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  #21  
Old Posted Nov 15, 2016, 7:40 PM
twoNeurons twoNeurons is offline
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Originally Posted by connect2source View Post
Problem is inventory has not increased so the market is basically 'stuck'. Owners wont's sell because there are few buyers and buyers won't buy because they anticipate price drops.

As a Realtor in noting that prices for most homes are NOT dropping at all in fact we're seeing very high demand on the few properties that are available especially in the mid-range condo market.
Prices are always dragged out and sticky coming down. How long did houses fall after 1981? 9 years or something ( inflation adjusted ) to return to that peak? 2 years to fall?

After 1995, prices fell for 5 years and also took 9 years to return to that peak. If we're in another 1981, I'd expect that when the market starts to fall, it will fall quickly. If this is another 1995, it will taper or trickle down.

The US Fed raises rates in December and perhaps again in the spring which will put further price pressure. I think it's a case of who will blink first now. The smart money is already out of the market and sold when the warning signs were there in the summer.

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  #22  
Old Posted Nov 16, 2016, 2:44 AM
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Exactly as you can see the market has always corrected itself, it doesn't need meddling by politicians. In fact if politicians had allowed interest rates to increase naturally when they should've the market would've corrected years ago.
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  #23  
Old Posted Nov 16, 2016, 5:20 PM
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Exactly as you can see the market has always corrected itself, it doesn't need meddling by politicians. In fact if politicians had allowed interest rates to increase naturally when they should've the market would've corrected years ago.
This.
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  #24  
Old Posted Nov 16, 2016, 5:25 PM
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how would a politician have anything to do with interest rates?
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  #25  
Old Posted Nov 16, 2016, 5:33 PM
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how would a politician have anything to do with interest rates?
The Bank of Canada is a government institution. While it's nominally independent of government, monetary policy is highly political.
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  #26  
Old Posted Nov 16, 2016, 6:03 PM
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The Bank of Canada is a government institution. While it's nominally independent of government, monetary policy is highly political.
Nope, not in Canada for a long time. The BOC acts on its own, and they are so over-focused on the stagnant economy that the Liberals had to effectively raise interest rates by expanding the mortgage stress test.

I feel for those in real estate who are no doubt going through a tough time, but that's the nature of the business. I also don't recall many of them speaking out on how unaffordable housing was becoming for working Vancouverites as house prices and commission cheques climbed.
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  #27  
Old Posted Nov 16, 2016, 6:07 PM
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Nope, not in Canada for a long time. The BOC acts on its own, and they are so over-focused on the stagnant economy that the Liberals had to effectively raise interest rates by expanding the mortgage stress test.
Just because the BoC acts on it's own doesn't mean that their decisions aren't political.
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  #28  
Old Posted Nov 16, 2016, 8:25 PM
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The BOC acts on its own, and they are so over-focused on the stagnant economy that the Liberals had to effectively raise interest rates by expanding the mortgage stress test.
i get what you mean, but the new stress tests didn't "effectively raise interest rates," it just made it so that mortgage borrowers will be clocked on their ability to pay in the event that interest rates rise. everyone wants interest rates low, and they're insulated against change because they want to ensure healthier household debt levels.

on the idea that they shouldn't have intervened because eventually the housing market would decline, this is pretty weak. high debt levels mean slower economic growth, which in vancouver looks like a cycle of low wage growth but increasing housing costs, eating up consumer spending power, which means slower economic growth. that's simplistic, but it holds true.

edit: it occurs that now that the foreigners and speculative buying are finally being addressed, and the stress test will push down available insured mortgage for most households, vancouver could go in for the kill by rezoning a large number of single family homes districts. the rationale is that towers much more expensive to build relative to 5-6 story wood-framed structure, and that adding a lot more land for developers to build these will deflate the value of land, citywide.
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  #29  
Old Posted Nov 16, 2016, 8:30 PM
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I understand the need to increase rental market but I actually think AirBnB is more of an issue than empty home taxes. I just don't like the direction something like that goes. As was touched on, it just screams of telling people who buy their own home what they are and aren't allowed to do in them.

To me it would be no different from the city passing a law suddenly saying I can't own a car and have it parked in my garage all year long, I _MUST_ rent it out for someone without a car to drive or I'll have to pay a storage tax or be hit with a fine. If you heard that you'd think it insane, but why is housing any different?

And someone who owns a $million+ home that is sitting empty aka earning $0 income farts $10,000 for breakfast so they'll just pay the tax and leave it empty. Why run the risk of putting in a renter that destroys the place?

I wouldn't. $10,000 is nothing for someone sitting on an empty $million home imho so you're really targeting a very small group of people.

Supply and demand. Increase the supply to meet the demand and the only way to me is to (1) build more damned supply and (2) start dealing with the likes of AirBnB by first enacting smart rules and regulations, enforcing the rules, and easing off on our Tenancy act and remove some of the risk away from landlords.

