Billions in 'unknown' funds flowing into Canada's housing market [video] • Hacker News Board

Re: Billions in 'unknown' funds flowing into Canada's housing market [video]

#181

Post by voisin » Fri, Jul 30, 2021, 10:08 AM UTC

teruakohatu wrote: post #17

New Zealand has a similar housing problem. House prices are skyrocketing and pricing out young people. A 25-30% rise in the past year has meant few people are saving fast enough to get a deposit. But two or three years ago the govt. banned overseas buyers. There is no reason to suggest the ban is not effective. It even bans non-permanent residents, so plenty of legitimate residents (work visas) can't purchase propert…

What are interest rates on mortgages, and what percent equity are homebuyers expected to have in order to qualify?

I believe foreign buyers is also a scapegoat in Canada. At first I believed it when home prices were only growing at obscene rates in the major cities but now it has spread to every tiny community in the country, literally from Newfoundland to the Yukon. This is a direct consequence of interest rates being too low for too long and capital having run out of good places to go (zero interest rates, equities at peaks, etc).

Re: Billions in 'unknown' funds flowing into Canada's housing market [video]

#182

Post by syshum » Fri, Jul 30, 2021, 10:09 AM UTC

pkorzeniewski wrote: post #168

tolbish wrote: post #3

Should housing be a primary vehicle for investment and the de facto way of making money? Or should it serve as a necessity and basic aspect of life?

I'm disgusted by the whole real estate market, people buying dozens of apartments and houses just to rent them - and hence increasing prices for people who just want something on their own instead of making rich people richer - is destructive for society, especially for young people. Owning a roof over your head shouldn't require an average person to work their ass for half of their lives.

Historically the price of the Average Home should be about 2x average household annual income.

We are way off that good median today, so either prices have to fall or incomes have to go up.

However the causes of this can not be simply explained away by "people buying dozens of apartments and houses just to rent them" the reality is far more complicated than that. even if you put a ban or cap on the number of rentals a person / company could have it would not solve the housing issue, and likely make it worse.

Re: Billions in 'unknown' funds flowing into Canada's housing market [video]

#183

Post by rorykoehler » Fri, Jul 30, 2021, 10:10 AM UTC

lrem wrote: post #179

rorykoehler wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's good and I wouldn't complain if this was an outcome however better yet would be a system that allows people to buy their own homes. One of the major pitfalls and imo systemic national security risks in Europe are the high income tax rates. This coupled with foreign investment in the property market means that regular Europeans are effectively priced out of the market with no way back in. Long term this is a craz…

I'm afraid that even without the foreign investment one can't win this. Europe still sees a minor population growth. More importantly, there are large migration flows between countries, regions and to cities in general. This means that even in places with no/very low foreign ownership and virtually no vacancies, you still have runaway markets. Dublin is a good example of that. Same stands for almost every place where…

I'm from Dublin and Dublin's problem is two fold. First of all, many of the politicians are landlords so have a massive conflict of interest. Second is zoning laws are outrageously bad. Urban sprawl is the name of the game.

Re: Billions in 'unknown' funds flowing into Canada's housing market [video]

#184

Post by voisin » Fri, Jul 30, 2021, 10:13 AM UTC

eurasiantiger wrote: post #74

crummy wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You think the price of 500k houses has been driven to 1m thanks to people who can throw around 25m?

Yes. Those people buy multiple properties in an effort to launder their drug money. Just look at the situation in Marbella.

An unexpected benefit to legalizing and taxes drugs: lower incentive for drug dealers to Jack up the price of houses!

Re: Billions in 'unknown' funds flowing into Canada's housing market [video]

#185

Post by syshum » Fri, Jul 30, 2021, 10:14 AM UTC

RandomWorker wrote: post #14

Home owners will be happy to hear this. Not yet home owners like me are screwed because rents to damn high and I can’t afford to save up for a down payment. Sorry bud.

Unless you own more than one home, or want to extract your equity as debt then increasing housing prices are paper wealth you will never be able to realize until death.

