I see a lot of exotics in Vancouver, but this is insane. Lol omg. Can you imagine this kind of lifestyle? How can you appreciate anything when you are given everything?
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Vancouver Housing Market: 33% of Home Sales to Chinese Buyers
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I see a lot of exotics in Vancouver, but this is insane. Lol omg. Can you imagine this kind of lifestyle? How can you appreciate anything when you are given everything?
I've already come to terms that I'll be booted from this city once I need to plant my roots for personal reasons like maybe starting a family, but I'd at least like to know they did something.
Mr Nash
square pies = communism
Limits on foreign ownership of real estate can be done without it being racists. It would impact Brits, Russians, and Germans just as much as it would someone from China. Such legislation would be all-encompassing since it would be leveled at anyone who is not a Canadian citizen, not just folks from China.
Property bought, handed off to a management company to rent it out and deal with tenants, no longer unoccupied.
Done.
AstroNut325
Member
Arcadia is the neighboring city to mine. Let's just say I don't need to go car shows anymore.
Zoe
Member
As mentioned earlier, that's nowhere near as bad because the tenants are still feeding into the local economy.
And the city could have penalties for it not being the primary residence of the owner. Or rather like the way it is around here, primary residence owners get an exemption to apply to their taxes.
I live downtown as well and I've noticed that too. Because I'm fairly high up you can look across and around at the other apartments and see which ones never have any lights on at all.
Because downtown is so busy most people probably don't notice but I'm from London and in places like Chelsea its a big problem as it made some areas like ghost towns. You had local shops closing as they had few customers.
Do you ever go into Arcadia? Is it true no one speaks English?
Friend of my girlfriend works as a maid, and she apparently has had to clean completely empty houses from time to time. Amazingly nice ones, but that are just totally lifeless. It's weird.
AstroNut325
Member
Yes. I actually frequent that parking lot the "student" was interviewed in. It's a Pavillions grocery store. Most people speak English. I haven't encountered many people in Arcadia that don't speak English. In general, there are a lot of young people driving exotics in and around Arcadia.
Extra Sauce
Member
Any data on Montreal?
Or at least add a substantial amount of tax that non-citizens have to pay.
gutter_trash
Banned
include permanent residents then
entremet
Member
These are condos and apartments. Not much upkeep needed. Plus many times they just rent it out.
Yes. They shouldn't be buying if they're only in the country on temporary visas. Once they get their citizenship they can buy without the tax.
Seems reasonable to me at least.
Zoe
Member
The problem is 1) they're not selling the properties back meaning 2) current residents can't buy anything.
Yes. East and West coast. Local buyers being priced out and having to move farther into suburbia.
Bronetta
Ask me about the moon landing or the temperature at which jet fuel burns. You may be surprised at what you learn.
Thanks for the link OP.
I'm doing a research paper on the housing market bubble in Canada so this will be very useful for me. I told my professor on day 1 that the reason the house prices in Vancouver are so high is because of foreign investments, specifically the Chinese looking to hide or dump money in Canadian real estate.
I'm doing a research paper on the housing market bubble in Canada so this will be very useful for me. I told my professor on day 1 that the reason the house prices in Vancouver are so high is because of foreign investments, specifically the Chinese looking to hide or dump money in Canadian real estate.
I think the government should take advantage of this in some way. The only people that can afford to purchase multiple houses at $1 million or more are rich people. With so many rich people showing interest in cities like Vancouver and Toronto, I think there is an opportunity to tax them and use that money on the city and its locals. Maybe houses can be subsidised for citizens through this tax fund. As for the wasted space, the government could create a regulated system for these investors to store their wealth.
I'm thinking of something like:
I'm thinking of something like:
- Allow foreign investors to purchase homes
- Require them to make it clear whether or not they intend to live there (with financial penalties for lying)
- If they do not intend to live there, instead of punishing them, the homes should be rented out and the owner can receive more profits so it is a win/win
- The government should be making lots of money in each of these steps while the Chinese investors make more money than they are now to give them incentive
- The rent prices must be regulated by the government to keep them from becoming unrealistic
How does a crash occur? I've heard that Vancouver and Toronto are going to have one eventually but how does it work?
