It’s the end of another week and that means its time for another open topic discussion thread. Friday free-for-all time!
So what are you seeing out there in the streets and alleys of grand ol’ Vancouver? Post your news links, thoughts and anecdotes in the comments below and have a fantastic weekend!
SCMP: Money-laundering crackdown is just a way to blame Chinese cash for Vancouver’s unaffordable housing
https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3014224/money-laundering-crackdown-just-way-blame-chinese-cash-vancouvers
>>> keep a vomit bag handy before you start reading this…
the irony is that articles like this create a stronger association between chinese and housing crisis/money laundering.
it’s like telling people not to think of a pink elephant. the only thing they will be able to think of is a pink elephant.
Tourism Richmond has launched a free shuttle bus which will run from Lansdowne Canada Line station to Britannia Heritage Shipyards, with stops at the Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel, Olympic Oval and the Gulf of Georgia Cannery in between
https://www.richmond-news.com/news/richmond-s-free-shuttle-bus-connects-tourists-to-hot-spots-1.23854696
Not-owner-occupied property skyrockets in Vancouver
https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/not-owner-occupied-property-skyrockets-in-vancouver
REUTERS: Hong Kong tycoons start moving assets offshore as fears rise over new extradition law
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-extradition-capitalflight-ex/exclusive-hong-kong-tycoons-start-moving-assets-offshore-as-fears-rise-over-new-extradition-law-idUSKCN1TF1DZ
“‘Troubling’: Home prices nearly double what Canadian millennials can afford, says report”, CTV
“The “dramatic” gap between the cost of owning a home and the ability of Canadian millennials to afford one paints a “troubling portrait” of an expensive country, according to a new report.”
“Average home prices would need to drop by half — some $223,000 — to be affordable for the typical Canadian aged 25 to 34, or average earnings would have to double — to $93,400 — found the non-profit group Generation Squeeze in a study titled “Straddling the Gap.””
““It’s not just Toronto or Vancouver,” said Kershaw. “The gap is large in Victoria. The gap is large in Kelowna. It’s large in multiple cities like London, Kitchener, Ottawa and Hamilton. There’s a gap that’s problematic in Calgary, Fort McMurray, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, etcetera. Even Manitoba has crossed the threshold where home prices are challenging for younger Canadians.””
High immigration.
oracle and i have been talking about the ‘canadians’ in HK for years. the rest of you are just catching up.
This is a fringe blog. The dozen or so diehards here have too much invested to admit they were wrong.
I’m worried about this Hong Kong situation. The media is really pumping it. Just may be forced to buy if this gains traction.
And no minions, this is not a pumper comment. I’m just replying to Hyper Mega Bull FFS.
Forced to buy? I thought you’d already chosen to buy any condo you could afford in the valley?
New
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Price Change
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TI:15835
Not far off the peak now.
Thanks, oracle.
You’re fucked. Every comment that goes against your delusional thinking must be from me.
FFS if I were you, I’d be watching the Hong King situation like a hawk.
If this gains traction, get ready to be priced out of the entire southern BC.
He’s been priced out for a while.
I wonder how many of the 300,000 Canadians living in Hong Kong are the result of our lenient birth tourism.
How to be a Canadian citizen after living a total of 2 weeks in the country and not knowing a single word of English or know who the prime minister is. Good thing diversity makes us stronger.
I wish I had never heard of the prime minister.
It’s 500,000.
200,000 kids have been born there or adopted in the last 20 years. Grants automatic citizenship.
This circus would be funny to watch if Vancouver’s living and housing weren’t so badly impacted by Chinese regardless of their origin.
China issues warning after Canada raises concerns over planned extradition law
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/china-freeland-hong-kong-1.5173486
Hong Kong vs Beijing pissing match
Actually…..I don’t give a sh*te
Hong Kongers had a great ride….had perks no other colonies ever had…people got rich.
Then they come over and turn us into 2nd class citizens..up till 1997..then still have it good in HK for another 30 years.
The Mainland Chinese come over and again push us back into 3rd class citizens.
The pissing match is all posturing….Hong Kongers won’t leave unless tanks roll in..and I highly doubt that will happen.
