Trump called it the ‘China virus’. Then the ‘Kung Flu’. And so anti-Asian racism truly ignited. It was okay to blame them. The president did.
Since then the push-back has been palpable after thousands of reported hate incidents. Sadly, most of those in Canada happened in one province. You know which one. Reading this blog will tell you. Real estate started that. Covid just made it worse. Acceptable, even.
Did you catch the latest in pretty little Penticton? Some rich (white) dude owns a mega-house there which seems to be a work of art. Insanely meticulous in detail and architecturally bold. It’s also for sale, asking $12.8 million. But that buys you $1 million worth of marble, another million in furnishings and an emerald-green marble-floored garage with a vehicle turntable for your Porsche. Oh, and a view.
Rich homeowning dude likely didn’t expect the local reaction when he hired Vancouver-based realtors Kevin Chen and Matt Zhang to market his place last year. Since the property was featured a few months ago in a Van-based online mag, things have gone downhill fast. The assumption of people seems to be that ‘Chinese’ agents = ‘Chinese’ owner = money laundering.
On Saturday, for example, Chen received an email suggesting he “should be shot” and there would be “dire consequences” if he didn’t return to China. But Kevin grew up in Canada. Same for Matt, who’s been here his entire life.
“At the end of the day we’re just the agents who are listing it” Zhang told the Penticton paper. “The owner is Canadian and we have verified the source. The client wanted to sell his dream home, and we’re here to market it to our best ability, it’s as simple as that. When you start bringing race into it and all these negative stigmas toward a certain race and just assuming that this person is Chinese and has dirty, laundered money, that’s where you cross the line… you’re just assuming those things because it’s expensive.”
Well, you can see the problem. It’s one thing to hate the commies in China. It’s not the same thing to diss a Canadian who looks Chinese. In some parts of BC this stereotyping seems ubiquitous and usually centres around real estate. It’s a public meme that high house prices were set at the margin by rich, offshore owners and their satellite families. Follower politicians like the NDP’s David Eby – now BC’s attorney-general – have been instrumental in the passage of anti-foreigner taxes and a current witch-hunt inquiry into laundering. The Penticton emails seem to be a direct result.
So, time for some facts.
Here’s what BC government stats reveal about levels of foreign ownership in that province, which passed its first anti-Chinese-dude tax in 2016. Three years ago just 2.4% of property purchases in British Columbia were made by foreigners. In 2019, this fell further – to 1.17%. Then Covid hit, immigration levels tumbled by two-thirds and the number of deals attributed to non-Canadians amounted to…zero. Well, close to nothing at 0.56%.
And what percentage of detached homes (in total) in Vancouver is owned by non-BC residents – including folks from Alberta, the US and the rest of the country? According to StatsCanada, it’s just over 3%, which means 97% of all homes are in the hands of BCers.
Okay, so immigration tanked during the pandemic. Purchases of local real estate by foreigners (including Americans as well as Chinese) dropped to almost zero. Meanwhile BC has in place its anti-foreigner tax, an anti-Albertan speculation tax and a vacant house tax, just to make sure the property market is tilted against non-residents.
The market must have tanked with all those Chinese guys locked out, right?
Actually since the barriers to foreign buyers were put in place, Van real estate has jumped about 40% in value. And last month? “Home buyer and seller activity reached unprecedented levels across Metro Vancouver in March,” says the realtor board. Sales were up 126% year/year with the benchmark price of a detached home jumping 18% to an historic $1.7 million.
“In March, residents bought and listed homes across our region at levels not seen before. This surge in activity is increasing upward pressure on prices. We’re beginning to see double-digit price gains for single-family homes and townhomes over the last 12 months,” said head realtor Taylor Biggar. “Today’s activity can be attributed, in part, to an economy that’s showing signs of recovery, historically low interest rates, high demand for space, and increased household savings.”
People believe what they wish to believe. If something supports the narrative in their brain, they’ll accept it. If the facts don’t fit, they’re discarded. With real estate on a tear and the wealth divide growing dangerously wide, the virus has dished up another reason for prejudice. After all, if someone has more than you they must have stolen it, right? It’s a stain on our nation than an entire provincial government has sunk to this level.
If nobody’s done this yet, Mr. Chen, let me say it. I apologize.
Now, here’s that bitchin’ turntable.
About the picture: “Here is a picture of my dog Xyla who loves to climb mountains,” writes Jason. “We try to get out almost every week, even during winter and contrary to popular opinion there isn’t usually enough snow to ski in the front ranges of the east Rockies by Calgary. This picture was taken on a mountain called Loder Peak, feel free to use it on your website. Thanks for writing almost every day, I wish more places wrote without worrying who they might offend!”
220 comments ↓
The people will always blame someone else but themselves. It’s been always like that.
Non-Affordable housing prices creates tension in society along with growing wealth inequity due to money printing, Wages stagnant, assets inflating.
Another interesting Interview on BNN: bond king Jeffrey Gundlach, founder and chief executive officer of investment manager DoubleLine Capital LP,
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/stimulus-could-lead-to-long-term-bond-bear-market-gundlach-1.1595878
Echoing many themes from the steerage section:
– Inflation on its way, over 3.5% now (not transitory)
– Governments will inflate the debt away like they did After WWII (they have no choice)
– US dollar in decline
– US exports down, imports up, ships leaving USA empty, China is benefiting from US stimulus as it is expanding their productive capacity
– Non-Affordable housing prices creates tensions in society, Homeless explosion in USA
– Money printing increases inequality, no increase in productive base, and no sign of wage inflation
Another smart guy describing the financial decline of the Western World.
On the ground in Occupied Kanada. Middle of last year I noted here that “Distancing” is the greatest Economic Weapon every to be unleashed upon us.
Saw this anecdote elsewhere
” I have a friend at Canada Post who works in warehouses, so I asked him why the mail is so insanely slow. Everyone is social distancing. Instead of having 6 men flanking a conveyor belt, they now only have 2. He said the ones who’ve always been lazy take even more advantage of all the supposed health restrictions. They used to be timed and given heck if their production slowed down too much. Now that’s all out the window. I imagine it’s pretty similar in any warehouse. ”
—Yeah, #stayhome. Our cities and towns have been economically bom’d out. This is a war. A multi dimensional attack.
Herded into the large UN Smart Cities? Another one:
“There’s a reason they don’t want you traveling. I just did a round trip from Vancouver to Golden and back. If you could see the devastation to every single business deemed “non essential” along the road you’d be heartbroken. They’re not just closed. They’re gone.”
” Salmon Arm, Sicamous, Revelstoke, Golden all along HWY 1 is For Lease signs. Restaurants all gone with exception of McD’s, Tims, A&W etc. Parks all closed. Go Karts, antique stores, etc. Gone.”
“We were out to Tofino area last wk & it’s so sad to see the businesses closed or suffering. And now their own province is limiting travel these small tourist towns will die.”
—
— Tourism is dead. Inter, intra-province travel is banned; inter alia . Cruise ships are turned away; all the airport hotels are permanent Kamps for returning citizens. This ain’t going away folks. Welcome to a war zone.
.Federal court refuses to end quarantine hotel rules (Canada)(nationalpost.com)
re: “It’s one thing to hate the commies in China. It’s not the same thing to diss a Canadian who looks Chinese.”
I’d added after commies, ‘CCP fascist Government’. The people in China are suffering under them also.
PMT seem to like them, or am I wrong about that?
All people mater. I’m not so sure the powers that be feel the same about any other human being.
Also agree strongly with , “If nobody’s done this yet, Mr. Chen, let me say it. I apologize.”
That house is a tacky eyesore and an embarrassment. You can’t buy class.
One of these days, bros… I’ll own a house like that
#4 Devil Anse
You missed the whole point of this post. Was that on purpose?
Nice gym
I’m from BC and I also apologize
The key word is “non-residents”. The satellite families are Canadian residents, it’s just that the money is not earned in Canada. I had a few friends working in professional jobs (doctors, engineers) in Vancouver who couldn’t afford a SF house there. Salaries just aren’t that high there, but yet there’s money to buy houses. Therefore one has to conclude the money is coming from outside (at least in Vancouver).
Also the mindset of immigrants from Asia are very different. They tend not to have RRSPs, etc … but go all in on housing. They lack trust in the government, and prefer something they can see and touch. So even if they are not very wealthy, they will pool all their family assets to buy something as soon as they can afford it. Of course not everyone does this, but the majority does.
What part of 0.56% do you not understand? – Garth
5 Devil – nobody who would buy that house cares what you think.
Area 27 Racetrack membership included. Sweet!!!
https://area27.ca/circuit/
Having taught students from PRC, Taiwan, Cdn born whatever for 20 yrs or so, they change their 1st name to an English friendly name, talk about POLITE and GENTEEL.
