The Big Atlantic Canada Statistics Thread

[Pugsley]

Originally Posted by jonny golden

There is a trend where empty nesters are selling their homes and moving into apartments. Many of them are renting the higher end units, and have enough cash from the sale of their home to help make it easy to pay the rent for the rest of their lives.

I remember Vaughn MacLellan stating that his clients for the Tannery Place apartments were exactly that. Rent a very nice unit, your car is parked inside if you want to go away for a trip, and a lot less responsibility than owning a house in the suburbs.

Do you own a home or rent? I ask because I find a lot of animosity around this issue with people who rent today and are now facing higher rents from people who saved, bought a home back in the day, and are reaping the rewards.

I have empathy for those who are seeing rent increases but it really is a choice made. 20 years ago we scrapped together the basic deposit over a period of 5-years of saving to get a deposit and BUY our first home. We sacrificed a lot to do that. AND, we sacrificed a lot in the first few years thereafter balancing a mortgage payment, knowing we'd be better off owning than renting.

For the record, our first home was in Toronto in 1999 when the variable rate was 5.95% and the fixed rate was 7.50%. Our first home was $400,000 back then. Not a small amount to invest given we were both early in our careers. It was about choices and thinking long-term.

We had friends who chose to rent and spent the money on dinners, trips, and more. Things we didn't get to do. There motto was "live for the day", not tomorrow.

I ask this because I sense a lot of resentment for people based on their choices. We all have them. We shouldn't blame another generation for having different priotities and investing in real estate.

[jonny golden]

Originally Posted by Pugsley

Do you own a home or rent? I ask because I find a lot of animosity around this issue with people who rent today and are now facing higher rents from people who saved, bought a home back in the day, and are reaping the rewards.

I have empathy for those who are seeing rent increases but it really is a choice made. 20 years ago we scrapped together the basic deposit over a period of 5-years of saving to get a deposit and BUY our first home. We sacrificed a lot to do that. AND, we sacrificed a lot in the first few years thereafter balancing a mortgage payment, knowing we'd be better off owning than renting.

We had friends who chose to rent and spent the money on dinners, trips, and more. Things we didn't get to do. There motto was "live for the day", not tomorrow.

I ask this because I sense a lot of resentment for people based on their choices. We all have them. We shouldn't blame another generation for having different priotities and investing in real estate.

I have no animosity toward anybody around this issue. But I know what you mean - I see a lot of comments on Retail Talk and Share when they're discussing new apartment developments - "another building that nobody can afford to live in." "Rich people getting richer off the backs of us average people" etc.

[josh_cat_eyes]

Does anybody know if StatsCan releases data on how many people total there is born from a province that are still living? Like I’m curious to see how many New Brunswickers or Nova Scotians there is living in the province + other provinces. It would also be interesting to know the break down of province/country on birth for the population currently residing in each province.

[KnoxfordGuy]

Stats Canada releasing construction cost percentage increases for the first quarter on 2024. Year over year Stats Can says, "Halifax (+8.1%) led the year-over-year growth in construction costs for residential buildings, while Moncton (+7.9%) led the growth of non-residential buildings."

Not the news we need.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by KnoxfordGuy

Stats Canada releasing construction cost percentage increases for the first quarter on 2024. Year over year Stats Can says, "Halifax (+8.1%) led the year-over-year growth in construction costs for residential buildings, while Moncton (+7.9%) led the growth of non-residential buildings."

Not the news we need.

Yep, that's one of the ingredients in the recipe for $2500 one bedroom apartments.

[adamuptownsj]

Capital gains cash grab will be brutal for build-and-sell developers, too.

[sailor734]

Originally Posted by adamuptownsj

Capital gains cash grab will be brutal for build-and-sell developers, too.

Hadn't thought of that but of course you are right. Government seems to delight in stifling entrepreneurial risk taking.

[darkharbour]

Originally Posted by sailor734

Hadn't thought of that but of course you are right. Government seems to delight in stifling entrepreneurial risk taking.

Haven’t seen anyone refer to it as a cash grab yet, didn’t realize a slight bit more taxation for the folks who can afford it most in an era of a wider and wider wealth gap would be contentious.