Why. Because while your home went up, so did everyone else's, you still need a place to live so if you sold your home you could only buy another home that was of equal value to your current home thus making it is net transfer not a gain...

Re: Billions in 'unknown' funds flowing into Canada's housing market [video]

#186

Post by voisin » Fri, Jul 30, 2021, 10:15 AM UTC

Gatsky wrote: post #118

teruakohatu wrote: post #17

New Zealand has a similar housing problem. House prices are skyrocketing and pricing out young people. A 25-30% rise in the past year has meant few people are saving fast enough to get a deposit. But two or three years ago the govt. banned overseas buyers. There is no reason to suggest the ban is not effective. It even bans non-permanent residents, so plenty of legitimate residents (work visas) can't purchase propert…

Just to add that in Australia the housing market is also going nuts and presumably foreign buyers are suppressed or absent due to Covid. It is really quite bad, and nobody knows what to do about it. It is lose-lose now because there are the people who can't buy a house, and then there are those who sacrificed everything to buy a house. You can't help one group without really hurting the other. It will really hit home…

> A third option is to try and reduce concentration in major cities, and attract people to regional areas where housing supply and demand are better matched and prices are much lower.

In Canada there is essentially no where that fits this description if you look at price to income ratios. The price increases in tiny towns in the middle of nowhere have increased as dramatically as in major centres, from a lower starting point. The locals earn far less and cannot keep up with the prices.

Re: Billions in 'unknown' funds flowing into Canada's housing market [video]

#187

Post by yardstick » Fri, Jul 30, 2021, 10:16 AM UTC

pydry wrote: post #176

dillondoyle wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there a reason increasing supply wouldn't be an easier solution?

cant build more land

The stupid thing is there is a lot of land still, just need to look at the space between Albany and Silverdale, all rural, and yet it’s only Silverdale north that is being developed. Likewise inner city suburbs have a NIMBY problem where it’s taken ages to finally change planning permission / zoning rules to build up. For example some areas on the shore only recently allowed 3-6 story multiple occupant dwellings. We need not just more housing, but denser (quality) housing in the inner areas. Doesn’t have to be all high rises either- look at Paris and their 6 story height limit. Can be done properly.

Re: Billions in 'unknown' funds flowing into Canada's housing market [video]

#188

Post by mikkelam » Fri, Jul 30, 2021, 10:19 AM UTC

I honestly don't see a way out until boomers start dying. The 2030s will probably see a large decline in the housing market

Re: Billions in 'unknown' funds flowing into Canada's housing market [video]

#189

Post by voisin » Fri, Jul 30, 2021, 10:28 AM UTC

syshum wrote: post #182

pkorzeniewski wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm disgusted by the whole real estate market, people buying dozens of apartments and houses just to rent them - and hence increasing prices for people who just want something on their own instead of making rich people richer - is destructive for society, especially for young people. Owning a roof over your head shouldn't require an average person to work their ass for half of their lives.

Historically the price of the Average Home should be about 2x average household annual income. We are way off that good median today, so either prices have to fall or incomes have to go up. However the causes of this can not be simply explained away by "people buying dozens of apartments and houses just to rent them" the reality is far more complicated than that. even if you put a ban or cap on the number of rentals…

> Historically the price of the Average Home should be about 2x average household annual income.

Source? I have heard many boomers talk about how the advice was to pay no more than 4x income. Obviously highly unlikely in this day and age.

Re: Billions in 'unknown' funds flowing into Canada's housing market [video]

#190

Post by voisin » Fri, Jul 30, 2021, 10:29 AM UTC

jbay808 wrote: post #87

rishav_sharan wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did it have any effect? From what I hear, Vancouver has one of the costliest real state markets in Canada

Yes; it's caused several people to leave their empty houses in a permanent state of not-fit-for-inhabitance, which allows one to avoid paying the tax.

Does any government official have to inspect and confirm? Building inspector?