does anyone pay attention to CNY foreign exchange? just dropped ~10% overnight.

All of a sudden a 1m CAD property went from 5.15m rmb to 5.65m rmb. if it sticks it should have a slight chilling effect.

Partly because of cad /oil and part because of Chinese govt trying to stem outflow of Capitol. Should go down more.

Between managing a slowing economy, an unstoppable capital outflow, and their foreign reserves, China has been stuck between a rock and a hard place for quite some time now. In the recent months, it seems like they have been more actively manipulating the RMB's value, although they would of course deny any such accusations. But the fact is, the RMB has been devaluing itself for some time now, with intermittent bouts of rebounds as the Chinese government injects a bit of funding to prop up the RMB value.

I can't tell you when it would stop, nor can I tell you how long each temporary (?) rebound will last. The only thing I feel fairly certain is that the RMB will continue to be unstable and probably heading down more for some time at least in the near future.

As to how that will affect our RE market, I can think of reasons for both side of the argument with no clear and convincing winner. So on that note, you'd have to rely on your own judgement.

Let's call a duck a duck. The foreign buyer tax should have effectively just been called the Mainland Chinese buyer tax. That is what the people wanted, a group to blame and villify for this mess rightfully or wrongfully. The gov is just catering to what the people have been crying out for instead of fixing the actual problem at hand.

My realtor who probably makes easy 7 figures if not double digits lined up for her clients there lol..she spent the first night then they hired a security guard for $500 a night.

She said she had 40 clients buying all 1BR's so I'm not sure how that works in terms of her and partners lining up then buying 40 units?

One thing I never quite understand when housing project are sold out within hours.

Why don't the developer just jack up the price more..??
Like...if I run a business with limited supply and people are buying out everything the minute it became available....I would jack up the price to the point they will sellout in days...not minutes.

It seems like all the buyers are going insane and think they are getting a great bargain price, why not just up the price another $20-30K? Seems like an easy way to make a few extra million in profit.

they probably do after the first wave of sales goes through

they arent going to jack up the price for somone who thinks they are paying X waiting outside for a week then when they get inside they are paying 30-40k more

or at least thats how i would think it works lol :/

But they do.
This is why they sell things in phases.
Every time they release a new phase, prices will go up.

Oh great, property assessments are gonna way up in the Lower Mainland. :rukidding:

Warning of sharply higher Metro Vancouver home assessments - NEWS 1130


VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – How much your home was worth on July 1st of 2016 will have a big impact on how much it cost you in 2017. There is a warning that your home assessment could be sharply higher when it comes out next month.

The BC Assessment Authority says 2017 property assessment values will reflect the market on July 1st, before sales and prices fell due to factors including the provincial government’s 15 per cent tax on foreign home buyers across the region.

The agency says a jump of 30 to 50 per cent will be typical for single-family homes in Vancouver, North Vancouver, Squamish, Burnaby, the Tri-Cities, Richmond and Surrey. While typical strata residential increases will be in the 15 to 30 per cent range. They’ll be based on the July 1st valuation.

The agency says commercial and industrial properties throughout the Greater Vancouver area will also see a big increase in the 10 to 30 per cent range, with properties being bought for eventual redevelopment often exceeding these ranges.

“It is important to understand that large increases in property assessments do not automatically translate into a corresponding increase in property taxes,” explains Assessor Jason Grant. “Your taxes are actually affected by your assessment changes compared to the average change in your community.”

July 1st of each year marks the date BC Assessment estimates the market value of homes and other properties as appraisers analyze current sales in the local area, as well as the size, age, quality, condition, view and location of the land.

Owners will get their annual property assessment notices in early January. This month, BC Assessment is sending people a courtesy notification to warn them if their assessment is going to be higher than expected.

Are people actually suprised by this? Assessments are always a year behind. Just wait for the spring sales tactics. "Priced way below assessed value! Don't miss out on this once in a lifetime deal!"

I am a bit surprised that commercial and industrial property assessments will be dramatically higher too.

B.C. does really stand for Bring Cash. LUL

Yup.
Remember a few years back when everyone was like "you are asking how much for your place? But it is only assessed at $XXXXXX last year."

They do. Being there as one of the buyers, I can tell you first hand that the prices change through out the day. Your cost/Sq Ft will cost more at the end of the day than the beginning for roughly the same unit type, that's why they never released detailed pricing for the units and only a price preview for a select 10 units out of the 550.

18k annual tax for a $4m. That's reasonabe. When I was onsite at Detroit, I was talking to my counterparts about housing prices. He mentioned that they have cheaper houses, but much higher in annual property taxes. One property we casually browsed via Zillow in a Detroit suburb was $1m with an annual tax of almost 20k.

Well yea, in Detroit they can't even keep their street lights on so obviously a large chunk of change has to be reclaimed from people who still own property there

years ago there was a head tax to stop poor chinese immigrants, now there's a buyer tax to stop rich chinese immigrants...

reminds me of this growing up...



ok i'm done channelling my inner gullulemon for the day...

Anything to stay in office (plus other immigration policies on a Federal Level that could have potentially made our government tons of $$).

This should have been a decade ago. But then again, a considerable block of the active voters were making tons of money on paper with their property values skyrocketing. Also, no one could have predicted the China Money affecting real estate on a global scale after China entered the WTO.

Good thing that if you're an immigrant, i.e. a permanent resident, you don't have to pay the tax right?

Totally different cases. Back in the day, the Chinese were here to help build the country. Now adays, they're here to stash their money in real estate and contribute very little to Canadian society.

what's a lot?
so certain times of the year if they are importing they become a net producer or what?

EU has run a trade deficit on agri for the bulk of the last 30 years

Don't feel bad at all lol.. Article points out home owners who live in property have a way of being exempted. Reason why they are being charged extra tax. Is because they are using that property as rental income

Is it normal for landlords to charge extra per month for a pet? I always thought a pet deposit was good enough. A unit we're looking at is adding an additional $100/month for our puppy :(

They can charge whatever they like if you haven't moved in yet. Pet owners get screwed. Honestly, they really should though. I love the furry little buggers, but it's hard enough to find a good tenant. Now you need to find a good tenant, who raised a good pup. If it's a puppy your lucky they are even acknowledging you. We all know the little guys aren't fully trained yet and can have accidents.

As much as I love puppies and dogs I will never rent my unit to a pet owner. There is a smell to them no matter how clean the dogs are (is normal) and the smell will sink in to the unit. Then you have pets who will chew the walls etc etc pee poo in the house. Is not their fault coz sometimes the owner doesn't give them enough to do to keep their mind busy or they are sick and just can't hold it any longer so they poo pee inside. This cause more smell.

If I have a dog that's a different story.