It’s the end of another week and that means its time for another Friday Free-for-all!
This is our regular end of the week open topic thread and discussion for the weekend.
So what are you seeing out there? Post your news links, thoughts and anecdotes in the comments bellow and have a great weekend!
[…] you know that it was ten years ago that the US financial system had a little stumble due to over exuberance in the housing […]
5 yr. Creeping higher now at 2.30%
You can still find a 3.29% 5 yr. but for how long?
Since mortgage growth is weak, I would expect the margin to shrink. So, maybe longer than you expect.
You can get a 3.14% 5 year fixed according to ratehub.
What a disgrace Horgan is.
British Columbia and Vancouver want the city’s Chinatown designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Premier John Horgan says the area is a “symbol of resilience” and the designation would recognize generations from the Chinese community who helped build the province. Horgan says the contributions of early Chinese immigrants and their descendants touch every corner of the province. The province says the world heritage designation would serve as a reminder of the racism, discrimination and hardships faced by pioneers from the community.
Even Horgan’s masters are congratulating him.
http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2018-09/18/content_63571906.htm
The NDP MLAs and their families are only worried about their pocketbooks. They have the dumb behind them.
Do some research minions. Ask around your riding for the next monthly meeting. Attend. And ask the executives how much real estate each person owns.
But the minion will say ‘show me a link’
No cure for dumb.
yet more unsubstantiated allegations by the local idiot.
*idiots. Fixed that for ya.
Like I said. The dumb want links cause they think everything laid out for them in the internet.
Trust me on this. Or you and Specku the only fools on here.
Quite ridiculous. UNESCO status would surely prevent future densification. What a waste.
Perhaps the rest of Vancouver can be called Whitey Town and get UNESCO certification also, banning all future development and foreign buyers.
Fires at multimillion-dollar homes draw suspicion and debate in Vancouver
https://www.thestar.com/vancouver/2018/09/17/fires-at-multimillion-dollar-homes-draw-suspicion-and-debate-in-vancouver.html
Public suspicion, seen on social media and elsewhere, is focused on five properties that each embody some element of Vancouver’s housing crisis. The fires happened in multimillion-dollar houses that were either under development; were sitting empty; were being rented on the short-term rental site Airbnb; or had multiple, high-interest mortgages from unconventional lenders…
The powers that be will make sure the Asians get off.
asians burning down their own houses. What a state of affairs we are in ….
Unsubstantiated claims by an idiot. Do you have a link for that with proof. Otherwise slander.
Just read the article there’s the proof.
There nothing of the kind. You can’t read and have demonstrate this multiple times now.
Note the key phrase “public suspicion, seen on social media”. That’s all you need to know. It’s not insurance companies raising suspicion or the police. It’s the clowns with an axe to grind.
The article, which was clearly too long for bullwhip, even states for two of the properties that the fire department did not find the fires suspicious (without implying that the other fires were suspicious) and that people are noticing these ones because of their high profile.
In other words, the article doesn’t support the argument you’re trying to make.
These smug pricks like Turd/Hillary/Obama/Biden/AIDS will never learn, will they?
https://www.dailywire.com/news/35931/joe-biden-calls-trump-supporters-dregs-society-joseph-curl
Seems like they want war. I’m sure the NRA could put these clowns down within 24 hours.
That was away out of line even for you.
Grow up. The USA is headed to civil war if Trump is taken down. You think his base there is jut going to take it? Not likely.
Grow a set.
You are out of your mind.
The elites simply can’t believe Hillary, their hand picked star lost.
They can’t understand who people are sick and tired of politicans who speak for 30 mins but say nothing. Who won’t answer a direct question.
I think Trump is a terrible politican but he’s a breath of fresh air and politics (and the elites) will never been the same.
So Trump’s not an elite? The blind spot is rather large I daresay….
You obviously do not know what an elite refers to.
He’s not elite like a million dollar loan is small.
“I think Trump is a terrible politican”
Except for the part about winning highest office in the world on his first attempt with a fraction of the money of his opponents.
And without ever releasing the tax returns which would surely demonstrate how uncharitable he is, too!
“Except for the part about winning highest office in the world on his first attempt with a fraction of the money of his opponents.”
With respect to the Republican nomination, I agree.
I do not agree with respect to the election. Trump was on the same ballot as the other Republicans on election day and you have to include all the spending done to bring out the Republican vote, whether it be from the national party, PAC’s, state campaigns, or the presidential campaign. That adds up to a lot of money.
He didn’t say that all Trump supporters are the dregs of society. He said that the forces of intolerance now have an ally in the White House and those intolerant people are the dregs of society.
It certainly sounds like he’s got your number.
intolerant: not tolerant of views, beliefs, or behavior that differ from one’s own.
The people who are intolerant are the Democrats and their supporters. They can’t tolerate Trump, his supporters or accept the election. Anyone who disagrees with their left wing beliefs is a racist, deplorable or part of the dregs of society. That is their only argument. They can’t debate policy, only throw insults. Biden is well past his best before date along with most of the Democrat leadership. Trump is a lock for 2020 with these fools.
I forgot – the vile racists are the victims here, because calling somebody a racist for using racial slurs is somehow inappropriate.
Your strategy is a silly one.
You are the definition of intolerant.
Keep telling yourself that, you vile little racist.
Your friendly Green Party wants to get rid of rent controls and does not want a $400 renters credit.
On twitter.
And you want to give this guy power.
It’s obvious he wants to raise rents at his investment properties.
Can’t wait for Nov 30 when the referendum is over and all hell breaks loose.
Same with the US midterms.
Part of me hope it fails. Want to see the looks on Horgan Eby And James. Damn liars they were.
If the NDP did half of what Weaver has proposed on housing the problem would be fixed by now.