These are my sentiments. HK’ers that were really worried already left the country before the handover in 1997. The ones that are there now are obviously okay living under Chinese rule.
Feds announce $10M for RCMP to fight money laundering after ministers’ meeting
https://app.tmxmoney.com/news/cpnews/article?locale=EN&newsid=DVG750&mobile=false
so $10 million to battle $7+ billion in yearly money laundering. They have really stepped up to the plate, eh ?
And zero from the BC NDP.
Money laundering wouldn’t even be a topic of discussion today if Eby hadn’t kept pounding the drum on this issue.
The drum beating came to an end once he was elected. BC Budget winners and losers. You decide if that was what you voted for.
Winners]
The public sector, The environment
The biggest spend in Tuesday’s budget is $20 billion for capital projects over three years. That amounts to $6.7 billion a year on investments in the public sector…the government’s plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions will cost $902 million over the next three yearsLosers
Renters, The poorest citizens, Private-sector industries, Opponents of organized crime
There was little indication Tuesday of a coming crackdown on money laundering. The Gaming Policy and Enforcement branch, which polices casinos under the auspices of the attorney general, got a mere $200,000 boost over last year’s budget.
“Dirty money: it’s a Canadian thing
Canada’s housing markets are rife with shadowy buyers and greasy cash. B.C. was just the beginning.”
https://www.macleans.ca/economy/realestateeconomy/b-c-s-money-laundering-crisis-goes-national/
The B.C. NDP government is not sitting back. The panel made 120 recommendations for ways it and the federal government can crack down on money laundering, and B.C. Attorney General David Eby has already taken action on several of them, including a pledge to establish a public registry of the beneficial owners of all residential property in the province. (Beneficial owners are those individuals who ultimately own the property, even if the title may be in another person’s or corporation’s name.) B.C. Premier John Horgan has launched a public inquiry into money laundering in the province.
McLeans really? The same publication that fawns over Trudeau. You are confusing talk with action. $200k for money laundering in a multi billion dollar budget? They spend that on the annual Halloween party the legislature.
Who’s been charged?
Years from now you’ll be an old man sitting and pondering what a fool you were.
It’s year 3 of NDP and no one has been charged.
Your delusional. Who has Eby charged or sent to jail?
Housing under a million is still up since NDP got elected.
Eby hasn’t done shit but talk. You must be on their payroll or else your so brainwashed.
NDP is done in a year and so.
They’ve made most things more expensive.
Including rents and low end housing prices.
Meanwhile, “CRA defends “Twelve strikes, you’re out!” rule for millionaire tax dodgers”
LOL
The Beaverton is sometimes more real than real….
Can someone access this article from Globe and Mail and post it?
I tried to but it is stuck in ” moderation”
A-decade-has-passed-since-vancouvers-empty-condo-revelation
Top illegal airbnb operator: https://www.airbnb.ca/users/111619036
More
Side by side houses in Richmond… just sold for 52% and 50% below 2017 assessed…
2300 MCLEOD AVENUE, Richmond
Sold for $765,000
2017 Assessed: $1,602,300
2018 Assessed: $1,557,600
Mortimer
@mortimer_1
16h16 hours ago
More
2320 MCLEOD AVENUE, Richmond
Sold for $900,000
2017 Assessed: $1,715,000
2018 Assessed: $1,818,000
… Under a flight path.. but still…
As much as I like seeing this it seems a bit fishy. That’s a massive haircut
Agreed, but it is setting the new comps for buyers to leverage against.
Yada yada, overseas transaction, 5 million in the lower mainland by 2030. Did I miss anything?
Fool.
Anyone else think prices crashed 50% off assessments?
Cash deals.
But ignore my comment. Cause the minions here are very smart.
Land value only.
3-year probation for Farruko in case of undeclared $52K
https://www.citynews1130.com/2019/06/13/3-year-probation-for-farruko-in-case-of-undeclared-52k/
if someone gets caught smuggling $52,000 of cash into Canada guess what happens? Next to nothing. A small fine and they are on their way …
Vancouver home buyers still in bidding wars despite being more risk-averse
https://www.citynews1130.com/2019/06/13/home-prices-vancouver/
But Eric Bond, an analyst with CMHC, says over half of recent buyers say they were involved in bidding wars.