For example:
Bruce Lee is really Lǐxiǎolóng
Jackie Chan is Chénglóng
Jack Ma is Mǎyún
Either Google Translate English –> Simplified Chinese or if you don’t believe Google:
https://ltl-school.com/chinese-name-generator/
To solve the Realtor dilemma I suggest that poor Kevin Chen and Matt Zhang change to:
– Matteo Zucchetti
– Kevin Chiarelli (Kevin works in Italian too, e.g., Kevin Lasagna plays for Hellas Verona, and ya Mangia Cakes knock yourselves out on his last name…and it’s not the dish, it’s the pasta type name…try “PASTICCIO” even you self ordained “Cdn no nothing Conoscenti”)
Of course, they’ll torch Italian stores on Hastings and Bosa but WTF, we’re used to it for at least 70 years…share the “love”.
Look it, Chinese students are respectful, hard working, intelligent, want to succeed/entrepreneurial and they seem to like Italian Designer stuff (add have GOOD TASTE to the list)…
what is there not to love?
Canada does not make enough babies. If it wants to increase its GDP every year, then it needs immigrants plain and simple.
Canada is a nation of immigrants, always has been.
The people from China are as desirable (may be more?) as far as immigrants go from my 20 yrs of teaching them.
——————–
Emulate not Emasculate.
Add me to Garth’s apology list.
4 G on 04.27.21 at 1:45 pm
I’d added after commies, ‘CCP fascist Government’. The people in China are suffering under them also.
——————————————-
You named it:
FASCISM: corporations supported and directed for the benefit of the state. Literally “National Socialism” and the race card is also in play.
A new Emperor for life with Xi Jinping. It is more “Animal Farm” then the USSR ever was.
Goosestepping: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OlZ_5QHnq8
History may not repeat but it certainly rhymes.
Taiwan the “Sudetenland”, the Western World in a funk like haze, our wealthy establishment wanting appeasement and access at all cost, moving all productive capacity and heavy industry.
Wars are not fought with financial derivatives.
We are in deep trouble.
Spring is here. The season of rebirth and mating.
Which reminds me, we have not had any government advice about sex for many many months.
Are we allowed to have it? Should we wear masks while having it?
Or is the recommendation that people still keep making sweet sweet love to their imaginations?
To hell with the Parking turntable…
That ELEVATOR Rocks!
#5 Devil Anse on 04.27.21 at 1:46 pm
That house is a tacky eyesore and an embarrassment. You can’t buy class.
————————————————————–
A turntable for your car! The targetted audience is a Bitcoin/Dogecoin millionaire.
Garth, thank you for providing the data on this topic. You have touched on this for several years now and have provided many data points that clearly show the Vancouver price gains are overwhelmingly due to the behaviour of Canadians, and not foreigners.
I recall many posters prior comments stating that the market still must be driven by foreigners and their ‘dirty’ money. These posters are biased.
I’m a scientist. Follow the data and base your conclusions on clear analysis of the data. If the data changes, then you can adjust your conclusions.
What part of 0.56% do you not understand? – Garth
Permanent residents are not counted in the 0.56%. As I said, the money is earned from elsewhere and then funneled to Vancouver. Lots of cases with the husband working overseas and the wife with a PR in Canada.
O for the day when racist actions at home will no longer be attributed to a foreign country’s previous politician.
The real question is How many houses are bought with Canadian money? With so many immigrants and temporary residents like foreign students (nothing against them, I am an immigrant myself), the statistics presented above are irrelevant. The relevant statistic would be the percentage of properties bought with income earned in Canada. What is that number?
DELETED
If you want to blame a cohort for crazy real estate prices, how about old people?
They’re the ones not selling because:
a) They’re terrified to move into an old folks home due to Covid,
b) Now they can get a cheap Heloc or reverse mortgage and fund an otherwise dismal old age, and
c) Governments subsidize their house residency through enhanced home owner grants and deferred property taxes
If you want to hate someone it might as well be your own Grandma.
I like the car turntable and the patio. The rest of the house, yuck. It looks like a beached houseboat.
What about people that immigrate and THEN buy? That’s not considered foreign ownership, right? But having lots of money does help you immigrate. Simple things like hiring lawyer/consultant to help you navigate the details of various immigration programs. Then, if you have money t you are likely well connected and so it is easier to be able to secure a job offer (a work visa is a pretty sure way to permanent residency). Also, up to 2014 there was the “immigrant investor program” – basically buy a citizenship.
Something like 250,000 to 300,000 immigrants arrive each year to Canada. These are not the same poor souls that came over here 100 years ago. You need to show money in the bank, meet education requirements, have a profession and get enough points on your application to be considered. With this highly restrictive system money definitely gives one an advantage!
So how about it Mr.Turner, does 0.56% include those who recently acquired citizenship?
Just a disclaimer: not against Asians, don’t approve of the threats of violence either.
They’re called ‘Canadians.’ We need and welcome them. – Garth
House may not be to everyone’s taste. Personally, I like a “softer” and more natural feel. But, I bet it lives pretty damn well.
Regarding who buys what RE. Even if RE has been driven up by people of Chinese or any east Asian descent, that’s absolutely no reason for any kind of hate. It’s simply wrong.
super duper cat doc:
https://gem.cbc.ca/media/documentary-specials/episode-124/38e815a-012f10a43ea
WOOF!
H8RZ
It’s all green peoplekind’s fault – no, not Martians. I’m talkin’ ‘bout that envious loser staring at you in the mirror. Have some self-respect, get out there, and work for yours too! Alternatively, one could also feel blessed to be living in Canada, instead of buying annual passes to the self-pity galore express.
All aboard!!!
Couple of things:
1. Foreign ownership is but part of the story.. its collectible data, hence reported.. the issue here is foreign money not just ownership. For eg kids who study or work here, become PR and get funded to purchase homes.. people also have close ties to their homeland decades after immigrating so leveraging money from there would still count as local money
2. there are enough and more avenues for laundering as well as sending accounted for money, beneath the radar.. some are even advertised on kijiji.. not everything comes via the banking system to get reported
2. it neednt require vast majorities of sales to average out and determine the sale price of a property.. prices on a street are set by the last sale price.. it doesnt matter if its just 1-2%.. thats a misleading stat
When facts don’t fit prejudices, they are discarded. – Garth
“If nobody’s done this yet, Mr. Chen, let me say it. I apologize.”
Garth, honestly, I understand politeness, but…what are you apologizing for? You didn’t do anything.
Everyone is out there saying sorry, like sorry fixes it and makes it all better. Makes apologies especially empty coming from those who didn’t do anything wrong.
Sorry/apologizing is EXACTLY the same as those stupid hashtags. Absolutely useless.
Shooting in a city? #(insertcityname)STRONG
Boko Haram kidnaps 276 girls? Why would the First Lady bother to bring it up with her husband, the leader of the free world to do something about it – instead hashtag will solve it! #BringBackOurGirls – how did that work out? Still not brought back? More kidnappings?
Actions speak louder than words.
Sorry. Polite way to say…oh well.
But when it comes to apologies, nothing quite tops the emptiness of apologies like apologies offered by the government/politicians, especially for acts they had nothing to do with. I tune in on those to see how they act out sincerity.
Funny words apology and sincerity by the way.
apology – apo (for away) and logy (for sluggish)
sincerity – sin (for immoral act) and…well, who cares about the rest when the root is “sin”?
That house is obscene. When the naked woman appeared in the video I exited. That is a creepy marketing strategy and assumes the next buyer is male. Our society is in trouble: excessive greed, hate, racism. It’s quite sad.
Still buying FXI in small daily bites. Gotta believe that eventually, the sentiment will change, and these assets will get re-priced.
Off topic but I have to tell you all that is happening in India right now is a tragedy, a crisis of EPIC proportion – even THAT is understatement.
The only ones so far to do anything is Great Britain sending India oxygen concentrators, ventilators and such. Kudos UK and Boris Johnson. Now send some some AZ that you make as well if you can spare it.
The EU has pledged assistance but nothing concrete. But they will come thru I know it. For example, since Dec the EU has exported:
155M doses of vax to +85 countries, incl. Canada
The USA as usual big mouths, prefer to Schadenfreude report about the tragedy yet have done nothing. Talk about sending them 10M doses of AZ to with 50M “in process” this AM from BBC.
So what does Canada do?
Here’s $10M, go buy yourselves some stuff.
-Love Dr. Trudeau
I’d like to ask Chrysta the Impaler how she feels about not being reptant diverting AZ from India meant for Covax…how she feels today? Still make no apologies there Chrysta?
