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Canada bans most foreigners from buying homes

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Re: Canada bans most foreigners from buying homes

#271

Post by JanisErdmanis »

kelnos wrote: post #259

Will this actually do anything, though? The Vancouver and Toronto metro areas implemented foreign investor taxes on home purchases a bunch of years ago. I believe the data shows that the taxes did dramatically reduce foreign real estate investment, but it wasn't clear that it did much to make home prices more affordable for citizens. Granted, it's possible that foreign investment would have made the situation worse.…

The proposal would impact expats the most, and wealthy foreign investors would probably find a way around it. Also, I bet internal housing prices have resulted from internal investment/cash parking. Thus, building housing is not the only real solution.

In my opinion, a simple, progressive land tax would go a long way in addressing the housing shortage.

Re: Canada bans most foreigners from buying homes

#272

Post by deelowe »

plantain wrote: post #154
pxue wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Supply is artificially controlled by voters who don't want density to increase, masked behind preservations, environmental concerns or just plain corruption

What changed? Governments used to aggressively intervene in the housing market.

The 30 year mortgage became standard. Homes are now a significant portion of retiree's net worth and there are a lot of retirees right now who plan on leveraging their paid off homes for retirement income by downsizing.

Re: Canada bans most foreigners from buying homes

#273

Post by jdhn »

verdenti wrote: post #25
Jemm wrote: post #23

Canada is also bringing in one million immigrants a year to feed the exploitative low paying job market and to try to stave off recession. These immigrants tend to gravitate in either Toronto or Vancouver. Meanwhile corporate and rich investors are snapping up any property they can get their hands one. In Ontario the Premiere is reclassifying conservation land owner by his buddies to allow them to build developments.…

As a Canadian, Canada needs way more people for how much habitable land we have.

Can you explain why you feel this way? I'm not understanding why there needs to be more people simply because there's a lot of habitable land.

Re: Canada bans most foreigners from buying homes

#275

Post by rr808 »

ec59cb1659 wrote: post #248
rr808 wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Western countries are all trying to encourage immigration because without it their populations will collapse. Right now populations are rising and causing house prices to rise but soon boomers will start dying leaving huge numbers of homes empty.

If that was the case, immigration quotas would be set to maintain a steady-state population.

The problem is baby boomers are retiring en masse, and we need workers to take over. The housing problem is squeezed as a side effect for now.

Re: Canada bans most foreigners from buying homes

#276

Post by josho »

philliphaydon wrote: post #261
plantain wrote: post #140

I really don't understand why governments around the globe just throw their hands in the air and pretend housing is an unsolvable problem for which they have no obligation to fix. It wasn't always like this - in 1922 in Australia we realised there was a shortage of 25,000 homes, so they just made it happen [1]. Why are we so impotent today? Do we just not care enough? Are the vested interests too powerful? [1] https:…

Because today houses are not for living in. They are investments. There's multiple issues that need solving now. 1) Being able to purchase a house without ever setting foot in the country. NZ decided to stop foreigners buying houses. There were websites you can go in and people from China would buy houses without ever setting foot in NZ... The buying power of alot of people from China and India is huge. This drives u…

I don’t necessarily see a problem with point 2. Renting a house often creates supply. The owner will create a basement suite or a nanny suite over the garage.

If housing shortage was solved then that also kills the profit motive of renting out all but the most ideal houses for renting.

The root cause in Canada is the neoliberal policy that started in the 90s that ended government building low income housing. They left the free market to do its thing. And this is the end result of decades of free enterprise. We’ve built lots of housing for upper middle class because that’s profitable for builders and largely left the poor/young to be screwed.

Re: Canada bans most foreigners from buying homes

#277

Post by hippich »

smnrchrds wrote: post #144
hippich wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you can say the same about green card holders in the USA. Or there is some specifics that specifics between treatment of permanent residents in USA vs Canada?

> Or there is some specifics that specifics between treatment of permanent residents in USA vs Canada? This is not a topic I am super familiar with, but I believe the answer is yes. For example, in Canada, permanent residents have the right to enter the country, similar to Canadian citizens. In other words, they enter the country by right, not at the discretion of CBSA officers. This is not necessarily the case in th…

Didn't know about these. And yes, my wife experienced it herself during traffic stop on one of these checkpoints not far from the border - officer wanted to put her in jail for not having green card on her (she did have driver license, and there is no warning when you cross that area out, only on the way back you get stuck at the check point)... Did not realize that officer was in fact technically in the right...

Re: Canada bans most foreigners from buying homes

#278

Post by mattm »

nerdbert wrote: post #194
notatoad wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i don't think there's too many people (or at least, people making these decisions) who think foreign ownership is the real problem here. it's just the portion of the problem that's politically easiest to tackle. banning foreign ownership will help, even if only a little bit.

However many foreigners will be punished as a result, even if their participation in the housing market was going to be in good faith and aligned with the public interest. If the actual problem is vacant units, then punish vacancy. Failing to do that is admitting that xenophobia is easier than good policy.

> However many foreigners will be punished as a result

So what? That's the point. Locals are already being punished!

Re: Canada bans most foreigners from buying homes

#279

Post by jefftk »

CPLX wrote: post #249
stoppingin wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This idea is pure fantasy. This condition of classifying people as NIMBYs if they disagree with you on this topic is incredibly toxic. There are a plethora of totally valid reasons why people would be opposed to endless urban sprawl, consolidation, and population growth.

How does someone oppose population growth? That’s a literal question. What public policy do you endorse that has the ability to significantly reduce the number of people being born? If you don’t have one you’re just opposed to building enough houses for the people we have.

> What public policy do you endorse that has the ability to significantly reduce the number of people being born?

I'd endorse free contraception.

Options I'd oppose but others might favor include not requiring insurance to cover fertility treatments, prohibiting IVF entirely, mandatory birth control until marriage, sterilization as punishment for crime, and removing the child tax credit. Plus restricting immigration and increasing deportations which have a similar effect on the people/housing ratio.

(But I'm in favor of more people being born, and building lots more housing)

Re: Canada bans most foreigners from buying homes

#280

Post by jimmaswell »

screye wrote: post #212

I don't blame Canada. The country is running out of space really fast and they lack the technology to build more than 1 floor of house. Unlike massive countries like South Korea, they can't fit 50 million people. Can you imagine being forced to live in slum like conditions without a half-acre yard or at least 3 parking spots? We are a developed country, do you expect us to park on the streets like the 3rd world ? If…

Sardine-can conditions become less necessary by the day as more industries move to WFH. Who chooses to live in Manhattan if their job doesn't demand it? Demand for nicer living conditions with lawns, space, garages, and fresh air will rise as the urban exodus continues.

The city is obsolete in the era of WFH. Let these unnatural aberrations recede. Humans were meant to live in small tribes and we see how their programming breaks down in cities rampant with crime and antisocial behavior.

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