There are a handful of vibrant cities in the world that haven't been given over to freeways and parking, and they're so rare and desirable that they've become luxury goods that are speculated on, like they're paintings by Vincent van Gogh. How sad is it that so far it's been impossible to simply make more nice places for people instead of for cars?
Analyst who exposed Vancouver's real estate disaster
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Re: Analyst who exposed Vancouver's real estate disaster
#12I wish they just did not sell to foreign investors. And yes I would be fine if other countries did the same, why do I need to own a place in 'x' country? This is, again, capitalism at the expense of the people who actually live in the region. I am not against immigration and owning property but a person or organization who are simply buying up property just to make a profit and have no intention of ever living there…
Foreign investors buy US property because (a) they get a lot of dollars in exchange for all the TVs, cellphones and underpants we somehow cannot manufacture ourselves and (b) US doesn't have much else to offer. US cars? They're "okay" at best. US electronics? Come on, when have you seen a piece of electronic made in the USA last time?
We should fight the cause, not the effect.
Re: Analyst who exposed Vancouver's real estate disaster
#13What I find most interesting about the influx of Chinese money is that many Chinese communities across North America were built by people who fled China and its communist regime. One can argue that the beginning of the current Vancouver housing boom was the Hong Kong transfer in 1997. And they built tight-knit communities in Vancouver/Richmond area (not mention some of the best Chinese restaurants in the world).
Now just one or two generations removed, these communities are facing the consequences of the same communist regime they thought they left behind.
Re: Analyst who exposed Vancouver's real estate disaster
#14There are a handful of vibrant cities in the world that haven't been given over to freeways and parking, and they're so rare and desirable that they've become luxury goods that are speculated on, like they're paintings by Vincent van Gogh. How sad is it that so far it's been impossible to simply make more nice places for people instead of for cars?
It's not sad at all. It's what people want.
If society just thought paying interest on your house was another form of feudalism and refused to play along, I expect you'd see more of your type of city and less of what we currently have.
Re: Analyst who exposed Vancouver's real estate disaster
#15> Yan says there may be some solution—a mix of remedies, new laws, purpose-built rental housing, tax adjustments and so on—that does not mean a collapse in Metro Vancouver’s real estate prices. There never will be a solution because no one will vote for a government that will bring down the value of their home.
Well, unless you exclude most voters from home ownership...
Never thought of it this way
Re: Analyst who exposed Vancouver's real estate disaster
#16This was not a surprise exposure to anyone. Vancouver is a peculiar place, where mobsters haul around duffel bags full of cash and various authorities pretend everything is fine. Lately gossip has mostly focused on the motivations of the various auditors and authorities, who refuse to do their jobs. Leading theories include fear of racism accusations, corruption, laziness, and of course gross incompetence.
I suspect fear of winding up in one of those mobster duffle bags plays a part too.
Re: Analyst who exposed Vancouver's real estate disaster
#17I wish they just did not sell to foreign investors. And yes I would be fine if other countries did the same, why do I need to own a place in 'x' country? This is, again, capitalism at the expense of the people who actually live in the region. I am not against immigration and owning property but a person or organization who are simply buying up property just to make a profit and have no intention of ever living there…
I don't understand, why can't we simply build more cities? If people are so willing to pay for it, I'm sure there's people who want the jobs. It just seems like such a waste of opportunity
Re: Analyst who exposed Vancouver's real estate disaster
#18> Yan says there may be some solution—a mix of remedies, new laws, purpose-built rental housing, tax adjustments and so on—that does not mean a collapse in Metro Vancouver’s real estate prices. There never will be a solution because no one will vote for a government that will bring down the value of their home.
I never understood the point of having a 'high-value' home that you can't sell anyway because you need a place to live.
Sure, you can say you can move somewhere cheaper and pocket the difference. The problem is that until you actually do that, the cost of living will likely follow the property price increase and hurt your wallet.
Unless most of the homeowners own more than one property.
Re: Analyst who exposed Vancouver's real estate disaster
#19There are a handful of vibrant cities in the world that haven't been given over to freeways and parking, and they're so rare and desirable that they've become luxury goods that are speculated on, like they're paintings by Vincent van Gogh. How sad is it that so far it's been impossible to simply make more nice places for people instead of for cars?
Not just Sad but also self-imposed. If outside investors and outside countries were buying up all our jeans, cars, tvs and junk foods, we'd be celebrating it all day long. in fact, we even blame other countries for not buying enough of our stuff (balance of trade debate).
And yet, when it comes to real estate we act like we can't make more of it. The vast majority of land out there is still unbuilt. Simply start another city, say 50 miles away or more if need be and then create incentives for companies to move there. We'll have more jobs, much cheaper housing, an opportunity to build a brand new city with the latest technologies, parks, outdoor gyms, libraries, etc, not to mention it'll bring housing costs down in prior city too.
Re: Analyst who exposed Vancouver's real estate disaster
#20> Yan says there may be some solution—a mix of remedies, new laws, purpose-built rental housing, tax adjustments and so on—that does not mean a collapse in Metro Vancouver’s real estate prices. There never will be a solution because no one will vote for a government that will bring down the value of their home.
The Vancouver voters elected the NDP government in the last election who have brought in a Vacant Home Tax, a Foreign Speculator Tax and a School Tax on homes over $3 million. And hopefully they will investigate the money laundering through the casinos.
Finally, Vancouver home prices are down over 15% in the over $2 million category. There are several buyers who have lost money on properties purchased in 2016 which was the peak of the market.