Vancity: Vancouver cost of living could trigger mass exodus

[multicartual]

Approximately 250 working days in a year


250 x 6 hours per day = 1500


1500 hours divided by 24 hours in a day = 62.5 full days per year less work


Also, I don't commute. My alarm clock is never set, when tired you sleep, when you wake up, you wake up.


Being able to pursue other activities and function on a higher brain level often goes unappreciated. Generally, from my experiences and a few other artists I know, your mind needs to be free of low to mid-level bullshit thoughts. You need to be free to think on a higher level to be creative. It is very hard to be creative when your time is spend doing bullshit work and not just living life and enjoying yourself, making observations and allowing the percolation to happen.


Right now I'm working a bit harder on getting my next book done, really want to start spending more time near Tofino... in a rental!

[multicartual]

National income floor for troubled times: Goar | Toronto Star


I like the idea of this.


People would be much more intelligent if they could just live life without having to work much. Work should be something more optional rather than the slavery that it actually is.

[iEatClams]

Originally Posted by Gumby

Here's an opinion piece from the Vancouver Courier today:

Spoilered for length.

Spoiler!

tldr: the government makes a ton of money as a result of high real estate prices. They would be stupid to do anything to slow down the market.

Who says the government can't still continue to make money? I posted earlier in the thread about how Australia is imposing extra taxes on foreign investment, and how it's going to raise over $300 million dollars a year for Melbourne. That's not chump change.

These taxes haven't made the Australian housing market decline. There's too many rich people from china wanting to move their money out of there. It's not going to stop any time soon. As long as they keep coming, we can keep taxing them.

[iEatClams]

Gregor wants to have a speculation tax. I think it's a good idea, but Krusty won't do it.

Speculation, foreign buyers, cheap interest rates, house horny-ness, these things are not exclusive. It's not one or the other, it's the whole combination.

As citizen anger over foreign investment and skyrocketing real estate prices boils over in Metro Vancouver, Mayor Gregor Robertson has called on Premier Christy Clark to intervene in property markets with a “speculation tax.”

Robertson’s office said Friday afternoon that the mayor told Clark in the past week that the province needs to take action.

His surprising policy announcement — seemingly the first time Vancouver’s mayor has called for direct government intervention in the city’s booming housing market — comes as a growing number of citizens have demanded actions like those taken in Australia, or Hong Kong.

“We definitely need taxation tools that discourage speculation on real estate,” a statement from Robertson says. “It’s clear that rampant speculation on real estate is driving up prices in Vancouver. Vancouver needs the B.C. Government to take action on creating a speculation tax and recognize that we need a fair and level playing field to make housing more affordable for residents in Vancouver, and throughout the province.”

Robertson was not available for interviews Friday afternoon.

The call for a tax comes less than a week after Robertson sold his Kitsilano townhouse after 21 months of ownership, for a profit of more than $223,000.

Frustration at being blocked out of Vancouver home ownership is rising among young professionals. Recently a number of people have rallied around the #DontHave1Million campaign on Twitter – and the group is behind a rally for affordability planned in downtown Vancouver Sunday.

And so far 24,000 people have signed an online petition demanding action from Clark and Robertson on foreign investment – seen by many as the root cause of spiking real estate prices.

“The housing needs of Greater Vancouver residents are more important than the profit margins of foreign speculators,” the petition states. “Australia has already restricted foreign investment in residential real estate—what are we waiting for?”

Vancouver council has tasked city staff with studying whether Vancouver has a problem of vacant properties due to investment. But Robertson and his government have stressed that they don’t believe foreign investment is the cause of the city’s skyrocketing unaffordability. The city has limited policy tools to limit speculation, according to Robertson and Vision Coun. Geoff Meggs, who have argued the provincial and federal government should take the lead on questions around spiking real estate prices and concerns of absentee ownership and money laundering in B.C. Property.

Premier Clark was asked recently by reporters if she would consider taking action on foreign investment.

“By trying to move foreign buyers out of the market, housing prices overall will drop,” Clark said. “That’s good for first-time home buyers but not for anybody who is depending on the equity in their home to maybe get a loan or use that to finance some other projects.”

The ministry of finance responded with a statement late Friday, saying that "governments need to be careful that any tax would have the desired effect, without undermining the equity that people may have built up in their homes."

The ministry added that it targets those who need the most help with its programs, pointing out that the First Time Home Buyers' Program recently increased its threshold to reduce or eliminate property taxes on first homes to $475,000 from $425,000.

Vancouver mayor calls on provincial government to bring in 'speculation tax' on real estate

[godwin]

Honestly why does Christy Clarke has to do it? Also she hasn't said she won't do it has she? It is a Vancouver problem.. there are plenty of other places in BC where prices are low. Heck, even in Tri cities etc the price are still reasonable.