Its 33% not 100% and if they buy and keep all the power to them. They brought cash, I say come on in, we all immigrants. If they are buying, someone is selling and that is good for the economy. Sure its tough to get in the market but that is just the way things go trying to control the market is just going to screw it up. Why would we tax them more, why should the government get a bigger piece, the guy selling should get the money.
I live on the border of San Gabriel and Arcadia. People definitely speak English. There just happens to be lots of billboards and ads that are in Chinese.
AstroNut325
Member
This is true. Best boba is found in Arcadia, San Gabriel, and Alhambra. Love the food in all three cities as well. Best Asian food I've ever had.
Extra Sauce
Member
It's an issue for local residents who are trying to buy a house to live in. People can't just put their lives on hold and wait for the bubble to burst.
Vancouver is a nice city, but its a Disneyland for the rich. I almost followed a girl there once, but even with my bachelor of nursing, I deemed it unaffordable. I could make over 6 figures a year there sure. But I still wouldn't be able to afford the house I want and the life I want.
In the praries, I have all the toys, a healthy savings, animals, house , a nice patch of land and travel like a madman. I'd have to forgo all those things in Vancouver. Sure I'd be there and have more "stuff to do". The funny thing being is the stuff to do, like concerts, cafe's, bars, all those things city slickers mention when they praise city living falls flat. Because they cost money. Meanwhile they have no disposable income, are wage slaves, don't actually indulge in anything the city offers.. but they enjoy the label of saying their from Vancouver I guess. I get a kick when my highschool friends that moved to big cities like Vancouver, Toronto, Sidney etc come and visit me. I can see how impressed they are of my assets I've accumulated over a short period, while they've sunk sometimes over $200,000 in rent over 10 years. They own their TVs at least.
In the praries, I have all the toys, a healthy savings, animals, house , a nice patch of land and travel like a madman. I'd have to forgo all those things in Vancouver. Sure I'd be there and have more "stuff to do". The funny thing being is the stuff to do, like concerts, cafe's, bars, all those things city slickers mention when they praise city living falls flat. Because they cost money. Meanwhile they have no disposable income, are wage slaves, don't actually indulge in anything the city offers.. but they enjoy the label of saying their from Vancouver I guess. I get a kick when my highschool friends that moved to big cities like Vancouver, Toronto, Sidney etc come and visit me. I can see how impressed they are of my assets I've accumulated over a short period, while they've sunk sometimes over $200,000 in rent over 10 years. They own their TVs at least.
diffusionx
Gold Member
Rich people already pay a lot of taxes. I don't know anything about Vancouver, but there are additional taxes for expensive home purchases in NYC.
gutter_trash
Banned
taxes are not the solution.
proof of residence is
proof of residence is
Again 33% meaning 66% are still available . Does it suckfor the people with less money getting out bid, sure but thats just life. It's like complaining you got out bid on ebay, I'm not that concerned and I am sure the guy selling is not crying about it.
Yep. That's why San Gabriel is the spot for Chinese food. Or maybe it's the other way around; the food so good, the Chinese had to settle there.
Zoe
Member
What would you want them to do with that proof of residence?
gamechanger87
Member
They are straight cash purchases and lots of times they tell the homeowner no agent required and no inspection needed.
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/were-not-realtors-former-wholesaler-reveals-hidden-dark-side-of-vancouvers-red-hot-real-estate-market
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-teardown-real-estate-1.3449869
For a sense of what happens to these houses after they are sold..
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/this-6-2-million-mansion-was-sold-in-2010-today-its-vacant-and-rotting
Rich Americans would never hold the poor ransom over rent and home ownership /sarcasm
Mr Nash
square pies = communism
The simplest way is for prices to hit an upper limit of what people are willing / able to pay at which point sellers are forced to lower prices until they reach a point where people are willing to buy. If people are already leveraged to the hilt or exhausted their cash it could take significant price reductions before buyers re-enter the market in this case.
Some people will argue that most home owners looking to sell would just sit on their property waiting for things to get better, but it's a silly argument because at that point people who do that are no longer part of the market. There would still be people forced to sell because of things like a death in the family, divorce, or getting a job in another part of the world. These are the people who would impact the price of houses in such a market since they'd be the main group doing the selling, and will take what they can get, even if at a much lower price. Their situation is such that they need to sell and can't really haggle much over price with buyers.