“The proportion of home buyers who reported being in a bidding war in Vancouver was 55 per cent,”
this doesn’t make a lot of sense …
I’m aware of a couple multiple bid situations. But the initial offers were all a good amount below ask – as was the final sale price.
I’m not saying that’s what’s happening across the board. But it sure is pretty different from the recent past.
I know a whole 100 was put over asking to get this townhouse in Burnaby.
$100…
Sounds like they overpaid.
You need to get out there to see what’s going on.
I can tell you that Abby detached has gone up about $30,000 on the last 3 months.
And sales are just as strong as 12 months ago.
Try not to be one of the delusional minions here.
I don’t think the hyped up Hong Kong diaspora, will amount to much, for many reasons.
Those who created a fertile environment for the criminals to prosper and distort the local economy, are quietly exiting the scene.
They won’t want to draw attention to themselves.
The conditions have changed.
Tic toc tic toc
>Those who created a fertile environment for the criminals to prosper and distort the local economy, are quietly exiting the scene. why do you assume the HK diaspora are criminals? they aren’t. they are citizens of convenience. canadian citizenship is their insurance policy and a retirement plan. their plan is to spend their productive years in HK earn high incomes pay low taxes. then bring all their legal money to canada to retire and take advantage of the free medical care they didn’t pay for. or live in HK until china’s actions threaten their legal wealth, in which case they will bring it and themselves to vancouver to enjoy a nice, clean, safe city with free healthcare, subsidized universities, and the same food or better as they have at home. decades of misguided policy have created this situation and canadains… Read more »
I would say this HK thing is a very big deal. If it sends waves of people over to settle in Vancouver this will have a big effect on prices. I dare say it might trigger a V shaped recovery. This is something that needs to be considered.
Would any of the people returning from HK be required to pay the FB tax?
Unless China cracks down violently I see this fizzling out and the water torture death of Van RE continuing. Most HK’ers don’t want to live in Vancouver. If they did they would be. My friends from HK detest the mainland Chinese and almost consider them another race.
Most Canadians living in HK are there because they can make more money in HK. They won’t be satisfied coming back to Canada to work at a Starbucks. Our local economy doesn’t have enough to offer them. I would expect the largest portion would just stay in HK despite the potential crackdown, another large portion might leave for Taiwan, Macau, or Singapore. Only a small amount of them would return to Canada. If I had to guess it will likely be less than 5% of the total 300k.
Hahaha. Funniest thing I’ve heard all week.
As soon as the tanks roll in, they will all fly to Canada.
“They might leave for Macau”. Hahaha. What we have kids commenting here now? FFS
The 500,000 Hong Kongers are Canadian Citizens automatically. Of those, 300,000 got it while in Canada and another 200,000 got it by birth overseas (if parents Citizens then babies get it regardless where they were born).
So NO foreign buyer tax. They have just as much rights as you.
It would take about 50,000 of these people to return to Vancouver to set off FOMO 2.0.
Regardless, china takes over Hong Kong in 27 years 6 months 17 days. Imagine what happens then?
Another 1.5 million Asians in greater Vancouver area via legal immigration. 700,000 new Hong Kongers (+200,000 more than present cause of new births overseas)
Basically Lower Mainland population goes from 2.8 million to 5 million. Maybe not that high due to white flight to the island.
Oracle sockpuppet once again provides a segue for himself.
Another weirdo thinking I’m posting.
These guys are so lost.
While a broiling diplomatic row between China and Canada is ruffling commodities trading, it has yet to have an impact on birth tourism in B.C.
https://www.richmond-news.com/diplomatic-row-with-china-not-impacting-birth-tourism-1.23853977
Either way we are fucked, nothing good.
“Some Hong Kong residents are now making arrangements to leave, saying the extradition law, if passed, would be the last straw in years of increasingly aggressive authoritarian moves from China. Members of the Hong Kong diaspora around the world and in Vancouver are watching as immigration lawyers prepare to help clients make the arrangements.”
