Ignorant? You aren't allowed to use big words like that without reason. Give me some logic. Tell me me exactly what's wrong with what I posted.


Do you not get paid based on your value to society?

The reason house prices are high aren't due to a significant portion of the population making more than 40k, its due to foreign buyers. If you search other parts of the country, the house prices are priced relative to what the average buyer earns.

Younger buyers can use their family/parents income help too.

Ignorant is a big word? :eek5r: you are assuming that everyone who is unhappy with housing prices feels that way because they cannot afford it. Also, how is it realistic to expect all of the working class people to triple their yearly salary so that they can afford a decent home simply by working harder?

Servers, dental hygienist, small business owners, doctors, teachers, accountants, lawyers, mechanics, retail workers.. these are people who live and work in Vancouver and can't afford to buy a home. Don't assume that just because someone doesn't have a lot of money that they don't work hard, and dont assume just because someone has a good career that they can afford a $1,000,000 'starter' home for their family. Oops my bad, I forgot that it is no longer a right to be able to live in the city you work in. I suppose these poor, uneducated lazy people can find something in the burbs for a mere $600,000 or so.

The reason is cheap debt my friend. Out East is no different and there's no immigration here in Montreal either and the prices in the GTA are not relative to what the average income is, not even close.

Low interest rates for an extremely long time, lots of slack rules in terms of conditions for acquiring a mortgage (hell, cash-back mortgages? That's was a stupid idea), poor debt-income ratio conditions and that helped along a huge housing bubble. Totally different that what happened in America...oh wait.

I think we all need to focus on the real issue at hand here.. congrats OP on creating the 100th "Vancouver Real Estate Market Slowing" thread on RS!!!!!

Maybe we should rename it "The Official Vancouver Real Estate Market Slowing Thread". Not enough "Official" threads on RS if you ask me.
:troll:

Our global economy is not recovering, the declining price of oil is hurting us as that is a significant part of our GDP. Do you know what else was driving our GDP? Housing starts and banks making money off of those mortgages.

Sorry, but supply has outstripped demand.

not everyone has rich parents

not everyone with rich parents have parents that are willing to lend them or give them money - there's something to be said about being self sufficient

just because a lot of ppl have no choice but to go to mum and dad, doesn't mean everyone can

don't get me wrong, i'd love to have some of my parents' wealth - will never happen

I have a friend who just bought a 1M house and all his and his wife's income go to mortgage payments with just enough left to live. Some ppl just really must have a house and that mentality also fuel the high real estate price.

True...But what's going to happen when the interest rates go up? They're going to be in a very tough situation, and from what your saying they're already in over their heads.

When doctors and professionals have trouble buying homes in the city, it is a cause for concern. Going by the old rule of 4x your income, if you make $100,000. You buy a $400K property. In Vancouver, that's a condo.

This is causing long term problems where it drives other people away because they can't afford housing and reduces the talent pool.

In Toronto, the foreign buyers, (when I say foreign, I mean foreign money. These people may have PR or even citizenship here, but the money is foreign), they are buying 5-10 units in these new condos are that coming up in Toronto.

This combined with speculators that buy to take advantage of this situation and we have huge increases in RE prices.

My friend recently sold 4 pre-sale units to a mainland chinese lady (Foreign money) in one of the new condos coming up by Metrotown

I don't think RE prices can be explained by just one factor alone, foreign ownership is but one component (and what % of sales are they even responsible for? what exactly is the definition of foreign? how do you distinguish between a buyer who immigrated long ago and those who recently came? is anyone even keeping track of the data? seeing repeated segments on the news should not be your only source of info). Obviously there are multiple factors including being fueled by a ~6-7 billion dollar marijuana industry and easy access to credit.

And there are very few places I would consider living in Canada, even if there are places where the price to earnings ratios are much much lower. This perception helps fuel prices as well.

To a certain extent, the whole foreign ownership criticism is just thinly veiled racism. If there were a bunch of rich people from Western Europe who were snatching up condos, I bet you wouldn't hear nearly as much criticism.

If you're a person who wants to buy a home, sure it sucks to a certain extent. But, we live in perhaps one of the most renter-friendly jurisdictions in North America. Not only that, but owner-investors who got in the market over the past 5 years are probably not all that keen about rising interest rates. As long as you're normal and gainfully employed, the rental market Metro Vancouver is your oyster.

^agreed, because it's easy to scapegoat immigrants, in this case 'foreign money' for our own economic and cultural insecurities.

I like that idea. Make it so you need to stay within canada for at least 10 years before you can buy a property.

What if the person wants to buy a property to start a business?

Look at all the Canadians who buy vacation property in places like Florida, Arizona and Vegas. People should be allowed to buy property where ever they want.

My cousin has been in Canada for less that 6 years and is now married with kids owns a house with his sister who is married and has started his own roofing company. This from a person who doesn't have his grade 12 and never used a nail gun until 3 years ago.

If you can't afford a house move. People do it all the time.

^^ yes lets keep letting the rich forgiens who have no desire to stay in Vancover or be part of Canadians buy our land. Keep thinking that till all the ppl work in BC sleep on the streets and under bridges just like what Vegas is turning into.

Or we could turn in HK where unless you make 6 figures all you will ever get is a room with 200sq feet share the house with 20+ other ppl.

Which option whould you like?

I have not seen legitimate evidence that foreign buyers are the primary basis for Vancouver housing prices; only speculation with very little, if any, supporting evidence behind it.

Don't let this get to you, the prices might go lower. :p

The fuck you mean entitlement, asshole? The game is rigged to one side, there's no denying that, it has nothing to do with entitlement you prick.

People in HK live in a 200 sq room because the country is out of space. Canada is the second largest country in the world. The problem is people in this thread want to live in a little part of Canada called Vancouver. My parents moved half way around the world for a better life people in this thread can't move 30 minutes.

That's what the natives said.

I totally agree. White people in urban Canada need to realize that urban Canada is only going to be less white, and to stop worrying about it.

there are so many good property/land policies around the world that could apply to Vancouver, it seems the politicians don't really bother to care, I bet they are getting good money out of this.

Simply look at the population, it hasn't grown that much compare with 10 years ago.
2001 - 1,986,965 | +8.5%
2006 - 2,116,581 | +6.5%
2011 - 2,313,328 | +9.3%
But then, the price has gone up double and double. For reference only, a 2bedroom apartment was under 200K in 2001, then the same apartment went up to 400K in 2006, today, it's already 800K.
Bare in mind, there aren't any difference in terms of our GDP and economic.