Why the fuck renters should get $400 credit? What for? For not saving and going to Canucks games? Spending 2 weeks in Hawaii every year? I don’t get it. Owners saved their ass off for downpayment by giving up on many things. I want $400 credit for my $40K income tax paid each year as a result of hundreds of sleepless nights working late. Noone forced them to rent. It is their choice – choice that will end them on the streets when they reach retirement age. I know right now it is not the right time to buy in Van – maybe wait a bit? But I want to ask everyone on this board where have you seen rich or successful people renting and not owning? Anyone deciding to rent is a choice that translates I am not willing… Read more »
“I overspent on a condo.”
See how much more succinct you could be?
Well, just remember that homeowners get a $400 discount on their primary residence (the homeowners grant). A renter’s credit just evens it out for renters.
The$400 is not for the money. It’s for a registry that tracks landlords and tenants for tax evasion purposes. It helps to develop a registry.
Also to track evasion of the new empty homes tax in Vancouver, and of the new speculation tax across BC, in addition to the longstanding evasion of taxes on rental incomes while holding the property, and capital gains on selling the property, as you point out. Given the massive tax evasion connected with RE, it is not impossible that any such renter credit might pay for itself.
Australia’s housing “correction”: 40-45% in the next year, and one million households under mortgage stress.
https://youtu.be/smPR0s2W-Ck
That is a very good piece. Its from the Australian 60 minutes so its well researched. Take 15 mins and watch it.
Some many parallels to Vancouver. Just a matter of time before we get our own segment.
It’s like a time machine into the future of Canada’s housing market.
Canada?
Won’t be left. It will be a collection of mini countries.
Look how Trudeau is siding with China over the USA.
Trump needs to teach Canada a lesson it will never forget.
Lol, I thought the opposite when I saw it was 60 minutes.
I signed up as a founding member of Bernier’s party.
Fuck the Libs, cons and NDP.
Traitors.
I respectfully disagree with you. I think the Cons are the only way forward and Mad Max will split the vote, handing Mr. Dress up another 4 years to fuck our country up.
If he had any sort of grass roots support (like Reform did) I could see it but to me its just a wasted vote, worse its a vote for the Liberals. The chances of him getting solid candidates to run in all the ridings and raise the money for a national campaign is simply unthinkable.
If Justin wasn’t so bad, if he was the Paul Martin or something I might even join you but this next election is far to important to throw my vote away.
Nevertheless, it is a democracy so may the best party win.
Reform was a regional party born in the wasteland of Alberta, it was divisive, anti-Canadian, redneck, cowboyish, fundamentalist…..and as we all know, nothing good has ever come out of Alberta. Even their prized beef turned out to be tainted. Bernier’s party is national and inclusive, his party’s ideas seem far more sensible than the other 3 globalist sellout parties. I could see them pulling in disenfranchised Canadians from across the spectrum. Yes, Justin is a vile piece of trash, but he’s the reason I’m done with all 3 parties thanks to his fucking lies about electoral reform, I don’t trust any of them now. I’d like to see politicians lined up and shot for doing what he did to us. Scheer has no values, no backbone, no leadership qualities and only craves power, so…..can’t do it. He’s bought and paid… Read more »
You’re a minion if you think Cons are different than Libs.
Wow I actually agree with Oracle on something. Both the Cons and Libs are cut from the same cloth. They both love big government and mass immigration. Bernier is the only person offering a real alternative.
Bernier is a long shot but I wouldn’t assume he draws only votes from former Conservative voters. With tools like Jagmeet and Mr. Dress Up he will draw people from the NDP and Liberals. Case in point many on this blog who are saying they will vote for Bernier likely have never voted Conservative.
Jagmeet has lost my vote: on the issue of birth tourism, he didn’t acknowledge the issue, air labelled those of us who’ve signed petitions against it as racists. I wouldn’t touch Mr Dressup, so that leaves me with the Greens, Cons, and Mad Max.
Nice. We’re on the same team!
Screw the DP LibCons.
Trump drops the hammer on China. They will either comply or be crushed. Just like the drama teacher.
“Trump will slap 10% tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods — and they will go to 25% at year-end”
Trump, in a statement, said that the tariffs would rise to 25 percent on Jan. 1, 2019, adding that “if China takes retaliatory action against our farmers or other industries, we will immediately pursue phase three, which is tariffs on approximately $267 billion of additional imports.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/17/trump-puts-new-tariffs-on-china-as-trade-war-escalates.html
Canada is next on his hit list.
All we have to do is give up dairy protectionism which goes against free trade.
It’s not that hard, unless our leaders have been bought.
Or even meet them half way.
Lots of $$$ flows into overseas accounts. Don’t kid yourself.
“Canada is next on his hit list.”
I think the timing of this has more to do with Canada than China. He just sent Mr. Dress Up a message.
Yes!
It will start with tariffs on cars. If Trudeau protects the milk, Ontario is going to be severely pissed off.
He would lose Ontario in an election. Game over do him BUT don’t vote on the Cons who are the same.
Vote PPC!!!
This could get interesting considering the stubbornness of China when it comes to never wanting to show weakness.
Yes, the chinese are quite stupid that way. They keep playing right into Trump’s hands, over and over again.
Whoever said the chinese are smart was obviously chinese.
They are only “smart” in Vancouver, regularly outsmarting our politicians, legislators, CRA and other law enforcers while running their wild shit.
With China Trump wins either way. If China complies Trump wins. If China doesn’t comply, Chinese junk cost a little more in the US, the US collects the tariffs which are a consumption tax on Chinese products only, lots of manufacturing comes back to the US from China and all new manufacturing stops going to China from any global company who wants to sell into the US. China’s economy collapses over time preventing them from ever becoming the power they want to become. Sure the tariffs put a slight drag on US consumption short term but right now the US economy is red hot so they can withstand it. Trump also has the option of further cut taxes which will be offset with the Chinese tariffs collected.
Supply chains are already moving from china to nearby countries.