Gregor is a populist and all posturing and no substance... much like the 10k cash control through the border, anyone who read the law will immediately figure out a few ways to get around it. I think it is intention just to placate people but in reality doesn't do anything.

Originally Posted by iEatClams

Gregor wants to have a speculation tax. I think it's a good idea, but Krusty won't do it.

Speculation, foreign buyers, cheap interest rates, house horny-ness, these things are not exclusive. It's not one or the other, it's the whole combination.

[ziggyx]

^ I think because it falls under the provincial or federal jurisdiction. I'm not 100% sure though, I could be wrong

[godwin]

No, Vancouver can use municipal taxes if they wish, just like how what they did with Olympic village. Land use is a municipal issue. In fact he wants to preserve housing stock? I would suggest they just use city inspectors to see which house is empty etc. Much more cost efficient than setting a new provincial system for bureacrats in Victoria to wait for all the resutls in Vancouver.

Why should the rest of the province do the work while Vancouver whines about it?

Gregor wants to draw Clarke into this in case it back fires and Vancouverites show up en mass at his apartment with torches and pitchforks, he has someone else to blame. Not everyone has a diverisfied portfolio like he does. He probbably heard about the Chinese Lehman investors too.

Originally Posted by ziggyx

^ I think because it falls under the provincial or federal jurisdiction. I'm not 100% sure though, I could be wrong

[willystyle]

The same crowd that elected bike boy in is the same crowd that's complaining about Vancouver real estate prices.

[Tone Loc]

Originally Posted by willystyle

The same crowd that elected bike boy in is the same crowd that's complaining about Vancouver real estate prices.

This. Such an ingenious plan.

Cater to greenies, hippies, and hipsters on the lower end of the snack bracket by promoting cycling, public transit, and "eco" initiatives, while simultaneously screwing them over by catering to developers/contractors/construction companies, real estate agencies, and foreign investors who represent the upper end of the snack bracket.... somehow, Robertson managed to reconcile two parties who hate each other into voting for the same guy.

I hate Gregor Robertson with a passion, but I can't deny he is cunning as fuck.

[multicartual]

I bike lanes

[Everymans]

Read every comment in this thread then realized i had just wasted a Saturday night and the only thing I can fully take away is that You all need to stop bitching about the weather. Every time I hear someone complain that it supposedly rains 8 months of the year I feel the need to brief them on the forecast on the rest of the country. Part of the reason why the desirability is so high in this city is because of the weather. you might think it's gloomy in winter, but if you go to anywhere else in the country not near the south west coast you will realize what real gloominess is. The type of shit weather were you can't even reach your mailbox because it's under 4 feet of snow. you have to let your car run for 10 minutes every morning just so the engine doesn't seize...

Anyone know a city that has found a relaxed mix between everything vancouver has and has managed to control the housing markets? Is there anywhere that young people can realistically afford a house and survive? I've heard mentioning of seattle and portland but both of those cities aren't thriving like they once were, and getting a visa isn't really an option for most canucks.

[twitchyzero]

just because the climate here is better than rest of Canada doesn't make it desirable for everyone. for me it's not even the rain, moreso the gloom when you're waking up for work and it's pitch black, then getting off work and already pitch black again...it gets to the point where I feel guilty not taking advantage of the sun we get in the summer when I'm working/studying.

on the flip side:

you want sun? ok move to asia and be prepare to sweat your ass off with the humidity not to mention poor air quality. Hope you're OK with a fact-paced society because you won't last a day with a west coast mentality thinking your weekend starts Thursday afternoon.

ok you want dry sunny days? move to Oz and enjoy the extra UV from the ozone hole... or move to the deserts of New Mexico/Arizona/Nevada where you won't last 15 minutes outside during summer.

there are mild sunny places but their real estate ain't cheap either, but at least it's worth it. Good luck getting naturalized PR though.

I feel PNW is great because of the distinct seasonal weather (winter not so much...unlike most Canadians I wanted to see more snow in recent years). If you go live in LA, palm trees are nice but you get bored of them and you'll start to miss the autumn leaves, cherry blossoms in Vancouver.

[buhdeh]

Originally Posted by Gululu

Good.

We don't need more whiners (losers) crowded in the the Lower Mainland anyway.
Either shut up/quit rubbernecking what others do with their money OR LEAVE ALREADY
either way, give it 5 more years, by 2020 rich mainland Chinese and other groups will NOT have the incentive to even invest in your backwater little town called vancouver. By then, even if houses drops back to 2000's prices, you poor broke losers still cannot gather enough money for a downpayment.

vancouver is mediocre and the people living in vancouver are small minded people that have no world views. stupid silly canadians

lol mainlanders

[underscore]

Originally Posted by Everymans

Read every comment in this thread then realized i had just wasted a Saturday night and the only thing I can fully take away is that You all need to stop bitching about the weather. Every time I hear someone complain that it supposedly rains 8 months of the year I feel the need to brief them on the forecast on the rest of the country. Part of the reason why the desirability is so high in this city is because of the weather. you might think it's gloomy in winter, but if you go to anywhere else in the country not near the south west coast you will realize what real gloominess is. The type of shit weather were you can't even reach your mailbox because it's under 4 feet of snow. you have to let your car run for 10 minutes every morning just so the engine doesn't seize...

