Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[Ch28]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

That's another thing about powder rooms in a typical 1300 square foot townhouse - there's nowhere to put one, so they're put right in the kitchen where a pantry closet would go. Some are so poorly placed that the door opens right into a counter/prep area.

Friend's place at Fremont does that. It opens right into the kitchen, so if you let a nasty one go in there, it'll eventually seep into the kitchen

[SumAznGuy]

Originally Posted by MarkyMark

The point I'm trying to make is what it there was no garage, and that space was used for living space and added to the square footage like the 80s townhouse I'm renting right now. The place is huge.

You are assuming way too much though.
For starters, not all of Vancouver is above sea level so building an underground garage is not always possible.

Above ground assigned parking stalls take away land that can be used to build more units.

City planning requiring the builder to build X number of units in that given space to get the building permit because their long term plan is to increase population density.

[Hondaracer]

Originally Posted by fliptuner

Luckily, I have a full bath attached to my office/flex, downstairs. Fire away. Lol

Yea that setup with the den in the basement is definitely preferred. Usually comes with the double garage though as opposed to the tandem

Yours a double?

[fliptuner]

Single + stall.
Bottom floor is garage, flex, full bath, laundry/storage, closet, crawlspace. Main is LR, dining, kitchen, deck. Upstairs is bedrooms and full bath.

[twitchyzero]

OSFI tells some banks to test for sharp drops in Vancouver, Toronto housing markets - Business - CBC News

interesting they sounding the horn

[heleu]

I'm in the process of renewing my mortgage right now and was talking to a Notary (I'm switching banks).

He said that he was super busy because many foreign buyers were looking to dodge the 15% transfer tax that arrives on August 2nd. Obviously, this is anecdotal, but it will be interesting to see what the impact is on the market next month.

[westopher]

I don't think this can crash much other than the luxury market. Others will maybe feel some pressure downward, but there are lots of people waiting to get in. Hopefully it's a soft landing and some people can get into the city and be contributing to Vancouver instead of it being a bunch of oversized safety deposit boxes.

[GLOW]

our dollar is around .75 compared to US so isn't their buying power still better here even with a 15% tax? on top of that if this is all a haven for dirty money like people say, not sure if 15% is going to slow down anyone as they're overpaying for homes anyway. and i thought i heard somewhere laundering $ you only get 50% back so RE is a better option anyway?

maybe 50% isn't realistic...i think i got that from johnny depp's BLOW

[Tapioca]

Even if the tax has a limited impact at the margins in terms of luxury buyers who think strictly in terms of dollars and cents, the chill it may send through the market may have a greater impact.

The fact that people whined the government into doing something, instead of voting with their wallets and feet, means that there's enough people who want to stay and buy here. It'll be interesting to see what happens to the market from here over the next 12 months.

[Carl Johnson]

To all the people who have been saying they are going to leave Vancouver, well here is your chance to get into the market. I did not realize the sales figure to foreigner buyers were so high in Burnaby and Richmond.

This is indeed a great opportunity to all renters who are tired to dealing with greedy landlords.

[MarkyMark]

I'd hold off on saying this is a renters chance to get in the market, prices are still insanely high and unless they come down 20+% which I doubt anytime soon, people who can't afford to get in still won't.

[CivicBlues]

I live in a condo in Coal Harbour. My Price to rent ratio is 29.76.
Price-to-Rent Ratio Definition | Investopedia

My Landlord is practically paying me to live there. I reinvest the difference in Index funds and ETFs. Sure I didn't get 30% yoy but I'm not losing sleep either.

So trade my "greedy landlord" for a "greedy market" which is likely at it's peak?

Stop trying to tell people what to do, just live your life and don't try to time the market. If you need a house, buy one. If you don't wait a bit.

Oh, regarding buyers on the sidelines - don't try to catch a falling knife.

[Carl Johnson]

The whole rent and invest the difference was debated to death a long time ago. In the end, your home is your home. It is something you can raise a family in - life's most important source of happiness. It is so much more than what ROI on your investment statement says. And you do not worry about renewing your lease nor do you worry about ridiculous rent increases.

If might take some time for the market to fully digest this tax but to renters and local Canadians this is great news.

[westopher]

Exactly your first sentence. For the average person, even though they convince themselves it's an investment, until you get a second one or leave the market, it should only be considered a place to live.
If you can afford what you want to live in, get in. There is no point in trying to sell your happiness trying to predict the future.

[Armind]

So how long til we will see a price decrease in rents do you guys think?

[CivicBlues]

When you're on month-to-month the landlord can only raise your rent every 12 months by the prescribed amounts set by the RTB - usually 2-3% a year.

But you're contradicting yourself. You're telling people to time the market because "now is a good time to buy" and then now you're saying it shouldn't be looked at as an investment. So which is it? If it's not an investment, then why so butthurt over 4444's comments?

[Tapioca]

If you're trying to enter the rental market today, I believe the standard now is a fixed-term lease which is good for the landlord and shitty for the tenant.

I don't think rents are going to come down unless significant amounts of people start leaving. If you look at what's happening in places like Burnaby and Coquitlam, significant numbers of older low-rise buildings are being torn down. AirBnB is having an impact in certain areas like downtown Vancouver. And when new housing does come online, it is likely rented at market rates.