Vietnam is benefitting immensely from china’s misfortune, Indonesia as well.
The higher prices on imports will be temporary.
Hopefully it causes an economic crisis in China and they are then forced to repatriate the wealth that has left the country. Starting with Vancouver houses.
After taking advantage of America for so long they must be absolutely dumbfounded by Trump.
I think they thought they had it made in the shade. Time to think again.
Shade is their religion, modus operandi, collective mindset.
Shady astroturfing organisation’s Facebook group in support of douchebag mayoral candidate pulled. Film at 11. https://www.thestar.com/vancouver/2018/09/16/facebook-group-behind-controversial-hector-bremner-election-ads-deleted.html
New
360
Price Change
130
Sold
93
TI:13339
Wow. Thanks for the numbers, Paul.
+1 Thanks for taking the time to post these numbers.
Waaaarrree peeeeeek?
In Stanhy Pokk, Stanhy Pokk!!!
Thanks for the numbers Paul. If we ever shave 30-40% off of condo prices on the westside I’m calling you. Thanks again.
SCMP: Asian community blamed for Vancouver’s housing affordability crisis – but is this a political beat-up?
With the opening of a multimillion-dollar entertainment district in the downtown core, the city has made it clear who it is catering to
https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/2164218/crazy-rich-asians-blamed-vancouvers-housing-affordability-crisis-political
Very good article. Key paragraph, for all to see:
“The definition of a foreign buyer remains vague, as immigration loopholes exist for outsiders to purchase local real estate, including funnelling cash through family members with Canadian passports or students studying abroad on visas who need a place to live.”
“The definition of a foreign buyer remains vague”
The legal definition isn’t vague at all. No doubt some buyers are getting around it, but that’s breaking the law. Also, students aren’t exempt from the FBT, contrary to what the writer seems to think. In fact, the plaintiff in the court case against the FBT is a Chinese student. If the writer is unaware of this, I would not give him much credibility on anything else.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/foreign-buyer-tax-housing-vancouver-1.4721597
too many loopholes with respect to work permits which these “students” or their significant others apply for. yes, JIng Li got caught in the cross fire. i think this case is going all the way to SCC and that should make many here nervous. pre-purchase there was no need for her to consider such measures. now there are many consultants all over lower mainland that will walk buyers through the red tape. or to make things more simple, they buy presales and deal with all the paperwork once they are finished school. needless to say, the door is wide open for intl students. campuses are bursting at the seems. kwantlan in rmd basically ran out of space. given the type of vehicles these kids are driving (to school), the seemingly limitless expense accounts for food, entertainment and high end apparel,… Read more »
“too many loopholes with respect to work permits which these “students” or their significant others apply for. yes,”
People with work permits are not exempt from the FBT. The only excepting is confirmed BC Provincial Nominees, who comprise a small fraction of those with work permits.
not a small fraction. employer requirements are not that stringent either. many here i am sure have read about all these job/immigration boilerroom operations and that is how many are gaming the system. and then there are operations like Istuary Innovation who were a slightly different shade of grey. the govt is always a step or two behind the crafty accountants, lawyers and for lack of better word, “entrepreneurs” and this is no different. as i said, the easy way out was (and still is) the presale market in terms of acquiring RE without having to pay the FBT
“not a small fraction.”
In 2017 BC granted a grand total of 6,000 nominations. 21% of them were from China. Note they go on to become permanent residents and from that point they would not pay the FBT. So giving them the exemption does not result in a net increase in demand.
in 2015 there were over 40,000 TFW and IMP workers in BC. And there are God knows how many on student visas with some sort of work permit.
Don’t confuse the terminally stupid with facts which they’ll simply dismiss as “fake” or concoct some elaborate conspiracy theory to explain. They’re not interested in anything which challenges their prejudices, hence the bozos spending all day posting links which are irrelevant to real estate – it’s how they make each other feel better.
“Li’s legal team consists of five lawyers, including Joseph Arvay, a noted constitutional expert who is currently assisting the province as external counsel in its battle over the Trans Mountain pipeline.”
she is just a poor student though who is being taken advantage of …. yet she has a 5 lawyer legal team ….
Did he say it was a legal definition, or was that your strawman?
At this point, it’s obvious to everybody that we’ve had a flood of foreign money entering our real estate market through all sorts of different channels, some legal, some not and some grey. Our numbers on foreign buyers are a complete unknown because our bureaucrats are incompetent.
Dave is first in there with the concept of rejecting all government data because his own opinions are more accurate. It’s obvious to anybody!
No it is only obvious to you …
AIDS are you trying to make enemies with everybody on this blog as your leaders in China are doing?
“Did he say it was a legal definition, or was that your strawman?”
The only definition with an objective meaning is the legal one. If he isn’t talking about that, what the hell is he talking about? That’s not reporting.
“While the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation estimates foreign buyers make up less than 5 per cent of all residential real estate holdings in Metro Vancouver, independent studies have produced much higher figures.”
“A 2014 study by Simon Fraser University professor Andy Yan found that residential buyers with “non-Anglicised Chinese names” had snapped up two-thirds of 172 houses sold over a six-month period that year in Vancouver’s upper-class west side neighbourhoods.”
but some liars here want to still believe the less than 5% number…
What percentage of the 2/3rds are students and homemakers? And what’s the average income?
A study in 2014 found that 2/3 of 172 houses sold in the West Side to buyers with Chinese names
In 2014 there were 44,000 home sales in Metro Van.
172 sales out of 44,000 amounts to a sample of 0.3%
That is cherry picking data. Especially when one picks a neighbourhood popular with Chinese.
Not many visible minorities out in New West, Langley, Kits, Maple Ridge, parts of Port Moody, Tsawwassen, and other locales. It would not be hard to zoom in to select blocks in those neighbourhoods and cherry pick 172 homes that sold to mostly white folk. What would that prove? Nothing. Too small a sample.