I’m watching this very closely. Just the psychological impact of this will send detached prices in Chilliwack towards a million dollars. Buying two might hit you the jackpot.
If Chilliwack is anything like the rest of the lower mainland it seems like you’ll have plenty of inventory to choose from.
by all means do what you will believe will happen. Others will do things that will look totally odd to you.
Only way to figure out who’s right is wait a few years.
… and that’s the strategy behind everything you post, hoping that nobody remembers when the time comes.
I have no strategy.
I know you Asians will rule north of the Fraser and us Indians get to rile the Fraser valley.
well, the law has to get passed first. debate is currently suspended now. should this occur, i can’t imagine beijing will go out of their way to facilitate the process. this all said, the real estate cartel here is already talking this up big time and it will be interesting to see what horgan, james et al will do to cancel this out. I am pretty sure that amping up measures on anyone who simply looks foreign (despite being Cdn) will not go over well. when all is said and done, do we really want the elevated tension, riots, violence, gang wars and other chaos that HK is dealing with now brought over here? remember, no one hates mainlanders more than HKers
The question is how many Hong Kongers would come here the metro Vancouver and under what guises?
—There would be those that already bought years ago and have papers in order.
—How many others would be able to buy in our market ? aka many millionaires left ?
—“Poor “refugees ?
An average condo sale in HK gets you a detached here.
” remember, no one hates mainlanders more than HKers”
I don’t know, pretty everyone hates those fuckers. It’s really hard to tell who hates them the most.
Rezoning of Onni’s Steveston development approved
https://www.richmond-news.com/news/rezoning-of-onni-s-steveston-development-approved-1.23853906
Onni Group agreed to pay $5.5 million to the city in exchange for rezoning six commercial buildings on the waterfront, that were originally supposed to be for marine mixed use. The zoning amendments that passed added several types of use to the six buildings – health service, hotel, recreation, restaurant, retail and financial service
– former restriction to “maritime and commercial fishing related,” removed from rezoning amendment
– no community amenities like daycare space or affordable housing as part of the development
– Coun. Kelly Greene called the new zoning a “travesty,” says the soul of the village is dying and soon it will be like any other place
– the signals the all clear for more noodle houses, bubble tea cafes, chinese bakeries, beauty salons, money exchanges, travel agencies and specialized legal and accounting services, all of which are clearly in short supply in Richmond
At least Richmond got $5.5 million and giving up 5 marine related retail spaces is really not a big deal. I walked by there recently and who in the marine business would want to be there with no parking. Here in the CoV they gave away a 100 rental zoned residential units and allowed them to be converted to a hotel for nothing. How is that fair to tell everyone else no Airbnb but in this case a whole building gets converted to a hotel.
surprise, surprise…that story involved Onni as well. for all intents and purposes, that $5M wound up paying for the new lawn bowling clubhouse. point is that developers, investors and whoever else is running wild seems to be able to do whatever the eff they please and change the rules as they see fit to suit them. delays and fines are par for the course and were built into their business plan.
– this approval will also pave the way for the rapid demolition and redevelopment of Moncton, Chatham, Bayview and numerous other side roads located in the heart of the village allowing foreign owners of properties like 3551/3560 Moncton and 3880 Bayview to cash in
Real estate cabal asserted that Vancouver was an world class city, and prices were supported by fundamentals and unless there was some external shock such as a spike in interest rates or massive unemployment, price appreciation would continue.
Historically Low interest rates,(I would argue that real interest rates are actually less than zero), historical low unemployment, yet the meltdown continues.
Tic toc tic toc
That’s because the bull narrative was a complete fabrication. Prices in Vancouver were supported primarily by FOMOism. Low interest rates enabled speculators to do what they do on the cheap. Absent an exogenous shock every asset mania eventually collapses under its own weight when the overvaluations become too ridiculous and the common narrative changes from greed to fear. This narrative shift is already well underway.
The Vancouver market was already topping out before the government measures came in. As usual, governments only seem to make the problem worse as these measures will likely cause an over-correction on the way down. We needed these taxes and restrictions 20 years ago. Enacting them now will do nothing to avoid the economic problems associated with a housing bubble.