It's amazing how handcuffed landlords are in BC with respect to the rights of renters. It is to the point now where when I rent a place out I am actually a bit terrified about signing the lease as the landlord to commit to a rental. If I had large sums of money I'd actually leave my apartment empty year round.
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  #30  
Old Posted Nov 16, 2016, 8:45 PM
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If we had smaller subdivided lots, no laneway homes (pure revenue generators), and stricter enforcement on 2nd and 3rd illegal suites ( all 2nd and 3rd suites are illegal ) then houses wouldn't be so valuable... and therefore prices wouldn't be so high.

The city would be forced to rezone, rather than think things like "eco-density" make things more affordable ( they actually just force SFHs to be landlords )
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  #31  
Old Posted Nov 17, 2016, 2:33 AM
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City councillors have voted in Vancouver's proposed tax on vacant homes, which could be in effect as early as January.
The one per cent tax, the first of its kind in Canada, was approved Wednesday evening by a vote of 8-3

http://bc.ctvnews.ca/vancouver-votes...-tax-1.3164478
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  #32  
Old Posted Apr 2, 2017, 8:45 AM
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I got this in the mail last week.


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  #33  
Old Posted Apr 2, 2017, 6:13 PM
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This is such a joke. "Yes Gregor I have an empty home, please tax me" Said no one ever.
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  #34  
Old Posted Jun 30, 2017, 5:33 PM
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Number of empty homes in Vancouver hits record high

A City of Vancouver report to council shows 25,495 units were unoccupied or occupied by temporary and/or foreign residents in 2016.

The data reflects a 98 percent increase from 2001 when the number was 12,885 homes.The report was written by Gil Kelley, the general manager of planning, urban design and sustainability — with data collected from Statistics Canada. The purpose of the study was to establish the number of homes that could be impacted by the Empty Homes Tax (EHT) program.

The City of Vancouver voted to approve the EHT in May 2016 as a way to address the escalating crisis in housing. Every owner of residential property in Vancouver will have to make a property status declaration for the 2017 calendar year — with declarations due February 2, 2018..


http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/britis...high-1.4175999
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  #35  
Old Posted Jun 30, 2017, 6:24 PM
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Feb 2nd is suck a bizarre date. Why not just do it on the same day as the Property tax Grant? Just add a forth column for the extra charge
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  #36  
Old Posted Jun 30, 2017, 8:00 PM
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Can't you just rent it out to your spouse/brother/friend for $1 a month?
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  #37  
Old Posted Jun 30, 2017, 11:28 PM
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Originally Posted by Jebby View Post
Can't you just rent it out to your spouse/brother/friend for $1 a month?

Is occupied by your family member or friend?
-If a property is not the principal residence of the owner, but is the principal residence of his/her family member or friend for at least six months of the current year, then the property will not be subject to the tax.
However, if the property is not a principal residence or rented for at least six months of the current year (in periods of 30 or more consecutive days), but is used only periodically by the owner or his/her guests, then the tax will apply.
-If the property is audited, the information or evidence required may include, but is not limited to:
Government-issued personal identification (such as a driver’s licence),
Medical Services Plan invoices,
ICBC vehicle registration and insurance, and/or
Federal income tax returns and notices of assessment


http://vancouver.ca/home-property-de...-be-taxed.aspx
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  #38  
Old Posted Jun 30, 2017, 11:53 PM
twoNeurons twoNeurons is offline
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Originally Posted by whatnext View Post
This is such a joke. "Yes Gregor I have an empty home, please tax me" Said no one ever.
Won't you need to prove that you rented it out, though?

And surely, the CoV could work with AirBnB to ferret out short-term rentals.

Additionally, you now have to declare a house as your principal residence to qualify for capital gains tax.

I agree that there will be people looking for loopholes and for the record, I think it's a stupid tax... but if it doesn't work... or they get blowback... I'm sure stronger measures will be put in place. Conceivably, the burden of proof will have to be on the home owner to prove it was rented.
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  #39  
Old Posted Jul 1, 2017, 1:48 AM
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And surely, the CoV could work with AirBnB to ferret out short-term rentals.
Why would AirBnB want to work towards ending their ability to operate in Vancouver?
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  #40  
Old Posted Jul 5, 2017, 2:17 PM
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Vancouver's empty homes tax came into effect over the weekend, causing some property owners to scramble to rent, sell or find a way around the fees, according to one property manager.

Cameron Fazli is with Re/Max Crest Realty. He has seen a spike in calls from concerned owners looking for advice and solutions, he told CBC guest host of On The Coast Gloria Macarenko.

"We are getting a lot of calls from people who are unsure what they are going to do," Fazli said. "There is a lot of uncertainty and definitely a lot of unhappy property owners."...

....Fazli said many of the people he has talked to are thinking of renting or selling their properties. He recently met with a woman who owns three empty properties in Vancouver — and says one of them is now listed for rent, another will be listed shortly and she is thinking of selling the third...


http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/britis...fect-1.4190576

Gee, my heart bleeds for that poor woman, actually having to do something with the three properties she is squatting on.
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