Yan should know better than that.
while that example is extreme, you are also skewing the figures in the other direction by implying none of the other 43828 sales were to chinese buyers, which is beyond laughable. you’ll have to do better than that to convince any sensible person out there that chinese are only present in selected vancouver locales. no one said that they bought 2/3’s of everthing from point grey to chilliwack, but it is also pretty obvious that the 5% figure is completely bogus. drive around white rock and tsawwassen and HAM is everywhere. in the newer developments down by the truck crossing, about 25% of the owners are chinese. even in places like ladner you see them in the restaurants and grocery stores. there are even those residences for intl students plunked right in the middle of residential neighborhoods, signage and all.… Read more »
Well said.
No, they’re not saying none of the other properties were sold to foreigners. They’re saying you can’t simply extrapolate from the cherry-picked sample. Big difference.
And you think foreign buyers are snapping up everything because you see Asian people? Seriously.
why would they be hanging out in a typical japanese fast food joint in a ladner strip mall of all places unless they lived nearby? https://tinyurl.com/y9qyp6mz
ditto this comment for the tsawwasen mills mall where approx 1/2 the customers are chinese now. but you go ahead and argue that they are all driving in from the golden mile to give their supercars are work out vs just going to the outlet mall by YVR.
You’re assuming that people who don’t look like you must be rich foreigners. And you don’t see anything wrong with that?
that’s not what i said, but what Joe Money implied as he claimed very few visible minorities in New West, Langley, Kits, Maple Ridge, parts of Port Moody, Tsawwassen, and other locales, which is totally incorrect. i also do not believe anyone reading that article got the impression that 2/3’s of all properties across the board were purchased by chinese, but one can not deny that a significant % of the trophy properties were and that substantially more than 5% were overall.
I’m sure people will agree with that because their biases won’t allow them to comprehend that local idiots were responsible for this bubbles. Everybody needs somebody to blame to make them feel better.
Don’t argue with AIDS. He will pick one point in a multi-point argument to attack to try to discredit your entire post.
He is a useless waste of space who contributes nothing here.
Dumbass, I picked the one point on which the others depended. Fuck, you’re stupid.
Visible Minority Maps Metro Vancouver, 2016 Census
You can see that Tswawwassen (or Little Rhodesia, as it is sometimes called) is still 80-90% white.
And then there’s the little white island of Kitsilano – “white as the driven snow – as Prof. Henry Yu called it.
http://henryyu.blogspot.com/2010/09/whats-wrong-with-kits.html
And those white bohemians around Commercial Drive. Yu forget about them.
and here is an all caucasian ad for a development located in a supposedly all white neighborhood
https://vimeo.com/199397700
and here is who showed up to the presentation
https://vimeo.com/224747705
just sayin…
My friend in Tsawwassen said the number of Chinese buyers is huge. From basically zero 6 years ago to more Chinese than Whites at open houses.
after white rock, which has been all bought up, tsawwassen is the next best thing. once the tunnel is dealt with, everything in between will get gobbled up. bigger picture is that Cda will get eventually extended south of the fraser all the way to the ferry terminal where there will be another large casino development
edit: “Cda Line” will get extended…
Did your friend check their birth certificates or passports, too?
He tried but none of them would make eye contact and the ones who did could not speak a word of English.
Denial gets you nowhere.
It’s recent immigrants that are buying multiple homes with illegal money. They are deflecting to the foreign buyer mantra because now they have enough recent immigrants here that foreign buyers don’t matter.
That’s why a Tax of 2% on 2nd homes and 5% on third homes is needed along with a renters credit to out landlords. So far Horgan and weaver aren’t doing that because it affects their investment properties.
They could introduce a tax which decreases with holding period. They could call it a “speculation tax” maybe?
Or outlaw foreigners from buying (LIKE IN CHINA!!!!!)
I sometimes wish they would ban foreigners here if only to show clowns like you that it won’t have much impact (LIKE IN NEW ZEALAND!!!!!)
“but some liars here want to still believe the less than 5% number…”
We’ll here’s a theory. Maybe, just maybe, the great majority of ethnic Chinese buying RE in metro Vancouver are Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Do you think that’s possible?
“Maybe, just maybe, the great majority of ethnic Chinese buying RE in metro Vancouver are Canadian citizens or permanent residents.”
According to Eby prior to the election real foreign buyers were a huge problem with inflating presale housing prices. Not so much now for some reason. Which is it?
Love it!
OTTAWA –Ontario MP Leona Alleslev surprised many in announcing in the House of Commons on Monday that she was crossing the floor from the Liberal caucus to join the Conservatives, in the first floor crossing of this Parliament.
Before physically walking across the floor where she was met by thunderous applause and handshakes, Alleslev said she was deeply concerned about the future of the country, citing economic and foreign policy concerns.
“After three years of hope and hard work I find myself asking: ‘Am I doing everything I can to serve the citizens of Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill, and my country?'” she said in announcing her move in the House of Commons.
A nobody gets her 5 minutes of fame….
I wonder if her and Costas are now gonna hafta fight over the nomination….???
😉
This is a traditionally Conservative riding (not coincidentally with a large Chinese population) that the Liberals won with a margin of 2% in 2015. The margin in 2011 for the same polling area was 14% for the Conservatives. So I think she’s making a good bet – it’s pretty clear that she wasn’t going to make it into JT’s cabinet and she was at risk of losing the seat in 2019 as a Liberal. You might recall this scene right next door last summer:
More weirdness from China Inc….. (no particular relevance to Real Estate…)
🙂
“Has China’s most famous actress been disappeared by the Communist party?
https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/14/asia/fan-bingbing-china-celebrity-intl/index.html
she’s probably in vancouver where things like tax evasion are are perfectly ok as long as you are rich and chinese.
yes, but Its just cultural.. we should embrace it… otherwise we are racist
They do get away with law breaking. Look at the ridesharing companies here. Or cash only restaurants.