Another factor, and one that could have a huge impact on this issue of Chinese capital flight is if China really starts to clamp down of money leaving the country. Technically, Chinese citizens are limited to around $50,000 US per year that they can take out of China, but there are a lot of loopholes allowing them to remove much more from the country. The Chinese government has been slowly trying to close these holes. If they can completely close them up, it will drastically reduce their citizens' ability to get money out of the country. If it stopped 33% of Vancouver real estate transactions as result, absolutely that would trigger a crash.
As it stands, it already looks like this is having some affect, as the Australian real estate market has taken a serious hit since China started to clamp down on capital flight and Chinese have reduced the amount of properties that they buy over there. If this continues, it stands to reason that Vancouver and other regions that have seen a big influx of Chinese buyers could have something similar happen to them.
I don't even know what gentrification is!
gutter_trash
Banned
AlphaTwo00
Member
one for:
- Interest rate goes up, forces local investors carrying multiple units to toss back out, possibly burning them at a loss
- China seriously cracks down on taxation, forcing these forgiven investors to drag their money back
- Chinese investors' other investments collapses, causing them to pull back
In the last case, this actually happened in Hong Kong a few months ago, suddenly stalling the prices for a few months.
But realistically, Toronto and Vancouver is so detached from the Canadian market, don't hold your breath waiting.
Watching the recent tv shows like humble home buyer: Collingwood is nice, same with Halifax and Charolettetown, right? $150K nets you a proper house.
The city and the government should care: if your average house price is rising faster than your young people's ability to buy them and stay in the city, they will leave. I'm sure the Vancouver crowd will tell you how the city doesn't really have a 20-30 category young family anymore.
It's like the brain drain, and it can be harmful in the long run.
Dr.Guru of Peru
played the long game
Different strokes for different folks. Life isn't about accumulating "assets" for everyone. I've lived in small cities before, and its okay. But I think I'd die if I Iived on the prairies though (I barely survived Edmonton). Quality of life matters more to me than how many acres I have to my name.
Zoe
Member
No, what penalty or restriction are you looking to enact on people who are not citizens?
gamechanger87
Member
It's nearly impossible for China to stop the flood. It goes out via Hong Kong. If you compare Hong Kongs report of Imports from China versus China's report of Exports to Hong Kong you will see a massive discrepancy. They are essentially trading the same goods multiple times for higher prices to justify money moving out of the country.
A little while back an attorney wrote a story about how he was contacted by a Chinese company asking for assistance to lose a lawsuit on purpose in the US so it could justify sending out a check.
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2016/02/16/china-capital-flight-2-0-lose-a-lawsuit-on-purpose/
gutter_trash
Banned
I take it your not from Vancouver, people are not leaving. They may be have to cross a bridge to get to work.
"Shrugs" I agree assets are not the most important thing. But being able to at least have some, while enjoying everything else is nice. My quality of life from what I can see from Big city dwellers is much higher. Better air, water, less pollution, less stress, better finances. I've travelled the world. Coming home to the prairies is a nice change. I could see the argument being made that the world comes to you in big cities. But it still ain't the same. I've lived in my share, like Toronto, Berlin, Warsaw, Melbourne and Sydney. There are perks, but I prefer to have those perks on a week trips. When I can actually afford to indulge in everything, than mosey back to my piece of land.
AlphaTwo00
Member
im just going by the other GAF threads on this and everyone was saying there is a dearth of the young family. Sure, everyone moves further out into the suburbs then: still not healthy for the core Vancouver itself.
I'm looking at Toronto, and the elephant in the room no one wants to talk about is that the people have moved further out into the suburbs, up to 1.5 hours away, and the implications on government services. Last week Toronto district school board announces they need to cut staff, then everyone freaks out and wonders why it's happening. City planning for hasn't planned for this.
They can start by charging 2x property tax to non bc residents and 10x property tax to foreign investors. They will cool down the market a bit. Then start collecting owners citizenship and make them available publically like Australia. Also tackle on the shadow flipping issues, which is the main problem because many foreign investors will pay and price to park their cash for money laundering.
If Hong Kong bubbles can burst, so can Vancouver.
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