Send India what they need, now, equipment, vax.
Their test infection rate today is:
20%
Do the Math on 1.44B people. Even half of that is mind boggling and for once I can say truthfully:
Shocking.
BTW, India is vaxing like CRAZY. 3.36 MILLION doses administered today. 145.27 MILLION to date.
—————————-
The World and Canada have to do more, like yesterday. Throwing money at them is NOT the answer.
This today by NDTV, Cdn Doc/Prof trying to help out his country of birth, worth a watch for the data in REAL TIME they flash up in the sidebar, from this morning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yIpjdUTUm8&list=PLXB8ayGD8KsPvvfkJn5Z89Z0AqK2GfTdI&index=1
If you are susceptible, DO NOT watch this. This made me cry this morning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WHvrufyC4A&list=PLXB8ayGD8KsPvvfkJn5Z89Z0AqK2GfTdI&index=2
Can anyone explain why it is considered improper to refer to the Covid-19 virus as the China virus in the media yet perfectly appropriate to call the virus variants, the UK Covid virus variant, the Chile Covid virus variant, the South Africa Covid virus variant and now the India Covid virus variant. Seems a little hypocritical to me.
If the place is the guy’s dream home, why would he want to sell it? Maybe it’s not so dreamy after all.
Garth,
everyone but you seems to realize the effect of offshore money in real estate in Vancouver. It is quite obvious. Until recently, people could buy properties with numbered companies, which makes in impossible to determine ownership. Furthermore, people from China are getting locals to buy for them, so of course this doesn’t show up in the stats. Don’t insult people’s intelligence: the evidence for offshore money is overwhelming.
Classic. – Garth
White culture of the 1st world will not change for a long, long time. Honestly, until the white pigment in some humans color begins to darken again – total shame that the first firing synapses are those of stigma and stereotype. Thank, mom and dad, and grandparents!!! Oh, and CNN, CBC, HGTV and the lot ;)
As for the house – looks like a box just exploded.
Og
Not sure about either of these themes today Garth. The first relates to foreignness: is it the buyer, or the money, that matters? Is a permanent resident considered foreign? In order to determine whether there’s a “foreign” element to this, presumably the money and the connections of the buyer would need to be tracked as well. Is it significant, or of a magnitude to influence prices? Not sure, but I don’t think your 0.56% figure really captures all the possible facets.
Also, morality doesn’t aggregate. Just because there are a few individuals in a probably pretty but otherwise irrelevant town in BC who focus on the content of someone’s DNA doesn’t mean everyone does. It’s the law of large numbers applied in reverse – assuming a population will have the characteristics of a few of its members. You live in the most open, tolerant society in human history, and have nothing to apologize for.
When facts don’t fit prejudices, they are discarded. – Garth
+++++++++++++++++++++++
#22 Tyberius on 04.27.21 at 2:28 pm
DELETED
—————————————
Oh ok
You are an anti-vaxer. You will always be deleted here. – Garth
Do the haters believe in capitalism and free markets? Wealth coming to Canada is a good thing folks! Those foreign kids living in Canada are now Canadian — they like it here and will stay and contribute to Canada. I live in a predominantly Asian community NE of TO. Great hardworking neighbours with polite children. Yeah…let’s legislate that away — sheesh!
#34 catralph
Come on man. Here is your answer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlCYFh8U2xM
Window of weakness in equities is closing and the market has been robust including to the threat of a substantial cap gains tax increase last week. That was a big sign of resiliency compared with last two windows where declines of a few percent in SPX were seen in each.
Supportive flows will be back next week. If the Fed announcement tomorrow doesn’t cause too much strife, should see another round of heavy buying until the next departure of support in mid May.
PS: Forgot if it was mentioned here — inflows to equities over the past 5 months was greater than all 12 years prior.
Vancouver is one of the most expensive cities in the world relative to incomes, so it is quite obvious local money is not driving the market.
#12 Don Guillermo on 04.27.21 at 2:08 pm
Area 27 Racetrack membership included. Sweet!!!
https://area27.ca/circuit/
———
Sweet! I’ll buy it. It’ll give me a chance to take the Corolla for a spin. All the ladies will swoon as I drive by. Lol.
Oooooh yeeeeeaaaaah, baby!
With all due respect Garth, I don’t think you’ve addressed the issue. The meme seems to be that high BC house prices are caused by excessive money supply. So the fact that 97% of properties are owned by residents is interesting, but irrelevant. The question is not who owns property in BC but how did they pay for it? Do you have any information regarding that? Or will you simply decry me as a racist bigot for asking the question?
Let’s see. OSFI, the ones who supposedly regulate the banks, the Bank of Canada who theoretically manage money supply, CMHC who provide insurance for housing, the provinces who regulate realtors and credit unions and the municipalities that regulate land use and zoning and the political class that infest all of the above entities…none of them are to blame for housing access/affordability issues for Canadians.
However, facts notwithstanding, the Chinese are to blame?
Eby’s main concern is money laundering, for which the government was the unwitting (incompetent?) accomplice via casinos. The investment in real-estate was derivative of this activity.
Did some of this money originate in China? Probably but this has more to do with FINTRAC’s lax oversight with respect to currency flows compared to other developed countries. In fact, the main source of laundered money seems to have been the pot/hard drugs trans-border carry trade.
What the wealthy in China were trying to do was circumvent Chinese capital outflow controls and some of that money may have found its way to Canadian high end real-estate among other assets. It’s absurd to think it is the principal cause of not being able to afford a two-bedroom townhouse in Maple Ridge.
It’s not even the reason you can’t afford a mansion or whatever form of housing you were brought up to feel entitled to since the reason is pretty simple; you don’t have enough money to buy it and you don’t earn enough to borrow the money to buy it.
Loose credit never made things affordable as we are clearly witnessing. Scapegoating anyone who looks/sounds differently won’t fix a mess created by loose credit and lax enforcement/oversight.
#36 John on 04.27.21 at 3:01 pm
Garth,
everyone but you seems to realize the effect of offshore money in real estate in Vancouver. It is quite obvious. Until recently, people could buy properties with numbered companies, which makes in impossible to determine ownership. Furthermore, people from China are getting locals to buy for them, so of course this doesn’t show up in the stats. Don’t insult people’s intelligence: the evidence for offshore money is overwhelming.
Classic. – Garth
______________________________________
…”the evidence for offshore money is overwhelming.
”
I’m always curious when someone alludes to the ‘dirty money’ angle when it comes to RE prices. Would love to know what this statement means. What evidence are you talking about? Are you talking about the handful of RE transactions that possibly occurred involving undeclared dollars? Against the tens of thousands of actual RE transactions that took place between locals?
If 95% + (plus) RE transactions are between locals, what exactly is the evidence that offshore buyers are driving up prices? I’m not trying to make fun here, I would like to know.
“ Three years ago just 2.4% of property purchases in British Columbia were made by foreigners. ” and you also say non-bc resident current ownership is around 3%. I would agree with you that these numbers would have little to do with wide market appreciation, especially in 2016, if these numbers were evenly distributed across the province. However in 2016, the VAST majority of these non-resident purchases were focus around Vancouver. This resulted in a largely asymmetrical seller/buyer ratio and a corresponding price increase. It was a huge factor during that year.
No Garth, here’s that bitchin’ turntable.
https://www.technics.com/us/products/reference-class/turntables.html
Plays Rock’n’Roll records, not lame Porsches, made by a company who polluted millions in cities with their lies about their cheating diesel engines. No to Porsche. No to VW. No to Audi. No to Mercedes.
Unforgivable.
Too many car companies with much better ethical behaviour make cars out there. No need to prostitute oneself to choose one from VW Group or Daimler, and have to pay for the pleasure as well.
A turntable for your car just screams, “I can’t drive!”
Plus, I can think of much better things to spend 12 Million on.
#16 crowdedelevatorfartz on 04.27.21 at 2:17 pm
To hell with the Parking turntable…
That ELEVATOR Rocks!
@@@@@@@
What do you want to do in that elevator?
Duet with Mrs. Fartz perhaps?
…I guess what I’m saying is…quit squeezing the but cheeks together and let out some details!
I have to wonder why the entire continent of Africa is mysteriously missing from the wonderful multi cultural mosaic we enjoy here in Canada?
There must be some serious racism going on deep within our ministry of mass migration.
https://www.facebook.com/moe.sheikh.562/posts/1365291973852592
Can you spell bubble?
Anti-Asian racism is also largely reported in Ontario.
An “inconvenient truth” not to be mentioned apparently
Nice Houseboat!