The only restaurant I ever came across which only accepted cash was one in the French Cultural Centre on W7th, although I understand that policy changed recently. Others I’ve seen take cash and debit only, presumably so that they’re not paying credit card merchant fees.
“The only restaurant I ever came across which only accepted cash was one in the French Cultural Centre on W7th”
Obviously, since you don’t live in Vancouver loser.
I would estimate that less than 50% of Chinese run restaurants accept credit cards (AND NO I DON’T HAVE A LINK) It’s from my experience. This is a statement of my personal experience but you will no doubt call me racist for saying it.
The Chinese people who do lawns in my neighbourhood have no business license, no work safe and provide no receipts. They accept cash only. (NO LINK) but ask any one if they take credit cards. At that point, they forget how to speak English.
I would welcome the group’s experience on this cash only topic.
A restaurant not accepting credit card doesn’t mean cash only.
Speaking of not living in Vancouver, weren’t you the one who claimed Granville and Seymour have an intersection? Yes, yes you were.
No, he never claimed those two streets crossed each other, you fucking liar.
You are lying.
Again as you do, you picked one thing out of a huge post about ABNB to attack to discredit me.
I said near Granville and Seymour and that was a mistake. I never said they crossed.
The unit is on Seymour behind the Granville Entertainment Strip.
AIDS is the subhuman piece of shit who accuses others of cherry picking.
I hope the 50 cent headquarters recalls him back to the motherland soon.
You clearly have no idea what cherry-picking even means. Unsurprising.
Nice recovery. There would have been no need to mention both streets given that there is only a block separating them and you were mentioning a general area. Either one of them alone would have sufficed. But hey, whatever you say.
And if I were forced to pick one out of of all the things to discredit you with I’d probably settle on the fact that you seem proud of your friend’s rule-breaking. Because you think you’re special.
no, but i bet some of her cash has washed onto these shores
Fan Bingbing: Has China’s most famous actress been disappeared by the Communist party?
https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/14/asia/fan-bingbing-china-celebrity-intl/index.html
Yeap.
Dammit….you beat me to it…..
😀
The urge to post irrelevant crap is clearly strong amongst you all.
It’s a slow news day….
🙂
do you want this site “shut down already” because you can’t stop yourself from posting all day long and need to be cut off?
Please comment on the people getting kicked out of the hostel after they arrived a day early.
Every time I comment on something because you asked me to you just ignore me. I won’t be wasting my time on you again.
So you won’t comment on a post that makes China or Chinese people look bad? (Just as I said you wouldn’t)
What a complete surprise from a Sino-Apologist and 50 cent’er.
You discredit yourself with every post.
Ok, I’ll comment so you can ignore it once again.
Congratulations, you found an article about 3 idiots. You’ll find many such examples of people of all nationalities behaving badly whilst on vacation if only you cared to look and weren’t blinded by prejudice. The Chinese government’s reaction is clearly ridiculous, too.
Sorry this doesn’t fit your expectations.
Loud and clear.
Posting anything casting the Chinese in a bad light is prejudiced.
Posting a single example about any nationality and trying to pass it off as a characteristic trait is racist. Especially on a blog about real estate. Is that loud and clear enough for you, dumb fuck?
these people are AWESOME…
According to state tabloid Global Times, she had two different contracts, one for tax purposes saying she was paid $1.5 million (10 million yuan) and a separate, private contract for $7.5 million (50 million yuan).
It’s a practice known in China as “yin-yang contracts,” a form of tax evasion where the first, smaller contract is reported to authorities while the second, larger one is treated as tax-free income.
oracle has been talking about this for a long time and it explains some odd below market sales we see from time to time.
Good another critical thinker. The trolls will attack me though.
Happens more and more in the Indian community as trade increases. Money exchanged hands there and portion of real estate exchanges here.
Much more prevalent between the Chinese though.
If a sale happens way below assessment while others are at assessment, guess what’s happening??? Yup.
But the minions here jump up and down. Lol
It’s definitely happening. Some listings are done for appearances only. The deals are done before the property gets to MLS. If a buyer comes along with an offer, it’ll get turned down.
You have an example?
Our bureaucrats are so incompetent, they have no idea how to figure all these shenanigans out.
Sorry, couldn’t resist. 🙂
China accuses Sweden of violating human rights over treatment of tourists
the chinese government demanding that chinese citizens in foreign countries get special and privileged treatment doesn’t seem very funny to me.
Dictators want you to fear them, they don’t care if you hate them, but they can’t stand it if you laugh at them.
they also want you to deny, for decades, that their agents and sympathizers are buying up property and increasing their influence in vancouver.
“Beijing criticised Sweden for violating the human rights of Chinese citizens.”
Well Beijing should know all about violating human rights …. and maybe if the chinese would behave like civilized people they would not have their “rights” violated. ha ha.
SIDA – Please comment. (This will be ignored) News of the altercation has attracted widespread attention in China where the search term “Chinese tourists mistreated by Swedish police” has received more than 130m views and 85,000 posts on the microblog Weibo. Discussion of the incident has turned into a debate about the behaviour of Chinese tourists at home and abroad. “This is shameful. The image of China has been disgraced in the hands of these people,” one Weibo user wrote. “The Dalai Lama visits Sweden and the foreign ministry uses this incident as a pretext to make a fuss. That’s more embarrassing than the performance of this family,” another wrote. “These people feel the world should move around them, if not, then they lie down on ground and scream for help,” one commentator wrote in an essay posted on WeChat.… Read more »
“These people feel the world should move around them, if not, then they lie down on the ground and scream for help,”
The same shit as that locust-student Jing Li suing BC government that the foreign buyer’s tax violated Charter rights. Funny how locusts always easily pull “rights” whenever situation goes against their advantage. Scumbags, shame…
Arriving 14 hours before checkin time and then refusing to leave the lobby…I assume they were planning to sleep in the lobby to save a few bucks. How about you just leave when the cops ask you to then nobody needs to get carried out? Disgraceful behaviour yes, but not by the cops.
