hasn’t really recovered.
I’ve followed these inflated markets, and what appears to happen is some item is bid up by some person in what appears to be a suckers game……..example older radios from 1950’s. Its like a stock..the market starts to take off…till the last greater fool shows up..then the market collapses.
This Newmans watch is one to”watch”….my guess is Newman memorabilia will get hot. in what is another irrational rigged market.
Tyee reports on Green pressure to end homebuyer subsidy. There’s some hope.
https://thetyee.ca/News/2017/10/27/greens-press-NDP-eliminate-homebuyer/
While the Green MLAs are highlighting areas where they’d like to see action, they also understand the government needs to move carefully, he said. “I think it would be easy to be critical that the government should have just jumped on a bunch of housing issues,” said Olsen. “It’s a big complex web out there. You do one thing, and other unintended consequences might happen.”
Olsen is the GP housing critic. “Unintended consequences”, of course, means politicians being blamed for a bust.
Olsen missed a great opportunity to shut his trap.
This is all so very depressing. They are not even embarrassed of saying they don’t want lower prices.
We see through them, clearly. They understand it, And yet they would rather keep house pieces where they are than being seen as the reason for lower prices.
Lower prices are a good thing. And whichever politician is willing to trigger them, will have long lasting recognition.
What a band of dwarfs on stilts.
We need lower house prices. And braver politicians. Not these opportunistic and cowardly idiots.
Lower prices are needed. There is no other solution.
Watch what happens to rents. I know people don’t like it but we just announced immigration targets. 300,000 min.
Metro gets minimum 50,000 of these. Plus the Quebec ones who aren’t counted in these numbers as they have a separate program.
Can you say dictatorship?
One last gasp for the Canadian residential market as rule changes cloud 2018 outlook
Realtors are predicting a busy Christmas selling season as homebuyers rush to beat the latest deadline designed to further cool the market
Madness. Even after 10 years, I will never get used to this utter stupidity.
Totally agree. Utterly comical and crazy.
“Has ‘fixing’ Canada’s mortgage market made it riskier?” http://www.macleans.ca/economy/has-fixing-canadas-mortgage-market-made-it-riskier/ Tighter lending rules will send borrowers into the arms of ‘alternative lenders,’ posing a whole new set of hazards Joe Castaldo October 27, 2017 “Adam Farber has a practical, if slightly gory, view of his place in Canada’s mortgage mortgage. “You come to me with an open wound,” he says. “You’ve been beaten up. I’m your last option.” Farber, the vice-president of Corwin Mortgage Capital in Toronto, is a private mortgage lender. Borrowers who can’t get a loan elsewhere will sometimes seek private funds that bear higher interest rates. It’s a business that’s mostly unregulated—and set to grow. Ironically, one of the unintended—and potentially dangerous—consequences of regulators’ recent attempts to stabilize the mortgage market may be to push people toward riskier products. “My business is going to explode at this point,”… Read more »
Alt lenders have significantly higher interest rates than major banks or CUs.
So, since it’s MacLeans, the opposite happens.
People walk away from borrowing more money and constant refinaning. Yet… Interest rates crash and go negative
People hate there homes because it costs too much to maintain and the internet isnt free
Vroom, vroom, beep, beep