ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR INVESTMENT PROFESSIONAL BEFORE MAKING ANY INVESTMENT DECISION
June 9, 2021 | A Pox on Them
A year ago 60% of BCers said heaping more taxes on real estate would make it less expensive, proving many people will believe anything if told it often enough. This year that number is down to 42%. House detached house prices in YVR, meanwhile, have hit $1.8 million, up 23% since last May. As we […]
June 8, 2021 | Let’s Worry
Kelowna has its charms. Hills. A big lake. Aquatic monster. The barmaids at Joey Restaurant. This BC town also looks like Mississauga in a Tommy Bahama shirt and has a real estate market just as nutso. As prices in the 905 have gone ballistic thanks to the unaffordability of Toronto, so has Kelowna erupted thanks […]
June 7, 2021 | Truths
So 68% of the herd is dosed in Canada, at least partially. Provinces are pushing for 75% (Ontario) or 85% (NS) within a few weeks. Reopening will be faster, wider and wilder than seemed possible even weeks ago. Covid will go from pandemic to just endemic. Like the flu. You won’t hear daily case counts […]
June 6, 2021 | Reptilian
Days ago this blog told you about Willow. That’s the outfit seeking to establish a fund which will buy real estate with 100% funding (mortgages and crowdfunding) then pay unit-holders an undetermined return. Willow will make money from real estate fees, transaction charges and a 1% MER. Then it will go to an IPO in […]
June 4, 2021 | Look Out
On Wednesday local Ottawa politicians will thumbs-up an empty-house tax. The average property sells for $742,000 now (+35% in a year), so the tax would be $600 a month on a place not rented or owner-occupied for 184 days a year. Of course, Vancouver does this, too. The tax there is an astonishing 3% of […]
June 3, 2021 | Hitting the Wall
Tougher stress test. Mortgage creep. Buyer fatigue. It’s all having an impact on the market. See the stats below. But the biggest impact of all? That’s price. Now that less than 16% of all Canadians can afford real estate we’re hitting that inevitable, hulking wall of absolute unaffordability. Governments and central bankers ignored the effects […]
June 2, 2021 | Light it up
One day this week, I told Dorothy this morning as I left for the wee bank, expect to see a few courier boxes arrive on the porch. Contactless delivery, of course. “Presents?” she cooed, expectantly. Well, kinda, I said. For Canada. Days ago I ordered enough fireworks to win a smallish rebellion somewhere. The intention […]
June 1, 2021 | Epiphany
Will people give up on housing because conditions are, well, insane? The latest real estate board stats (later this week) may shed some light on that. But the anecdotal evidence is sure flooding in. Realtors report fewer showings, a decline in bidding wars and ‘offer nights’ where an expected deluge of paper during a blind […]