Have you never been to any part of BC during the winter? All of the interior south of Prince George has better weather than the Lower Mainland all year long.

[multicartual]

Originally Posted by underscore

Have you never been to any part of BC during the winter? All of the interior south of Prince George has better weather than the Lower Mainland all year long.

I don't even think they have skinny jeans or marijuana dispensaries anywhere east of Main street

[Nomomo]

Good way to tell if you can afford to live in vancouver is if your renting..... you better have savings and a growing net worth. If not its time to make changes.

[Ulic Qel-Droma]

i've come to realise that owning is just like any other investment.

if you're knowledgeable in investing instruments, you don't need to fall back on property.

although i must admit, property is the simplest. you own something tangible and you live in it. it's like the most "real" investment you can have. I guess it being the most "real" it also makes it the least anxiety infused investment as well.

like someone else said in this thread, most people duno anything about investing, and therefore that obviously makes owning a home exponentially more appealing.

i mean, yes, right now it is a good investment, you're likely to make pretty good returns... but i did some math and, renting is actually cheaper... and way less responsibility LOL. you don't have to maintain jack shit or care about anything. you just move when you don't like it. that's it.

now that being said...

what if you've got other investments that are making double or triple what property investments make? lol...

wouldn't you just fuckin dump your money in those things?

people always say diversify... but there's a lot of investment instruments out there. enough to satisfy "diversity" without even going into real estate.

That being said, again... i still feel buying and selling property isnt easy and liquid enough.

i can't just press a button and see all the bid/asks and sell it right away with one click. lol. it's still such a headache. i could be doing tons of other shit with that money, making much more.

but i must admit, there is a little bit of security knowing you can't be kicked outta a place you own. no matter how low the likely hood of being kicked out as a tenant is.

it's all about personal investing style and what satisfies you. it's not always about the smartest thing. diversity doesn't just include hard investments, but the style people invest their money with.

crane style! drunken tiger style!

[Soundy]

Originally Posted by hk20000

Funny my client was looking at it. He can't justify it given that the storm sewer (at least not crap sewer) under there takes priority if the hose is in need of repairs you might be forced to demolish the home for the sewerage.

And yes it was sold well above asking.

I can't imagine that anyone would buy that house, FOR THE HOUSE. The value is all in the land under it; the house is a liability at best.

[multicartual]

Originally Posted by Nomomo

Good way to tell if you can afford to live in vancouver is if your renting..... you better have savings and a growing net worth. If not its time to make changes.

Dude just shut the fuck up, you're the one who is so scared of women you got a vasectomy so they won't "steal your money"


Oh, and it is "you're" not "your"


Idiot

[ForbiddenX]

Kind of what Ulic was saying: For young adults, stock market a better investment than home ownership - The Globe and Mail

I've been renting ever since I moved out of Vancouver and don't think I'd plan on putting a down payment on a house or condo. A few people I know have locked down a unit in a building that won't be built until 2016-2018... I haven't really invested a lot but $75k over 3 years in a unit doesn't seem worth it at all since you can probably get a better ROI elsewhere.

[Mr.HappySilp]

People also have to realize that all these investors that are buying up houses and apartments aren't renting them out. They simply sit empty. So if you keep having investors buying up and not renting them, there are fewer units out there for rent. Fewer units for rent, rent will go up. Give it another 10 years and rents are going to so high you can only rent a room in a basement for $1400. All those they are saying housing price won't affect me coz I am renting is all wrong lol.

[Hondaracer]

Government intervention will occur before you're renting studio suites for $1800 a month

[Spoon]

Originally Posted by Mr.HappySilp

Give it another 10 years and rents are going to so high you can only rent a room in a basement for $1400.

Because World Class City

[sonick]

Originally Posted by ForbiddenX

Kind of what Ulic was saying: For young adults, stock market a better investment than home ownership - The Globe and Mail

I am a proponent of investing over home ownership on a strictly financial sense, but many of these articles state things like:

The average national house price rose about 5.8 per cent annually on average over the past 30 years, which is a great result from an asset that is supposed to merely keep up with inflation. But the Canadian stock market averaged 9 per cent annually over that period with dividends included.

I am genuinely curious at the same stats but strictly limited to the GVRD rather than national, I think that stat would paint a different picture.

[blkgsr]

good thing mayor moonbeam sold his house before he said he'd try to curb housing prices....