I’m sure the Uighurs in the chinese internment camps being tortured and re-educated would completely agree with the Swedes violating human rights.
Richmond lawyer Guo registers for mayoralty race, despite misconduct allegations. The real estate and immigration lawyer facing a professional misconduct hearing registered her name Sept. 13 for the Richmond mayoral election.
https://thebreaker.news/news/guo-for-mayor/
“Guo’s statement of disclosure lists ownership of two houses in Richmond. Land title records for the one near Donald McKay elementary describe Guo as a “homemaker” who has half-interest in the $2.38 million-assessed property with businessperson Yunyan Luan. The other, near No. 2 Road and Francis, is worth $1.74 million.”
She’s everything I love about the chinese. A real estate lawyer, an immigration lawyer, and a “homemaker” who owns multi-million dollar properties.
And that campaign slogan “time for change” is pure genius.
As worse as it gets, fucking nasty aphid of the worst kind.
“… strengthening cultural ties between Richmond and China.”
Why does Richmond need that ???
Who there would even really want it ???
and just happened to have $7.5M in loose change kicking around to replenish the trust account even though she admitted to no wrong doing in the matter. the only plausible explanations for this are as follows: – she is not guilty but repaid the money anyway as she has tens if not hundreds of millions. a mere $7.5M to her is a drop in the bucket (odds of this being true are low) – she got caught dipping her hand into the cash register (for whatever reason) and replaced the funds out of her own pocket no questions asked (odds of this being true are reasonable) – she is guilty of conspiring with her sketchy clients who fronted her the $7.5M to make the situation go away but insisted that she tell the authorities the money came from proceeds of… Read more »
No, I think the “repayment” thing is a bit duplicitous. She’s said that she’s repaid the money from her own contributions ***and insurance***.
So she’s been trying to make it seem like she’s the good person who’s paid everything back herself– but in actuality, it seems that she dumped responsibility onto her insurer (presumably the law society insurance fund, which all lawyers have to pay into).
if significant portion of losses were covered under insurance then why the need to liquidate “millions” in real estate assets (as she claimed anyway). imho this whole mayoral candidacy thing is nothing but an attempt to deflect attention from the investigation. she can’t be foolish enough to believe she has a chance at winning. the sooner we all forget about the real story the better it is for her and her sketchy clients who want to remain off everyone’s radar. at the heart of the matter is that just this one little firm alone was handling some $700M in transactions PER YEAR for god knows who for lord knows what purpose. it is pretty clear to me that there is a systemic problem of epic proportions underlying everything most here think seems perfectly normal.
> she can’t be foolish enough to believe she has a chance at winning. Unfortunately, I think she stands a chance. There’s so much corrupt money here, and it knows that she’s part of their support network, and the corruption doesn’t want to be shut down. When the news of her firm’s losses first surfaced, and the sketchiness with which she was doing business, I remember her saying that she trusted her clients’ statements at face value, and felt no need to delve into their business… She was a lawyer after all, and didn’t think she was qualified to make any determinations about the legitimacy of their funds, so she took everything at face value. This is the quality of supervision that lawyers bring to the regulatory regime, which has allowed untold amounts of foreign money to be laundered in… Read more »
as the ol’ saying goes…if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
brodie is (and has been) overseeing the municipality with arguably the loosest regulations where HAM is still relatively free to continue their wild west ways. the fact that he is caucasian just provides more cover for the ones really running the show. someone like hong guo could never be mayor because she automatically raises red flags (and that can be interpreted however you want)
Exclusive: Vancouver mayoral candidate filings reveal allies, backroomers and real estate holdings https://thebreaker.news/news/nomination-papers/ Bremner is a marketing consultant and unsuccessful 2013 BC Liberal candidate in New Westminster who was ex-Deputy Premier Rich Coleman’s aide until he join the Pace Group lobbying and public relations company in early 2015. Bremner continued as a full-time vice-president at Pace after he was elected to city council last fall with the NPA. That sparked conflict of interest complaints to city hall…………..Bremner is represented by Farris lawyer James Hatton, the longtime federal and BC Liberal insider who Christy Clark named to BC Hydro’s board of directors in 2013. Besides Kelly, Bremner endorsers who signed his registration papers include the Yes party’s campaign svengali and Clark’s ex-husband Mark Marissen, lobbyist Cynthia Shore of Patrick Kinsella’s Progressive Group, independent city council candidate Adrian Crook and former B.C.… Read more »
Relief for B.C. renters on its way: Horgan
Premier promises to act on recommendations of rental task force
https://www.coastreporter.net/real-estate/relief-for-b-c-renters-on-its-way-horgan-1.23431628
BC Liberal Opposition Leader Andrew Wilkinson said the rental issue is not helped with the NDP government proposing taxes such as the speculation tax on property and the Employers Health Tax.
He said those taxes will be passed on to consumers which eventually filters down to housing options.
Wilkinson questioned where the promised NDP rent rebate is.
In his speech at the closing of the Union of BC Municipalities conference in Whistler Sept. 14, Horgan suggested the BC Greens were blocking the rebate.
It’s an issue Horgan and Green Leader Andrew Weaver have been at loggerheads on.
Horgan can’t stop flip flopping on this. They reviewed the rental increase last year and with rents at all time highs they kept it intact at 2% over inflation. Since then we got two increases that add up to 9%. The damage is done. What is he going to do now reverse the 4.5% they have announced and committed to for next year? The $400 rental rebate wouldn’t even cover half of 1 years rent increase for a below average rental. Pure incompetence. Did these guys have any clue what they were going to do if they got elected? Clearly not.
“They inherited the current system from the Liberals”…and that’s the party you want back in power right?
