The Canadian Housing Boom Fueled by China’s Billionaires • Hacker News Board

Re: The Canadian Housing Boom Fueled by China’s Billionaires

#121

Post by dagaci » Wed, Aug 03, 2016, 12:01 PM UTC

This type of money (rich and super rich) has always been invested in the nice, stable democratic world, places where they can safely park their money, friends, families and educate their children. Places they are go to in case of an uprising or regime change..

The difference now is that this class of person is not just coming from the oil-baron gravy train and political kleptocracy. But is also coming from the booming business-class that is China

So many of those new rich who make it big certainly want their families and especially their children to the chance to live and be educated in a free and democratic society.

Re: The Canadian Housing Boom Fueled by China’s Billionaires

#122

Post by forgetsusername » Wed, Aug 03, 2016, 12:05 PM UTC

Mikeb85 wrote: post #34

lpaone wrote: post #30

What isn't talked about in this article is the effect this is having on the other industries in the city aside from real estate. I believe that Vancouver has potential to be THE tech hub in Canada. Unfortunately, wages are very low compared to the cost of housing, and so the cost of living is super high. Combine that with extremely low vacancy rates, and it is very hard to attract talent from out of town. In fact, ma…

Unfortunately in Canada we've gone for easy money (real estate in Vancouver, oil in Alberta) before trying to establish actual industries. We'd rather just grab US and Chinese cash then vacation in Mexico than actually work.

>We'd rather just grab US and Chinese cash then vacation in Mexico than actually work.

I would also like to grab cash and vacation. What's so honourable about working?

Re: The Canadian Housing Boom Fueled by China’s Billionaires

#123

Post by skylan_q » Wed, Aug 03, 2016, 12:06 PM UTC

The Chinese buyers are paying on average $900k for a house, which is what the average Canadian is buying. The percentage of Chinese buyers is anywhere from 4% to 8% in the market.

What upsets me here more than anything else is that no one mentioned the CMHC. I suppose people would be more willing to believe that aliens are using mind control on people to drive a real estate frenzy rather than believe that there are institutions creating moral hazard within Canada.

Re: The Canadian Housing Boom Fueled by China’s Billionaires

#124

Post by kejaed » Wed, Aug 03, 2016, 12:13 PM UTC

raverbashing wrote: post #85

Mikeb85 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing wrong with language laws, people just need to stop being lazy. Learning a second language isn't that hard.

Apprendre une deuxième langue n'est pas le problème, mais la Loi 101 derange beaucoup de gens

Exactly, how many people coming to Montreal would be happy that their kids could only go to school in French?

Re: The Canadian Housing Boom Fueled by China’s Billionaires

#125

Post by saiya-jin » Wed, Aug 03, 2016, 12:21 PM UTC

dottedmag wrote: post #28

jackcosgrove wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to think you had to live in an "it" city to make it. Then I realized that I could make my life whatever I wanted to be more easily in a less expensive place. The chains were in my head.

Yes, until you have a family. Then suddenly you need a good school nearby (and good luck bringing children to school in car if they have serious case of motion sickness).

Especially if you have a family, too big cities are a cr*ppy selfish choice of parents. kids will have plenty of time to go super urban in their adulthood if that is what they want. As a kid I always felt sorry for kids from big/capital cities, out of touch from nature, far more exposed to stressful fast-paced life. The gap when meeting some was stunning (but this is obviously my super-anecdotal experience).

Re: The Canadian Housing Boom Fueled by China’s Billionaires

#126

Post by restalis » Wed, Aug 03, 2016, 12:22 PM UTC

Gustomaximus wrote: post #50

lpaone wrote: post #30

What isn't talked about in this article is the effect this is having on the other industries in the city aside from real estate. I believe that Vancouver has potential to be THE tech hub in Canada. Unfortunately, wages are very low compared to the cost of housing, and so the cost of living is super high. Combine that with extremely low vacancy rates, and it is very hard to attract talent from out of town. In fact, ma…

This lacks recognition. So many factors could come into play. E.g. The downstream effects of house prices has to hit entrepreneurship. Previously a bunch of people would be in a good place to take a couple years off to start a business mid-career. Now people have these huge mortgages where your ability to start a business is hampered by your ability to get a financial buffer to take this year or 2 off. And lets not f…

I was very tempted to just play devil's advocate here, but then I come to think there might be more than that. So...