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/canada-has-the-most-overvalued-housing-market-in-world-chart/
https://images.app.goo.gl/U4NV6QSAQv8b1noH9
DELETED
“current witch-hunt inquiry into laundering”
———————————————-
The U.S. State Department disagrees.
https://globalnews.ca/news/5102137/us-canada-major-money-laundering-country/
U.S. deems Canada ‘major money laundering country’ as gangs exploit weak law enforcement
#40 Ken on 04.27.21 at 3:05 pm
Do the haters believe in capitalism and free markets? Wealth coming to Canada is a good thing folks! Those foreign kids living in Canada are now Canadian — they like it here and will stay and contribute to Canada. I live in a predominantly Asian community NE of TO. Great hardworking neighbours with polite children. Yeah…let’s legislate that away — sheesh!
—————————————-
Are you sure you want a true free market in Canadian real estate? I don’t think you quite understand what that would entail.
Racism unfortunately is in every province Garth, including the nice one you live in. I live in BC and I’d like to think that most people are not this way and a few bad eggs spoil it for everyone else. You come across as anti BC sometimes?
I have lived in BC, for the past 31 years, and to me, you have noticed the difference in people’s attitudes in this time.
You have Alberta visitors vehicles keyed, one young lady with Ontario plates, had that happened to her last month in North Vancouver.
At one time 70 plus years ago, policy’s were put against the Chinese people. And for years (expect for the past few), a point was made to celebrate our Chinese Culture and that was done with smiles. Actions now days are troubling.
For myself I wear a USA T-shirt as I use to do a lot of business their, and I think highly of them. I walk into a barbershop in Courtenay, and owner sees my shirt and immediately starts slagging Americans. I go over to my neighbors, same reaction.
You think what the hell happened to this Province. Maybe time to move back to Alberta.
Garth…Ok…i come out and admit it!
Im prejudice!!!…against those wacky central bankers and their tunnel vision and that awful cinco Fant type of “yes-man ” behavior they have with their political friends in high places.
Seems theyre a different breed from the ones 20 years ago…
#23 Leftover on 04.27.21 at 2:32 pm
If you want to blame a cohort for crazy real estate prices, how about old people?
They’re the ones not selling because:
a) They’re terrified to move into an old folks home due to Covid,
b) Now they can get a cheap Heloc or reverse mortgage and fund an otherwise dismal old age, and
c) Governments subsidize their house residency through enhanced home owner grants and deferred property taxes
If you want to hate someone it might as well be your own Grandma.
————————————
Also, in BC, people over 55 are allowed to legally evade property taxes. A pretty despicable, discriminatory policy against the young.
#33 Dolce Vita on 04.27.21 at 2:53 pm
Heartwrenching. :(
https://globalnews.ca/news/7812541/nova-scotia-announces-almost-100-new-covid-19-cases-active-total-tops-400/
———
What are you guys and gals up to over there? Are ya tryin to catch up to Toranta?
Garth, is very sad that Mr. Chen under attack. He’s live here and paying taxes like other Canadians.
He should put in front of house poster – I’m a Canadian, I pay taxes!
I’m thinking reason for hate is that Canada is #1 in laundering money around the globe accordingly independent researches and the best country for parking illegal money. Most of this money coming from rich Asia people. Canada do almost nothing to stop it. Illegal money sharply increasing RE price, b’s people can pay any price for RE. This is the problem.
If in my area houses cost, for instance, in average 500K and suddenly somebody pay 600K – all prices immediately will be 600K without any reason – just b’s somebody bought for this price.
Money laundering – what is the problem. In Canada – no solution.
#36 John on 04.27.21 at 3:01 pm
Garth,
everyone but you seems to realize the effect of offshore money in real estate in Vancouver. It is quite obvious. Until recently, people could buy properties with numbered companies, which makes in impossible to determine ownership. Furthermore, people from China are getting locals to buy for them, so of course this doesn’t show up in the stats. Don’t insult people’s intelligence: the evidence for offshore money is overwhelming.
Classic. – Garth
__________
John nailed it. Garth is completely wrong and in denial.
So few are willing to speak up about what is actually going on. Canada has become driven economically by a money-laundering real estate economy. Even a couple of percentage points is enough to tilt markets.
That is a fact.
More data and less emotion would be helpful. – Garth
What about percentage of residential real estate owner by Canadian corporations with Canadian nominee directors and foreign undisclosed shareholders?
That moves market real estate values? Another myth. – Garth
Said property assessed at $2.5 million, offered at nearly $13 million… located entirely in high hazard area susceptible to landslides. A potential buyer would do well to study the South Okanagan alluvial soils which some old timers there refer to as “loon shit.” Great stuff until water is added to it at which point it turns into pancake batter. Houses in such areas are one broken water main, sewer line or a malfunctioning irrigation system away from from disaster. And Penticton is no stranger to such events. https://globalnews.ca/news/7261533/slope-failure-state-of-local-emergency-penticton/
I’m sure this wonder of a design is engineered to withstand such events… Nevertheless, don’t covet.
The trashing of others’ choices and achievements here today is beyond interesting. Says a lot about us. – Garth
That house has a nice view until someone subdivides and builds on that empty lot between it and the lake.
DELETED
Garth,
I don’t know why you decided to not post my comments.
Because you are a bigot. Go away. – Garth
#41 WHO on 04.27.21 at 3:19 pm
#34 catralph
Come on man. Here is your answer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlCYFh8U2xM
————————————————————-
Good reply #41 WHO
The House of Commons Health Committee has voted unanimously to issue a formal summons to one of the World Health Organization’s senior advisers to testify about the group’s contested response to COVID-19 (Canadian Epidemiologist Bruce Alyward) but he’s avoiding Canada.
People have short term memory and as Garth put it, “People believe what they wish to believe. If something supports the narrative in their brain, they’ll accept it. If the facts don’t fit, they’re discarded.”
Big Tech likes to silence criticism of CCP because it is a huge market they want a piece of.
This is important news on the demographic front. China’s population wasn’t expected to peak until around 2030. In fact, it already appears be falling.
An aggressive, nuclear power in decline within a decreasingly globalized world – not a rosy scenario for geopolitical relations.
https://nationalpost.com/news/world/china-to-report-first-population-decline-since-1949-despite-relaxing-one-child-policy
“If nobody’s done this yet, Mr. Chen, let me say it. I apologize.”
Respect the sentiment and second it.
It takes ages to build trust and respect. Better to work how we can make Canada better than hating someone for how they look.
Thanks Garth.
Racism in all forms is disgusting and should not be tolerated in any civilized society.
So why is it that Hamilton is offering the vaccine to anyone over 18 who is … not white?
https://mobile.twitter.com/cityofhamilton/status/1386030892007706629
Why aren’t they being called out for this blatant display of institutional racism?
Because infection rates are higher among racialized communities. Duh. – Garth
#74 Squire
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Oh that WHO…I think the punchline for me personally has been WHO sending in “scientists” 1-year after outbreak to investigate source of outbreak. Then leaving Wuhan, where a BSL-4 lab exists, they quickly declared – LAB ESCAPE NOT LIKELY SCENARIO. NOT REALLY POSSIBLE. NOT WORTH INVESTIGATING EVEN because there are so many other theories.
That WIV lab by the way has done bat coronavirus research since 2005, and in 2015 published scientific peer-reviewed research paper bragging about gain of function experiments for bat-coronaviruses so they could finally be made to infect human cells and HeLa. The way they did this was to combine bar coronavirus with SARS.
China has had many “lab escapes” of course, especially this side of 2000. Hey, why would WHO even bother investigating a lab escape here? Not like they’re scientistic who should consider all possibilities, right? Not like science is supposed to be objective and question everything.
Wonder why the dude is selling? Is he sensing a capital gains tax increase on the horizon? A dude who can accumulate this kind of wealth for a “cottage” gotta be smart.
#70 Nemo on 04.27.21 at 4:43 pm
“The trashing of others’ choices and achievements here today is beyond interesting. Says a lot about us. – Garth”
Oh my goodness, was that really meant for me? I happen to own a view property located in similar soils and, unfortunately, know first hand the advantages and disadvantages of such houses. And as an owner of a home located in high hazard area I say again: don’t covet.
That’s the funny thing about money laundering. It isn’t meant to show up in the official stats, so using anything official to say that isn’t a factor is probably prone to failure.
And as others have said, there’s always a front person who will have the right documentation to not be counted as a foreign buyer. To turn a blind eye to this is daft, even if it is very hard to quantify / value.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-48231558
They are hammering the Least Coast (aka ‘East Kanada’ – after the virtual Berlin Wall went up).
Still, many would welcome the UBI there. Better than EI. Ps. this is only for 2 weeks!!