I don’t recall the NDP running on keeping the status quo. The NDP ran on making things more affordable. A 9% rent increase over 2 years is more affordable? They are either incompetent, liars or both.
Liars. None of them sold their homes. I know many people in one riding who are executives; most added to their real estate holdings. No one sold anything.
Credit unions doing big business as boards made up of MLA relatives.
Oracle: Do you have any proof for any of these statements?
Have you bought yet since the NDP has made housing affordable? Or have your rents gone down?
Lol. Are you for real?
you are asking me if I’m for real? You must be joking ….
Trust me.
No.
10 years later : “its the Liberals”. LOL.
It is a little over 1 year but what’s an order of magnitude in exaggeration when the political norm these days is 2 orders of magnitude. Oracle up your game, are you sure it is not 100 years?
They’ve had ample opportunity to make a goal to change the way annual increases are calculated. Waiting until you get called on it and then blaming “the other guy” is lame and shows that they’re simply not capable of planning ahead, only knee-jerk reactions.
the most intelligent thing you’ve said in recent memory.
It’s what’s they’re going to say in 10 years. Cmon, try to read my posts critically.
yup, my guess is they will back track on the 4.5%
best of all is that landlords need to give notice by the end of Sept for said rent increases effective Jan 1/19 and my guess is that many already have done this. so, if he backtracks, then this whole thing turns into an unnecessary clusterf*8K for 1000’s of landlords who would now have to undo the increase.
should this go completely fubar, then plan B would essentially involve pegging rent increases to inflation if not freezing rents altogether commencing Jan 1/20 with the obvious unintended consequence of this being a dramatic increase in the number of landlords who will max out this year (many of who might not have raised the rent at all)
You can only increase rent once every 12 months, so there will not be many landlords in a position to do so on January 1st. And, of course, notice could be revoked at any point between now and then.
many landlords contemplating a rent increase were waiting to see what the allowable limit for 2019 will be and that was just announced a matter of days ago. should it become clear a change in the calculation is coming at the very least in 2020 some landlords who opted to stand pat in 2019 might change their minds. if the NDP totally backtracks, then those landlords who already gave notice to their tenants will have to eat crow and reverse the rent hike not to mention the fact that the chumps in victoria will look like incompetent buffoons once again.
Ok, here is the natural reaction to the political vaccum on the right:
http://www.peoplespartyofcanada.ca/membership
Let’s google what did Bernier ever say about RE…
“Let’s google what did Bernier ever say about RE…”
A few threads back I went through his leadership platform to find out. The answer is nothing.
Bernier is from Quebec. If we had Quebec prices there nobody would be complaining. What is Jagmeet saying?
Patriots works for Trudeau.
SIDA is a Communist China sympathizer who happens to love illegal Chinese money leaving the state.
Oracle: Do you have any proof for any of these statements?
If his goal is to reduce immigration, then what needs to be said about real estate?
Problem solved.
His position is to decrease t annual immigration from 300K to 250K. I don’t see anything wrong with that in itself, but such a small decrease is not going to materially affect the RE market.
Nearly 1/2 of our immigrants come from 3 countries, china, India and Philippines.
Most of them settle in Vancouver and Toronto, so yes it would have a significant effect.
Also, I’d imagine Bernier would like to change the mix so that these 3 countries don’t monopolize our immigrations quota, which would have further impact on Vancouver.
Even a small cut to immigration like Bernier wants would have more impact on housing than all the government housing the NDP have promised to build (which won’t be built anyway). The good news is we have a politician with the guts to talk about it openly rather than the politically correct BS we have seen for the past 30 years where no politician will even bring it up for debate.
I will also add this is not just about the RE market. We are told daily we need to pay more taxes, tolls and fees so we can build roads, bridges, hospitals and schools for all the new immigrants. We need to live in condos and give up the SFH. We need to take transit and give up cars. You know the 1 million new people that will soon be in Metro Vancouver over the coming years. If immigration was so good for our economy, as we are told, wouldn’t the new taxes the immigrants pay cover the cost plus for all of this? If not why bring them here?
Minions.
Actually white minions. Giving away their country. Fools.
If his was any other nation, there would have been an armed revolt by now.
Can’t wait to see the white peoples faces when their homeland is lost. Hahaha.
Another pointless opinion by you goof.
This isn’t our homeland $hitbag, it’s a colony
Immigration is key.
The media and elite will try to confuse the minions into fighting for them.
Maybe put maximum limits from these 3 countries. But could you imagine the Chinese and Iranians living side by side in a 50:50 mix??
Patriots Disclaimer: Works for the asshole Trudeau at Immigration Canada in Ottawa.
Oracle: Do you have any proof for this statement?
search the archives, about 11 years ago. It’s true.
Only in BC..
See that FED NDP leader Jagmeet Singh will run in byelection in Burnaby South, vacated by NDP MP Kennedy Stewart who is running for Vancouver Mayor.
Most here won’t be able to connect the dots.
NDP government would boost immigrationnto 500,000 and make renting entirely unaffordable.
All the immigrants will still choose to live in Vancouver even if a 500 square foot condo is $8000/month! Is that what you want us to believe? And the only way out of this is to vote yes to PR? Am I anywhere close?
Oracle: Do you have any proof for this statement ?
Was out of town for a few “SIDA free” days….
Now that I’m back….same old SIDA Bullshite….yawwnn.
It’s probably time to ask if our belief in the miracle of real estate, such as that held by our southern neighbours before the 2008 crash, is starting to resemble a doomsday cult. And we should stop pretending there’s much science behind it all. We’ve grown as rich as we have in large measure because we believed, because we swallowed the doctrine and rushed into the temple. But without new believers, this whole temple could come crashing down.
If you ask the average American, they have a far different view of real estate than Canadians do.
I’m guessing that will change before too long….