"Now people have these huge mortgages where your ability to start a business is hampered by your ability to get a financial buffer to take this year or 2 off."

How will they manage? By learning to adapt, which will be a critical ability in their careers as entrepreneurs. Say, they can start modest, with modest allocation of time instead of lavishing with both time and money to only hit the ground if they fail. Also, they may identify the opportunity of having around them this market of deep pocket potential clients! ...or may not, we'll see. The idea is, wealth is coming in, and people complain instead of finding ways to take advantage of it. I know that this isn't as easy to do in other domains as it is in real estate, but still.

"How can a daycare buy a million+ dollar house and expect to make money paying that back on having 30 local kids being looked after."

By raising the price of the provided services accordingly! The city is getting stuffed by each passing day with rich kids. What are you waiting for?

"When people are tied up in these ever increasing loan/income ratios there will be less spending on dining, holidays, hobbies etc."

I think those people can ask more for their services in order to get in an enjoyable zone or leave the city entirely if they can not. A life of struggle is not one worth living when you have a choice.

Re: The Canadian Housing Boom Fueled by China’s Billionaires

#127

Post by havetocharge » Wed, Aug 03, 2016, 12:28 PM UTC

RandyRanderson wrote: post #94

As a vancouverite, and a person that's lived in Toronto for over a decade, I can say that while vancouver has about half the population (of T.O.) it has maybe 1/4 or 1/8 of the tech jobs. Also Canada is not like, say, the US, where there are many different industrial centers (ie Entertainment in LA or Finance in NY). In Canada, most corp headquarters are in Toronto and a small fraction are in Calgary and that's it. V…

Your mind frame displayed in your tl;dr is precisely what is responsible for the rate of housing price increases in your region.

Re: The Canadian Housing Boom Fueled by China’s Billionaires

#128

Post by happyslobro » Wed, Aug 03, 2016, 12:29 PM UTC

flukus wrote: post #66

thirdsun wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So more space for less money? Lack of large apartment blocks or density isn't what I'd call a downside.

I like having everything I need inside a 10 minute walk. If it weren't for work I'd very rarely go outside of this 1Km radius. To do that you need large apartment blocks.

What you need, is a bicycle.

But aside from that, small towns often have a more thorough mixing of zone types; you can often live within walking distance of work or school and a small grocery store.

Re: The Canadian Housing Boom Fueled by China’s Billionaires

#129

Post by cvinson » Wed, Aug 03, 2016, 12:31 PM UTC

Mikeb85 wrote: post #35

Apocryphon wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps Montreal can do the same, if the city finds some way to sidestep the provincial language laws.

Nothing wrong with language laws, people just need to stop being lazy. Learning a second language isn't that hard.

Try having a startup in Montreal. Our has been targeted by the language police, and is being forced to translate not just our front end, but our blog and social media presences. It doesn't matter that 0.01% of customers are in Quebec, and that we have determined that there is no market for our product in french.

Anyone can send an anonymous message to this government agency and it will audit your business to make sure you are compliant. Have more than 50 employees? Make sure the copy button on your photocopier says "copiez" or you'll have to put stickers over it (true story, happened at my brother's pharma startup).

The sad thing is that most Montrealers have the attitude that "you're in Montreal, you should learn french." The problem is, this law goes far beyond that, and is a serious impediment for Montreal startups.

Re: The Canadian Housing Boom Fueled by China’s Billionaires

#130

Post by happyslobro » Wed, Aug 03, 2016, 12:36 PM UTC

serge2k wrote: post #49

happyslobro wrote: post #8

I think that the real problem is that so many people are trying to concentrate into the densest areas. That creates huge pressures, which are reflected in the price of space. Take a look at the cities with populations below 100K. You will find lots of people who live great lives, despite not being rich. For those of us who grew up in these little island towns, living in a place like Vancouver is downright depressing,…

and for those of us used to living in cities, living in the middle of nowhere sounds horrendous.

Just wait until you see the Milky Way stretching across the night sky. Or get a call from friends to take the Jeeps up the mountain. Or jump into a cool river on a hot day, and float a few kilometres downstream without encountering anyone who cares about the cooler of beers floating along with you.