Compliance with the Rules is essential. Comrade, you know what to do when you spot otherwise
.Nova Scotia announces two-week province-wide shutdown
.Police want public to help them identify potential COVID-19 rule breakers | CBC News Atlantic Canada
—-
— Watch our food supply.
N.B. Farmers Face Higher Costs With Return Of Temporary …https://huddle.today › n-b-farmers-face-higher-costs-wit…
18 hours ago — N.B. Farmers Face Higher Costs With Return Of Temporary Foreign Workers … Temporary foreign workers have begun arriving in New Brunswick for another .
— Italy. Yep everything in the New System has been inverted. Healthy people no longer exist; you have no right to be healthy.
https://www.thelocal.it/20210427/green-pass-heres-how-italys-coronavirus-immunity-card-works/
Do you really think foreigners can’t get around Canada’s useless rules?
#21 macduff on 04.26.21 at 2:58 pm
Garth, my financial advisor is really pushing for me to take CPP at 70, but I like your logic and think that 60 might make more sense (for me it would pay about $720 at 60 yoa). Can you provide talking points again about this?
(a) Get a new advisor. – Garth
—-
Really? He’s that pushy? Or… something wrong with his rationality? Fire him? Ouch!
Here’s an interesting read:
https://www.nia-ryerson.ca/s/FINAL-NIA_GettheMostfromtheCanadaQuebecPensionPlansbyDelayingBenefits.pdf
It’s a recent (Dec 2020) report entitled “Get the Most from the Canada & Quebec Pension Plans by Delaying Benefits: The Substantial (and Unrecognized) Value of Waiting to Claim CPP/QPP Benefits”
The report is written by B.J. MacDonald, PhD, FCIA, FSA, Director of Financial Security Research at the National Institute on Ageing, Ryerson University. The report makes the point that for Canadians in reasonable health who can afford to wait, that often means delaying the start of their CPP/QPP benefits for as long as possible. Two takeaways from the executive summary:
1. “A major theme underlying this paper’s findings is the need for the Canadian financial services industry to fundamentally rethink its approach to advising Canadians who are nearing retirement, including a major change in how to address the CPP/QPP uptake decision.”
2. “… fewer than 1% of Canadians choose to delay benefits to age 70. In fact, over the past decade, Canadians have most commonly taken their CPP/QPP benefits as soon as they are eligible – at age 60 – likely without considering the far-reaching financial effects of this decision. In doing so, they are unknowingly giving up substantial lifetime income – as well as protection against financial market risks, the possibility of high inflation, living longer than anticipated and the anxiety of potentially running out of money in retirement.”
Elsewhere in the report: “…an average female Canadian retiring in 2020 with the maximum CPP benefit can expect to lose $155,000 in lifetime income by taking CPP at age 60 in 2020, rather than at age 70 in 2030 (in current dollars).”
IMHO, the report clearly takes a contrarian stand to Garth’s “point of view”. Nothing unusual for experts to disagree with one another.
Dear us, ordinary mortals !
#56 Linda on 04.26.21 at 4:48 pm raises an additional hypothetical issue:
what if there’s a CPP rules change between now and then?
hum… yes, but one must also keep in mind that sometimes leaders listen when Madame Solange Denis Loranger speaks up: “Tu nous as menti, Charly Brown!” (1986)
Garth Back in 2006 we learned that over 15,000 Canadian citizens had returned to live in Lebanon on a full time basis. When a conflict with Israel escalated these citizens asked the Government of Canada to arrange for their safe return to Canada. You referred to these refugees as ‘citizens of convenience’ and questioned why Canada should cover the full cost of their return air fare.
Statistics Canada has identified that over 30,000 Citizens of Canada who had been permanent residents for less than five years returned to live in their country of origin in 2020.
It would be interesting to determine how many homes are currently owned by permanent residents of Canada who are living in their country of origin or in another country of their choice. The statistics you quoted for BC may not include all purchases made by permanent residents of Canada who do not actually reside in Canada.
I am not suggesting this might be a very large number but based on the Lebanon situation in 2006 my eyes were certainly opened to the number of dual citizens that owned property in Canada but actually lived elsewhere, in Hong Kong for example.
You certainly tweaked my curiosity when you raised the issue dual citizenship with Parliament back in the day and it might be useful to examine just how many properties in Canada are currently owned by ‘citizens of convenience’.
The best feature of that house is the twin tubs. My buddy and I can get naked, crack a cold one, hop in, and still be socially distant while we watch the ladies on the beach.
I could care less what foreign country/race the funds are coming from, but there is for sure a fomo because of the fact that we know foreigners can often outbid locals and drive up real estate.
I can assure you it’s the same fomo people in NY, LA, SF, London, Cape Town, Sydney and many other country/cities have/had. It’s a very real fomo that has resulted in some seriously unreal consequences.
Perhaps what we should call it is a big fat lie by the real estate cartels to drive up prices. It is. Class action law suit anyone?
As long as the earth has existed, sadly someone has to take the blame for things going south for the masses…
In this cases, Asians in B.C.
Sad but true.
This post was utterly predictable. The implementation of the increased foreign buyers tax to 20% was evidence based – not anecdotal. The implementation of legislation to ensure transparency over beneficial owners was evidence based – not anecdotal.
For years, the impact of foreign capital was categorically dismissed as racist, xenophobic, and bigoted by the development industry, real estate industry, and all those that benefited from marketing shelter overseas. It took a deep dive after a decade of denying the influence of foreign capital on the complete disjuncture between local incomes and local prices in Vancouver to show what happened.
In 2017, over 20% of all new build condos in Vancouver, Coquitlam and Burnaby were bought with foreign money, all the while the real estate and development industry crying about an absence of supply. The supply data showed 1.5 to 2 housing units were been started and built for every new person coming to the urban centres. When the CMHC tried to say that less than 2% of homes were bought by foreign capital, they were forced to retreat and issue a new report showing that their methodology was inherently flawed – they called condo building and asked management how many people they thought were foreign residents. Hence, the feds allocating 50 million to the CMHC for studying the impact of foreign capital.
The 3 year mark you cite comes AFTER the imposition of demand side measures that curbed the flow of foreign capital. First, the foreign buyers tax increased from 15-20 % scared some foreign capital away; then the removal of beneficial ownership scared others away; and then increased provincial co-ordination with CRA scared away proxy buyers that tried to circumvent the rules with pre-sales.
Odd, how sales and activity dropped after all these new measures were implemented at a time with historically low interest rates and tons of new supply coming on the market. Even the development industry shut up after the hard data showed the undeniable impact of foreign capita and have stayed quiet for years – no more calling everyone racist and xenophobic.
And just as predictable, the industry will start up again very soon with their calls for massive increases in supply all the while selling those same units overseas. So please, let’s not stick our head in the sand on this issue.
That being said, the massive price appreciation in ALL communities across Canada in the past year is a purely made in Canada problem. It was our BOC that smashed rates, it was our citizens that flocked like locusts to every community to bid prices up beyond local levels. The hinterland-metropole dynamic played out in hundreds of communities in Canada by the hands of Canadians.
But….once the restrictions are lifted, get ready for FOMO 2.0 from foreign capital. Watch for the pumper and fear ads from the development industry on this in the coming months.
Garth, forget the semantics….money is coming from overseas and is driving up house prices. Period. This is doesnt necessarily mean the money is coming from “foreigners” that dont reside in Canada but are purchasing property here.
This is what many people are upset about. You simply cant have average house prices at $1.7m in a geographic area where the average household income is around $80k. The money to buy these homes just doesnt appear out of the blue.
Of course we welcome new Canadians and we all condemn the racist and violent actions of whoever emailed Mr Chen.
Ever heard of the property ladder? That and cheap money let people reach for the moon – which they are. – Garth
Because infection rates are higher among racialized communities. Duh. – Garth
Some white people live in racialized postal codes too.
The “Kung Flu” is overtly racist, but I’m not sure about the “China Virus”. Many viruses have been named for the country they are perceived to have started in, perhaps most famously the Spanish Flu (interestingly, I have read that there is some evidence the Spanish Flu actually originated in the United States). If it had originated in England, would it be racist to call it the “English Virus”? Personally I wouldn’t refer to it that way, but I don’t think it’s racist. Nor do I think it’s racist to investigate whether this virus was engineered at the Wuhan lab – a significant number of credible people have suggested it, including virologists.
As for the treatment of the listing agents, that is very unfortunate and uncalled for. It’s quite possibly a sign of the cleaving we’re witnessing in society (where central banks pump huge asset bubbles for wealthy people, while everyone else sees their real wages erode/cost of living increase due to increasing inflation). Unfortunately we’re going to see more – and worse – of this behavior if I’m correct that the central banks intend to inflate away and/or monetize the massive debt that has been accumulated. In a globalized world, wages won’t keep up, and the middle class will gradually wither way.