Excellent article in the Globe, thanks…..everybody should read it – esp. the Pols… 🙂 “…..And yet, seen dispassionately, all this good news may actually be bad. Think about it. A house produces nothing. It’s not a factory, it’s not a farm, let alone a new technology that will enjoy widespread application or transform the economy. Moreover, the jobs created by housing lie mostly in sectors of the economy where productivity growth is lowest. When the housing boom ends, there won’t be much left to show for it. That’s because the better things get in real estate, the worse they get elsewhere. Thinking of starting a business in Toronto or Vancouver? You’ll struggle to make rent before you meet any of your other expenses. And don’t even bother asking for a loan. Adair Turner, who headed Britain’s Financial Services Authority at… Read more »
Saretzky: Foreign Buyers Spent 49% Less on BC Real Estate as Credit Contracts
But I thought HAM had zero affect on the market?
I wonder if business will start to slow at the Ferrari and Bentley dealerships as RE sales decline?
Apparently, luxury car sales are way down in Vancouver now.
It’s downright hilarious when people who drop $2m on a trophy vacation home less than 2 hours away from home think that foreigners drive the market.
Nobody ever said foreigners have zero impact here. Every buyer has an impact to some degree yet we do know that foreign buyers are outnumbered almost 20:1 by greedy locals.
You really are a tool aren’t you?
First of all, Foreigners were never 5% or 20/1 of purchasers. More realistically would be 20% (or higher) so lets assume 5/1 to be generous. That on its own would have a huge effect on prices but it wasn’t the number of buyers.
HAM changed the mentality of the market, the bully bids, the multiple offers, the buying sign unseen, the FOMO, the buy now or be priced out forever, yellow helicopters, buying with cash (I love that one) etc etc.
They poured gasoline on the small fire that was Vancouver Real Estate. They turned a small fire into an inferno.
Prices never would have go up the way they did if HAM had never come to town.
Let’s assume a complete fabricated number which has no corroborating data? And it was foreigners who changed the perception of all the local buyers? Not the real estate industry and a complicit media?
Give your head a shake.
Your data is incomplete and utterly useless.
Piss of with your fake data.
SIDA sez $2 Million vacation homes?
Bwahahaha
Just back from BC interior…with a couple of RE flyers…
Price points for waterfront with cabin/home around $400,000.
Above that it sits.
Those that retire in these locales often sell in order to be closer to urban medical centers.
You think Whistler Or Bust paid $400K for his empty house in Whistler?
You want to talk anomalies like Whistler?…that is its own micro-economic climate.
You clearly can’t keep up with simple conversation. Why do you even bother?
Sez SIDA …….. Pee Aitch Dee
BC economy pre 1986 was the shites. They feared we in BC would become like Detroit Expo 86 was had (2) purposes….as (i)a party to keep local people entertained in bad economic times and (ii) to set up the Expo lands for Li Kai Shing..aka Hong Kong lease was up in 1997 and there were billions in funds from scared HK residents looking for a $afe haven. Once Kai Shing bought the Expo lads..his blessing attracted HK crowd to BC…beyond obvious correlation. Once mainland China took over HK…we had a lull…..but the mainland Chinese later came with a vengeance. Sure…in the recent RE market……..”locals” had influence….but they have always had to play catch up with foreign locusts (and their dubious source of funds)who set the pace. The banksters saw major opportunity to lend to”locals” knowing Big Brother Gov’t would always… Read more »
“bad economic times… to set up the Expo lands for Li Kai Shing”
Not true. First of all Expo was established in the boom year of 1980. Bill Bennett acquired the Expo lands with the purpose of developing the land under a provincial Crown Corporation, hence the name BC Place.
BIll Vander Zalm, who had left the Socred government in 1983, won the Socred leadership in 1986 and the subsequent provincial election. It was he who abandoned Bennett’s plan and made the foolhardy decision to sell at the same time as the 1987 stock market crash.
We’ll agree to disagree on that patriotz…
Vander Zalm tried to get buddy Toigo to buy Expo lands…failed…Li Kai Shing won…Li was going to obtain it one way or other.
Rest is history….
Agreed. Idk Where Patriots ever heard his version but that wasn’t true. And it was Grace McCarthy who basically gave away the property to LKS.
More like 5:1
Is the the part where you once again demonstrate a complete failure to understand the difference between new condos and resale houses? Please, go ahead.
more like you have a failure to believe the posted data.
The links you keep sharing state clearly the context. Namely that the 20% figure relates to new condos in specific regions of Metro Vancouver. We have the numbers for the entire market, and it’s 5-10%. You can’t change the facts or, apparently, your comprehension issues.
Look anywhere the numbers are there. Google can be your friend.
The numbers come with words which explain context and hence how to interpret them. This is where you fail. Every time.
Weaver just said he won’t support any further housing measures brought in by the NDP. He also wants the spec tax gone.
He goes on to further say that after the vote, the majority of the house can vote down any NDP housing measures.
Wow ow wow. Just wow!
Good luck with Weaver. Give him PR and kiss any chance of housing policy goodbye.
***********
Dont believe me? Email him and see what he says.
“Don’t believe me?”
I just so happens I don’t believe you. Shocker I know. Could it by the fact you spew 5 or 6 lies per day?
Why don’t you do us all a solid and show us some evidence? Though we all know you’re making this shit up and there ain’t any. Attacking the party that forced the NDP to enact measures that dropped prices. You know, those prices you claim you want lowered…and yet you make up lies to discredit the party responsible for making it happen.
Oracle has been caught in more lies here that I can count and yet he still persists in making outrageous statements that are completely false.
If refredenum passes, you will be sorry. Greens and NDP will have a stranglehold and will show their true colours.
If referendum fails, as I expect, you will be sorry. NDP and Greens had 1.5 years to fix this mess.
Re PR…..
Yep..NDP and Green are sure quiet….
Keep eye on the ball….these clowns will spend majority of time making sure PR passes…as we get distracted by civic elections.