[SumAznGuy]

Originally Posted by Armind

So how long til we will see a price decrease in rents do you guys think?

Honestly, it may not happen any time soon as the demand for rentals are greater than the supply.
My friend is in the middle of getting a divorce and has been looking in the Richmond/Vancouver areas and there are no cheap units for rent.
Worst part is, he is fighting with people looking to rent for the fall semester.

[320icar]

The demand for rental (regardless of price) is so high that even if the buying market dips down, rental prices should still remain the same. Everyone I know who needs to look for a rental scrambles to find a place and usually HAS to settle paging some fucked up price

[Tapioca]

^ I understand that signing bonuses for rentals are now common.

Everyone on RS is an upstanding member of society with good credit and gainful employment, but a lot of people out there aren't salaried and may have less than stellar credit. These people are having a tough time finding any decent rental right now.

1-bedroom basement suites in Maple Ridge going for $1000? Ridiculous.

[Armind]

^ Signing bonuses? Never heard of it..

[Hondaracer]

why is this 15% tax even being talked about in regards to rentals?

i dont see it having an effect on rental costs or supply at all.

I've been given a few different brand new listings from realtors i've been dealing with, prices are still insane and priced so that either

A) you're still going to get multiple bids
B) you're going to sell at a relatively "high" asking

dont see it being at the point of going anywhere near below asking yet..

We've timed to sell our place in September due to some circumstances outside of our control.. gonna fucking blow if the prices drop substantially or for whatever reason our place is deemed less desirable than it is right now.. dont really see it happening but I havent really felt this unsure of the market for a while.

[Timpo]

Originally Posted by Armind

^ Signing bonuses? Never heard of it..

Not for private rental.

For commercial property lease it's quite common.
You make x amount of least agreement, and get 1 or 2 months free.

[fliptuner]

Apparently, the 15% foreign buyer's tax is being applied to purchases that are under contract but have closing dates after August 2nd. My agent tells me a lot of them may back out of deals all together and fight for their deposits.

Very poorly planned by the gov't.

[Liquid_o2]

Not sure if this has been posted yet.

Top realtor rapped for trying to avoid new 15% property transfer tax | Vancouver Sun

A top-selling real estate agent in Vancouver who sent out an email advertising how to circumvent the new foreign purchasers’ property transfer tax is being investigated by the Real Estate Council of B.C.

On Wednesday the council said it was aware of a statement by Mike Stewart of Century 21 offering ways people could avoid the new 15 per cent tax, including selling presale contracts to friends or family members who are Canadian citizens or residents.

Such promises are not allowed, according to Marilees Peters, a spokeswoman for the retail council.

“We’ve contacted this licensee to advise them they need to cease these advertisements and we will be looking into the matter very closely,” she said.

Stewart sent out a mass email to potential clients on Tuesday suggesting that he had found a solution to the property transfer tax. A copy of it is posted below.

He started out by saying that “we received some unfortunate news yesterday that may have a big impact on some of our clients who have purchased properties in Greater Vancouver that ARE NOT Canadian Citizen’s or Permanent residents.”

But he suggested his agency could help clients avoid the tax.

“For our clients and others who have bought presales we do offer a solution. Most of the presales bought in the last 24-36 months have seen significant increases in value,” according to his email, a copy of which was obtained by PostMedia.
“It is possible in many cases to assign the presale purchase contract to a family member or friend who is a Canadian Citizen or Resident. For those of you who do not have that option, we may be able to sell the presale to a third part at a profit to you,” the email suggested.

It added that people could get more information by following a link, but that page at Stewart’s corporate website, has now been taken down.

Calls and text messages to Stewart’s phone were not returned.

Peters said Stewart’s offer was clearly the kind of message the provincial government was prepared for when it drafted the legislation.

“The legislation that the government introduced does include anti-avoidance rules,” she said. “We’ve advised all licensees that they need to recommend to their clients to get independent professional advice to find out if their deal will be subject to the property transfer tax.”

Premier Christy Clark also weighed in, saying her government will be auditing sales to make sure offshore purchasers aren’t trying to game the system. She chastised real estate agents who are advising clients to re-assign their pre-sale contracts to Canadian citizens to avoid the tax.

“No they should not be doing that,” she said Wednesday.

“And they should know, and be informing their clients that every single one of these transactions could be audited. And we have an audit team ready to go to make sure every one of these transactions that was on the table and closes before Aug. 2 gets a very close look and anyone trying to find loopholes is going to find quickly those loopholes don’t stand up.”

Peters said would-be buyers also need to do their due diligence.

“We advise all consumers that before the enter into any transaction that is promoted to them as a measure to avoid taxes that they should obtain independent professional advice,” she said.

On his website Stewart bills himself as a “top Vancouver realtor”since 2005 and that he has been a member of the Real Estate Board of Vancouver’s Medallion Club since 2007 as well as top Century 21 realtor since 2006.

Stewart’s message came just 24 hours after the B.C. government introduced legislation to try and cool Vancouver’s white-hot housing market. It brought in the 15 per cent property transfer tax after discovering that in the month of June alone nearly one in 10 houses in Vancouver were being bought by foreign owners, principally from China.

The legislation also includes the ability for Vancouver to begin assessing a vacancy tax for homes left empty by investors.