I wouldn’t expect any interest rate increases any time soon. The Bank of Canada should be renamed to “The Bank of Inflation, Recklessness, Asset Bubbles and Wealth Disparity”.
When you are not to blame for the problems you face then some one else is. I didn’t jack up home prices and rents or suppress wages and hours. Someone did though.
Blaming the victims evidently is PC.
#88 When Will They Raise Rates? on 04.27.21 at 5:31 pm
Because infection rates are higher among racialized communities. Duh. – Garth
Some white people live in racialized postal codes too.
—
WWTRR, the statistics utterly scream that people of colour tend to work more service oriented jobs in some areas and are more likely to be infected. They are also more likely to have bad outcomes when they do become infected. Furthermore, they are more likely to have cultural norms that put many people in one dwelling. Prioritizing those communities, even if it’s a crude approach, will get more shots in arms of people who are exposed and that helps everyone, even you.
Everyone should take joy whenever anyone is immunized because it actually helps you, personally, in the long run. It’s been a long pandemic and everyone is tired of it, but enough with the me me me me attitudes.
It boggles my mind that, when any subject of race comes up here, a seeming majority of commenters trip all over themselves to either try to show that there is no racism, or that if there is, it’s against white people and if you are a man, you are really hard done by. And even if there is a little bit of racism in the world, we shouldn’t do anything to alleviate it or even push back against it. Gross.
No, I’m not opening up this debate again although I expect many of you will aim to get your jabs in. Not the jab I’m looking for these days.
Joseph R. on 04.27.21 at 2:19 pm
A turntable for your car! The targetted audience is a Bitcoin/Dogecoin millionaire
———-
Saw one go in a house on vic drive. Small modest house , tiny lot. Garage door almost at the sidewalk Either spin it or have to reverse out into traffic on a sometimes busy ,narrow street . Neato.
BC’s NDP government(s) have always been an embarrassment to the good people of the province. Mind you, all the money laundering began on Christie’s watch. NDP just saw a cash cow in not stopping it.
I do not believe North Americans appreciate the potential disruption China represents. I believe this lack of appreciation it is mainly because North Americans in general are myopic, self indulged and purposefully ignorant of world issues. This ignorance fueled by an entitled “exceptionalism attitude ” displayed by North Americans is stunning. In the end , we have become a “silly peoples ”
Bill Maher sums it up well :
https://biggeekdad.com/2021/03/americans-are-a-silly-people/#.YIetcpbRJTE.yahoomail
#19 alexinvestor on 04.27.21 at 2:23 pm
Permanent residents are not counted in the 0.56%
#25 Immigrant man on 04.27.21 at 2:34 pm
What about people that immigrate and THEN buy?
****************************
Last I checked around 5% of Canadians are indigenous, so… yeah most sales are between immigrants or the children of immigrants.
Or do you have a special definition of “Canadian” that you’d like to share?
The Epoch Times which is owned by Chinese Immigrants calls Covid 19 virus the CCP Flu. This is an accurate homage to the chaos the CCP have caused. If you want to show courage call out the evil that organization is. Garth shooting at Trump is lame. Show some intestinal fortitude.
The EP is a rag. – Garth
How much is enough?
At what point is someone satiated financially?
Just a thought…
What’s it cost to keep that house?
My CPP gonna cover it?
If I get a job I’ll never be home…..
Husband is a lawyer in BC and most of his clients are not overseas buyers but Canadians buying up 2nd and/or 3rd income properties. Some are even buying in with family members who cannot afford to buy on their own!
Blame FOMO.
…cheap money let people reach for the moon – which they are. – Garth
—
Read a funny comment to the effect that we aren’t reaching for the moon anymore, we can now consider ourselves on the moon.
I think there is money laundering in the Vancouver market but it is mostly coming from drugs.
I think it is good for people to remember that unless your last name is Running Bear chances are pretty good you descended from immigrants too.
The house is a disgusting representation of everything wrong with society – anyone that desires to live in such a place is sick, plain and simple- live modestly amongst the masses if you have money – this idiot is making himself a target for so many haters – the term douche bag comes to mind
Notice what I titled this post? – Garth
0.56% of “deals attributed to foreigners” is not the same thing as 0.56% of *dollars* being from foreign sources.
It doesn’t matter how low interest rates are. The prices are not just leverage on paycheques from local earnings. Two buttons on a calculator can demonstrate that.
Sadly, BC has a long history of racism against Japanese, Chinese and South Asians. One of my neighbors, when I was growing up was Japanese who originally was from BC and was interned during WWII. He was a boy as back then but he told me about the extreme racism back in those days in BC. I did some research and it turns out that the racism in BC was not limited to Japanese, but to other minorities such as first nations, Chinese, South Asians and Others. I guess things have not changed much in BC.
I find Chinese people some of the most modest, humble and intelligent people. A lot of my colleagues are Chinese Canadians.
Sure there are some rich jerks but that is not the point, jerks come in all colors and ages. Jealousy is the worst thing to have and in BC it is mixed up with racism to make it even worse.
I apologize as well, this is a home grown problem created by BoC with ridiculously cheap money but people would rather blame someone else than themselves.
DELETED
# 104
YUP hate the type of people that flaunt wealth – there said it
#95 espressobob on 04.27.21 at 6:27 pm
How much is enough?
At what point is someone satiated financially?
Just a thought…
———–
I may have enough financially, but so do many other blogdogs- Wrk.Dover for one, although all situations are different.
However… I get great pleasure from big investing wins, and spend hundreds of hours a year keeping up to speed on finances, markets, research and business. It is a greatly fulfilling hobby.
So while the acorn stockpile seems sufficient, I also intend to play the game forever. Like Warren and Charlie.
I am all for anyone buying homes that have attained the funds legally. But we have to acknowledge that there is no real beneficial ownership process to validate who is actually buying / benefitting from the home. Foreign ownership rates dropped substantially after the tax because of how easy it is to buy with a numbered company, or in someone else’s name. The AML and BO on homes sales is ridiculously lenient for such a large financial transaction.
There is also a serious money laundering problem in YVR and homes are a ridiculously easy way to wash money. Because lack of BO. Lots of reporting on this locally.
Again, I don’t care, but the locals call BS on those numbers. And even the numbers that were posted, in some regions – Richmond, West Van – the foreign ownership was 10-20%. 2-10% YOY adds up pretty quick and it it just takes one or two high sales to move a whole segment of the market.
Canadians like to think we are free of prejudice, but unfortunately our history abounds with shameful examples. Canada had a ‘head tax’ that was imposed on the Chinese workers who were recruited to build the national railway system. We also incarcerated Asians during the World War, ‘just in case’ they ‘might’ be sympathetic to ‘the enemy’. This regardless of whether said Asians had been born/raised in Canada. Residential schools, check. And let’s not forget the charming practice of sterilizing those who were judged mentally or even morally ‘unfit’. Point being, regardless of proclamations of equality/inclusion etc. we still have a long way to go.
The featured property is a beauty, though I’m not a fan of the marble flooring. Not because it isn’t beautiful, but because it can be very slippery. Looks to have a magnificent lake view/access to boot. Yes, it is expensive but at least it has some justification for being that pricey. Comparing it to the stucco manse featured a couple days ago that was listed for over $4 million & is now ‘only’ $2.9 million I’d say the Penticton property is the better buy:)
@#102 Faron
“Read a funny comment to the effect that we aren’t reaching for the moon anymore, we can now consider ourselves on the moon.”
++++
And its a Full Moon….
Immigrant Investor Program – Business Immigration To Canada
This Program Has Been Permanently Closed
The Immigrant Investor Program is designed to attract qualified business people who are able to contribute to Canada’s growth by making a significant investment into Canada’s economy. Investors who meet all the requirements of this Canadian immigration program, along with their immediate family members, may obtain their Canadian permanent resident visas (so long as they are not found inadmissible for medical or security reasons).
I don’t know Garth…maybe it’s time for a comments hiatus for a month or two….might flush away some of the greeblies.
it seems to be getting worse…you are giving some unsavory people an unnecessary podium.
There is the CBC website comments for that!
The EP is a rag. – Garth
+++++
While I agree it’s best use is as Fish Wrapper.
The newest paranoid screed “Druthers” belongs at the bottom of a Bird cage
It seems that deleting information on social media can now get one into trouble. Any lawyer types here who can shed some legal light?
—
“Statements in this site are substantiated with facts that will stand in a court of law. Informed Consent requires a flow of information. Click on the hyperlinked sections to direct you to primary sources such as CDC, WHO, FDA documents.