[adamuptownsj]

Originally Posted by darkharbour

Haven’t seen anyone refer to it as a cash grab yet, didn’t realize a slight bit more taxation for the folks who can afford it most in an era of a wider and wider wealth gap would be contentious.

'A bit more taxation' in the second-highest tax-burdened OCED country is not acceptable. We aren't getting our money's worth already.

This is a growth killer. It shaves so much margin off construction, selling small businesses themselves (like a medical practice or a farm, for a pertinent pair of examples), disposing of business assets, and so on. It's another thing designed to squeeze the upper middle class. I doubt billionaires are losing sleep.

[MonctonRad]

Agreed. The truly wealthy won’t really bat an eye. The group disproportionately affected are the merely successful - the small business owners and the professional class.

This tax also will have a negative effect on new apartment construction due to the cash grab on capital gains when these assets are sold. I mean, why bother. Just keep your money in a sock hidden under your mattress instead.

[Bishop2047]

Originally Posted by darkharbour

Haven’t seen anyone refer to it as a cash grab yet, didn’t realize a slight bit more taxation for the folks who can afford it most in an era of a wider and wider wealth gap would be contentious.

I have nothing against appropriate tax on the ultra wealthy, but far to many of these additional costs/taxes will just trickle down to the consumer/renter/regular person who uses the services/housings/item to offset the lost money in their pocket.

Crack down on tax havens and the things that only affect the ultra rich rather than going after those who have a little more.

[darkharbour]

Originally Posted by adamuptownsj

'A bit more taxation' in the second-highest tax-burdened OCED country is not acceptable. We aren't getting our money's worth already.

This is a growth killer. It shaves so much margin off construction, selling small businesses themselves (like a medical practice or a farm, for a pertinent pair of examples), disposing of business assets, and so on. It's another thing designed to squeeze the upper middle class. I doubt billionaires are losing sleep.

I disagree, and as an upper middle class family myself, with some rental property, I think this is fundamentally beneficial for the country and is the first step of many to helping lift vast amounts of the population out of their generational cycles, which includes basic necessities such as dental care for example.

With the federal investments in housing growth - which I believe should be bigger - the extra cash will end up back to the few who are investing in development while those who are just high earners contribute more to the safety nets and services that provide for the residents and the unhoused alike.

I appreciate your perspectives though, this is classic good discourse, where there are different approaches to addressing issues, neither fundamentally wrong or hateful or harmful necessarily, simply different in their execution and priorities. I have the privilege of not worrying too much about the outcome, but it wasn’t that long ago that I did, and I try to remember that whenever I think of my policy opinions.

[MonctonRad]

The Statistics Canada CMA population update for July 1st 2023 will be released on May 22nd.

[MonctonGoldenTri]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The Statistics Canada CMA population update for July 1st 2023 will be released on May 22nd.

I wonder how close Moncton got to 180,000

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by MonctonGoldenTri

I wonder how close Moncton got to 180,000

The stats will be for July 1st 2023. We're probably over 180,000 now.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

The stats will be for July 1st 2023. We're probably over 180,000 now.

In a presentation before Moncton city council last night, a developer claimed that metro Moncton had grown by 15,000 people in 2023!!!
https://tj.news/moncton-miramichi/mo...ough-developer (paywall)

I will be looking forward to the release of the new stats with great interest.

[KnoxfordGuy]

Where did they get their stats?

[jonny golden]

Here's the story about the presentation to city council on Monday night:

https://www.919thebend.ca/2024/05/07/75070/

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by KnoxfordGuy

Where did they get their stats?

That’s the issue. We don’t know if this guy was talking out of his ass or not.

[Mattyyy]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

That’s the issue. We don’t know if this guy was talking out of his ass or not.

If some developers can make it financially viable why can’t others? I don’t disagree - the double property tax system doesn’t make any sense but it makes me think about why there would be differences between developers.

In the meantime you have companies like Ashford sitting on prime land downtown supposedly going with a big project but too busy bickering with the city over small details.