Don’t worry – we’ll eliminate them as “excessive regulation” years from now when things begin to recover, causing another run-up.
🙂
New
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Price Change
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TI:15849
Slowly but surely
Very bearish. The shadow inventory rose faster than the TI.
theBreaker.news
Lawsuit o’ the day: Charn C. & Monica Ma sued Shao Dong Lin June 7 for breach of contract. Mas say Lin paid $500K deposit after 4/20/18 deal, but not the remaining $8.6M for Cambie and 38th by 3/28/19 completion date. Allegations not proven in court.
Cambie is a hotbed for land assemblies. The $8.6M price alleged in the Ma vs. Lin B.C. Supreme Court lawsuit was substantially above the assessed value at the time of $6.5M.
=======================================
Cockroaches are fleeing..watch the wave get bigger.
Meanwhile cockroaches costing us time and money. It would be much easier if infestation was prevented and never happened.
Can these fuckers take their disputes back to the motherland and stay there already?
Beijing ignored a personal attempt by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier this year to arrange a conversation with China’s premiere in order to intervene on behalf of Canadians detained in China, CBC News has learned.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/china-detainees-trudeau-spavor-kovrig-schellenberg-1.5172391
Wake up people…
The Hong Kong/Beijing pissing match is a distraction..
We have thousands of Chinese from both HK and Mainland China here…think of them as “cells” and proxy agents.
Like Europe with all those bogus refugees from Africa..mostly males of military age…primed and ready to create havoc.
All it takes is the right spark
Hong Kongers are here to escape the chinazi vermin.
I wouldn’t stay there either knowing what’s coming.
Yes HK people really wish that Great Britain were ruling them still. Their country is slowly sliding into a pit of misery under the Chinese government. People seem to forget that the largest influx of HK people to BC was in 1997 when the handover from GB to China happened. I’d personally take 1,000 Hong Kongers over 10 mainlanders. Mainlanders are mostly trashy, low class people quite frankly.
Douglas Todd: Quebec gets four times as much as B.C. to settle immigrants https://theprovince.com/opinion/columnists/douglas-todd-quebec-gets-four-times-as-much-as-b-c-to-settle-immigrants/wcm/854ab526-273b-415e-aff0-349e06287da0 Opinion: It’s an amazing sweetheart deal for Quebec, unfair to B.C. and Ontario. But few Canadians realize it, since the subject is virtually taboo among politicians. It’s one of the most lopsided distributions of federal money in memory. Quebec gets roughly four times as many taxpayer dollars from Ottawa to settle each of its immigrants as B.C., Ontario and several other provinces get. What’s worse, the one-sided gap is growing bigger each year. That’s because of a deal called the Canada-Quebec immigration accord, which prime minister Brian Mulroney signed in 1991 to give unique immigration powers to francophone provinces, mainly to appease a surging sovereigntist movement. As a result, Quebec this year is receiving more than $11,600 for each immigrant and refugee it takes in, with… Read more »
“It’s an amazing sweetheart deal for Quebec, unfair to B.C. and Ontario. But few Canadians realize it, since the subject is virtually taboo among politicians. It’s one of the most lopsided distributions of federal money in memory.”
Irrespective of the subject under discussion, this statement is true for the last few decades – actually, longer.
No wonder, people are concerned and uncomfortable with Chinese investments, look at the shitshows and shenanigans that they did in BC in the past 20 years, at all levels either with RE or businesses. British Columbians have a quite of experience with Chinese and know that those have no morals or ethics.
Anyone not wary of Chinese investment isn’t paying attention. Chinese Corporations aren’t like western corporations. They are all directly controlled by the Chinese government. If the Chinese buy a power plant in Canada, and the Chinese government tells them to shut it off, it gets shut off. There’s a reason why Chinese are mostly barred from buying critical infrastructure in Canada.
This is an underrated comment.
Chinese private enterprise is ultimately a proxy for The Party.
This is how The Party came to own the Bentalls and Grouse Mountain. Both purchased by “private” companies, until they were no longer private.
This is also why they are able to over pay for assets. Party interests are not subject to the same valuation metrics that a typical business would operate on. Strategic interest extends beyond investment returns.