Anyone trying to take down this site will be named as codefendant in Nuremberg 2.0 for being an accomplice to crimes against humanity. That includes social media. Lawyers are standing by.”
—
https://nojabforme.info/
Apt title, Garth. Q.E.D.
#72 Trojan House on 04.27.21 at 4:47 pm
Deleted? Others have made the same comment on here.
#41, it doesn’t answer my queston
#20 Sail Away on 04.27.21 at 2:27 pm
“O for the day when racist actions at home will no longer be attributed to a foreign country’s previous politician.”
The larger context of Trump’s unfortunate comments was that he blamed the Chinese government for not being forthcoming with details of what was going on in the early months of the pandemic, thereby not enabling other countries to take measures before the virus got here and everywhere. I don’t think he made the case that individual Chinese people were responsible for anything. It was still an unfortunate comment he should not have used.
But the human mind is a weird thing. We all live in the same world but are all seeing a different movie. Even when speaking the same language, we only seem to hear what we want to hear. It’s like the Charlotteville hoax. If you watch the clip popular on the left, Trump is clearly racist because he said there are “fine people” on both sides, referring to the question of confederate statues. They stop the tape before he goes on to denounce white supremacists.
But Biden gets a free pass when he forgets what he was talking about and ends a sentence with “you know, the thing” or starts talking about “cornpop”.
When watching CNN it is important to remember that what you are seeing is what they want you to see, not what actually happened. The more divisive they can make it, the more ads they sell. That’s why when a 16 year old black girl gets shot while actively threatening another black girl with a knife CNN has on guests to argue that the police shouldn’t be intervening in harmless knife fights among children. They totally forget to mention that Ma’Khia Bryant did not look like a child and she had another girl pinned to a car and was threatening her with a knife. They do not mention that the officer had a duty to protect the soon to be victim, who was also black. Instead they try and twist it to match the narrative that there is an epidemic of white police officers randomly shooting black people, which the stats do not bear out. But the coverage sparks a bunch more BLM protests complete with mostly peaceful looting and arson, which captures more viewers and sells more ads.
It is time for us all to admit that we are unwilling actors in a giant version of the Truman Show, with Jeff Zucker acting as the director. The rest of us are alternately viewers of this giant hoax, or occasionally if unfortunate, one of the stars like Jim Carrey.
#93 Faron on 04.27.21 at 5:59 pm
#88 When Will They Raise Rates? on 04.27.21 at 5:31 pm
Because infection rates are higher among racialized communities. Duh. – Garth
Some white people live in racialized postal codes too.
—
WWTRR, the statistics utterly scream that people of colour tend to work more service oriented jobs in some areas and are more likely to be infected. They are also more likely to have bad outcomes when they do become infected. Furthermore, they are more likely to have cultural norms that put many people in one dwelling. Prioritizing those communities, even if it’s a crude approach, will get more shots in arms of people who are exposed and that helps everyone, even you.
Everyone should take joy whenever anyone is immunized because it actually helps you, personally, in the long run. It’s been a long pandemic and everyone is tired of it, but enough with the me me me me attitudes.
It boggles my mind that, when any subject of race comes up here, a seeming majority of commenters trip all over themselves to either try to show that there is no racism, or that if there is, it’s against white people and if you are a man, you are really hard done by. And even if there is a little bit of racism in the world, we shouldn’t do anything to alleviate it or even push back against it. Gross.
No, I’m not opening up this debate again although I expect many of you will aim to get your jabs in. Not the jab I’m looking for these days
___________________________
Are there no poor white people living in small crowded homes, who work at high risk jobs in racialized postal codes?
Please.
You sir are a racist if you defend discriminating based on skin colour, plain and simple. And a hypocrite.
Hey Garth – been reading you for a long time now. Don’t always agree but appreciate your well thought out point of view and provocative insights.
I’m Chinese and spent the last 40+ years growing up on the West Coast. I’ve had more racist comments directed at me in the last five years than the 35+ that preceded it because of the housing situation. And I’ve had more in the last year than the 40+ before that.
I, for one, appreciate the apologies that people like you make – not because you personally offended me – but because you are acknowledging that the general society as a whole has accepted that it’s okay to make race based generalizations without care for its consequences. It’s these now-accepted societal ideas that are causing the most harm. Societal offences require societal apologies – whether it’s against BIPOC communities, misogyny or anything else. It’s not okay and it’s getting worse.
It’s interesting to me that I live in a neighborhood with a Caucasian woman whose husband lives in California most of the year working at a huge tech firm. They own multiple vacation properties in BC. They are heralded in our community while I’ve listened to neighbours complaining about the off-shore money driving up the prices of our real estate. I don’t doubt that some Asians are buying properties and driving up prices but please check your prejudices before stigmatizing a racial group. What makes my Caucasian neighbours successful for doing the same thing that we criticize Asians for doing?
I’m white/wife Asian/kids mixed – no issues here with hate (Ontario)…perhaps this is just a few whackjobs?
With housing, in the 90s, with the Hong Kong handover to China, many people took their money out and bought Van housing and prices rose. When the stats say “2.4% of purchases made by foreigners, etc” that would not capture new Canadian residents from abroad buying houses.
Supply and demand – 300,000 immigrants/year drives demand higher making housing cost more. Not the only factor but it is a factor…
The EP is a rag. – Garth
Most members of the swamp feel that way.
Tom
Pretty impressive! But that bedroom wallpaper has got to go! And those exposed I-beams are dust magnets. What were they thinking? But… with 5% down, let me see, what would be the monthly payments with current fantastically low interest rates?
DELETED
#35 Editrix on 04.27.21 at 2:56 pm
“If the place is the guy’s dream home, why would he want to sell it? Maybe it’s not so dreamy after all.”
He was probably short GameStop.
Deeply appreciate the sentiments expressed, Garth. The use of racism as a self serving ploy to whip up mob mentality, as Trump did, is SO wrong.
As far as David Eby goes, I look forward to the results of inquiries into gambling ‘irregularities,’ under Cristy Clarke’s administration. It’s really important to clear up questions regarding international organized crime, regardless of place of origin.
If those measures weren’t undertaken by Eby, the seething anger of those who have been left behind, in terms of housing, could have been much worse.
You know the main witness about govt complicity and corruption with regards gambling, has been missing since March, right?
*****************
“Ross Alderson, the former director of anti-money laundering (AML) at the B.C. Lottery Corporation (BCLC) has been missing since March.”
https://www.gamblingnews.com/news/bc-government-figures-call-allegations-of-criminal-ties-offensive/
I sure wish I could know how many homes in Canada are bought for cash with money won on any of those weekly lotteries that are so hard to win? Somebody out there must have boughten an expensive house in Canada somewhere? Over the last few decades maybe? Anyone?- Where does all that won money sit?
I thought this was a discussion… Why delete what you don’t agree with? Seems one sided…
My blog, dude. I do not give I’ve space here for prejudice. – Garth
#143 Faron on 04.27.21 at 11:23 am
What do Germans put in a weisse?
————–
It’s wheat.
Usually only brewed in summer.
When I moved to Ottawa 30 years ago, my first friend was of Asian heritage. Bless her soul,
#104 Doug t on 04.27.21 at 6:45 pm
The house is a disgusting representation of everything wrong with society – anyone that desires to live in such a place is sick, plain and simple- live modestly amongst the masses if you have money – this idiot is making himself a target for so many haters – the term douche bag comes to mind
———
Heck, that’s a nice place. Fairly similar to my BIL and SIL’s place on Gull Lake near Red Deer, haha. Maybe I’ll rebuild our place to similar specs.
Why are you so angry at an inanimate object?
May as well scream at the weather.
#130 ‘just’ – as per the mighty Google, a very high percentage of lottery winners who won ‘big’ declare bankruptcy within a year! Or two at most. A million doesn’t go as far as it used to, that is for sure. Especially when the ‘average’ home costs more than that.
Notice how the C$ is now closing in on .81, only because the US $ printing presses are working over time …..less bang for your $ if you are a foreigner buying Canadian real estate …
Has the law enforcement been able to identify the individuals responsible for the threat and determine motivation? Who , why ?
With that much wealth involved anything can happen.
There should be a video series titled “interior Decorators Gone Wild”, this one would be outstanding for it. I wonder what the seller’s next house is going to look like.
I am not sure why everyone is getting bent out of shape because real estate agents with a Chinese sounding last name are selling it, I would assume that they are Canadian just like almost everyone that owns property in Canada is.
Right now in SK, decent farm land is selling for about $2 million per square mile. A small farm is 3 or 4 square miles, with a lot of rented land and a few million worth of equipment. Land rent is around about $40 to 60k per year per square mile, so a nice retirement income.
Perhaps the guy won a lottery or is a farmer that sold a bunch of land in SK and has always wanted to move to the Okanagan when he retired. Same with high priced houses in Vancouver and on the Island. I personally know several Canadians that have bought high priced property on Vancouver Island in the past few years.
The reason prices are high in the nice areas of BC is that they are a nice place to live, especially for retired people that have sold their property elsewhere and are tired of the horrible winters that exist in pretty much all the rest of Canada. They don’t have to deal with finding a job in a crappy job market so they don’t worry about their mortgage payments.
I know of many people that buy property in the nice retirement areas of BC when they are young and rent it out until they are ready to retire and then either sell it or renovate it and move in. Until recently it was possible to have the rent more or less pay your mortgage payments.
As for Covid, who cares where it came from, it is here, we have to deal with it. If we spent all the energy that is being spent on blaming people on something constructive we would be a lot better off.
Be like your GPS. Something weird comes up, recalculate, stay calm.
Thanks for the blog Garth
I would also like to apologize to Mr.Chen
Can I comment on the house
OMG!
Love the turn table and the elevator
Okay one last remark
Was that the designer in the tub!
Sadly no dog in the pictures
That video made my day!
Thanks!
Garth – can you please elaborate on where the percentage for the foreign ownership is coming from in your article? From self-reporting numbers to the Province of BC, which became a mandatory process after the foreign tax introduction? As some of your readers, I don’t believe this data is accurate representation of reality as no one meaningfully ever confirmed the ownership of the primary residence here in the last 5 years. And no agency is verifying accuracy of it for tax collection purposes too. So, it’s good as voluntary reporting can be.
Since we are relying on the data and facts here, then Stats Canada numbers are on the hate crime are worth looking into. In 2019, police reported 1,946 criminal incidents in Canada that were motivated by hate. Hate crimes accounted for less than 0.1% of the over 2.2 million police-reported crimes in 2019. Even we assume that hate crime quadrupled in 2020 versus 2019, we are still below 1%. From this perspective, we don’t have the hate crime problem in Vancouver, similar to the situation with the foreign ownership of the real estate which you’ve described in your article.
#117 Informed Consent
Thank you for the #1 post of useful information from the steerage section!
Freedom First
#122 When Will They Raise Rates? on 04.27.21 at 7:23 pm
Are there no poor white people living in small crowded homes, who work at high risk jobs in racialized postal codes?
Please.
You sir are a racist if you defend discriminating based on skin colour, plain and simple. And a hypocrite.
———————————
Correct, it is about wealth disparity and poverty not race.
A poor person has more in common with other poor people than with wealthy people of the same race.
The race card is being constructively used to distract from the Wealth Inequality problem, they want the population focused on race division rather then underlying problem in society which is massive and 100% “systemic” wealth inequity. Occupy Wall Street was the threat, BLM is just the distraction.
“Racism does not have a good track record. It’s been tried out for a long time and you’d think by now we’d want to put an end to it instead of putting it under new management. ” – ― Thomas Sowell
#121 nonplused
Trump still lives in the mind of some people rent free. It must be because of what Trump stood for. Some just don’t like it. I’d bet half of Canada would want a Trump about now.
DELETED (Anti-vax)
#142 dogman01
Truer words never spoken. Thanks for your comment.
#132 Ponzius Pilatus on 04.27.21 at 7:43 pm
#143 Faron on 04.27.21 at 11:23 am
What do Germans put in a weisse?
————–
It’s wheat.
Usually only brewed in summer.
—
So which of water, hops, barley and yeast is wheat? ;-)
Some countries have even put cardamon and orange peel in beer. European countries no less. What’s old is new.
Das ist nicht zeinen bier? (My german is 25 years rusty)
#122 When Will They Raise Rates? on 04.27.21 at 7:23 pm
Of course there are, but neither you nor I know the make-up of those postal codes. If you do, please share. It’s about maximizing impact and if it’s too complex for you suss out how that works here, that’s not my fault.
Canada is an immigration destination, there will be “off shore money” buying houses. This is NOT the problem.
the problem is that houses are now an financial asset, in crazy Canadians eyes, there is only one thing which always going up, it is called “houses”. Now local taxpayers, especially young generation, with average income can NOT afford average homes, and all level of governments are either actionless (Socks), or took ridiculous actions like foreign-buyer-tax.
the focus of any government actions should be around the multi-property ownership! increase the carrying cost and exiting cost of non-primary properties, and/or tie the carrying cost to income tax. It will be welcomed by single property home owners, by the young generation taxpayers, by new immigrants;
Anyone from PC/NDP here? take it to your election campaign strategy. you are welcome!
DELETED
Full Moon, Blogdogs!
Double your meds.
#146 Faron on 04.27.21 at 8:44 pm
#132 Ponzius Pilatus on 04.27.21 at 7:43 pm
#143 Faron on 04.27.21 at 11:23 am
What do Germans put in a weisse?
————–
It’s wheat.
Usually only brewed in summer.
—
So which of water, hops, barley and yeast is wheat? ;-)
——–
Instead of barley.
#136 Mr Canada on 04.27.21 at 8:11 pm
Notice how the C$ is now closing in on .81, only because the US $ printing presses are working over time …..less bang for your $ if you are a foreigner buying Canadian real estate …
—————————
Overheard, Chrystia to Justin on printing presses, “These go to eleven”.
#85 Do we have all the facts on 04.27.21 at 5:20 pm
RE: Dual Citizenship.
Agree.
I always have said that Dual Citizenships should be severely curtailed.
How can you swear allegiance to two countries?
A lot of haters out there – cool house, mos def not worth the asking price. It’ll sell. Have you forgotten the name of this blog?
However… I get great pleasure from big investing wins, and spend hundreds of hours a year keeping up to speed on finances, markets, research and business. It is a greatly fulfilling hobby.
——————
The Freud in me tells me that your confusing hobby with addiction.
Asian Canadians and Asian Americans are proof that culture, not genetics, is the primary determinant of the success of any subset of humans. Asian are over-represented in academic university programs, skilled professional jobs, and high income earners. Why? No, it’s not some sort of genetic predisposition to intelligence, the same as other groups of people’s’ under-representation in the same is not due to any limiting genetic factors. It’s culture and the corresponding attitude towards school, work, self control, and discipline. Asians have faced equal prejudices as many other visible minorities and yet have managed to succeed socially and economically. I would like to think that racism was all but extinguished back in the halcyon days of the early 00’s, but just when we’d almost gotten there we’ve suddenly become a re-tribalized people for whom race and gender seems to be the only topic worth public attention, as opposed to the real important things: Prosperity, individual liberty, economic opportunity, and social mobility based on the meritocratic content of one’s character. Guess I’m just old fashioned when I say I preferred it when color blindness was a goal, not racist in itself. I’m a math major; the statistics are crystal clear that the differences between individuals of a given ancestral group are far greater than the differences between populations of disparate genetic ancestry. But, culture is associated with ancestral origin, and therefore ancestral origin correlates with social and economic success. It’s not causative, just correlated.
#64 Howard on 04.27.21 at 4:20 pm
#23 Leftover on 04.27.21 at 2:32 pm
Also, in BC, people over 55 are allowed to legally evade property taxes. A pretty despicable, discriminatory policy against the young.
=======================================
What a crock! Defer yes. Evade? NO.
I agree with Garth. Yes it might look suspicious that the reason for higher prices is offshore shenanigans, but loose credit by our banks is to blame. The rates are low, their profit goes down so they want high prices simple as that. Don’t over complicate it. When all this is over our standard of living will take a hit. We’re running out of wealth. We’re running out of time to fix it.
Hello Garth, you’ve provided stats on foreign ownership of residences in Vancouver and BC as a whole. I believe you’re missing out on corporations/businesses that are funded by foreign wealth that purchase property – they will be a Canadian Company purchasing Canadian property, thus exempt from the taxes and stats, but the money comes from overseas. Looking forward to your insite.
#120 catralph
^^^^^^^^^^^
#41, it doesn’t answer my queston
^^^^^^^^^^^
Are you serious? Must I spell it out to you?
You know how Air Canada used to pay to name the arena where Raptors and Leafs play? And then Scotia Bank took over the naming rights and decided what it will be called?
Same principal.
Oh sure, others may also pay, but there is only one platinum sponsorship partner spot, and they get to name the “arena” with name of their choice. Others lower tier sponsorship programs only get you generic naming rights.
The lot is only about 7,700 sq.ft. bc assessment has it at just under $3 million…fyi.
And I quote Mr Ice T (expletives altered) from way back in ’93:
Korean people live down in the hood
A little mis-fnckin-understood
Orientals were slaves too
Word, to this fnckin red white and blue
People from Iran ain’t never did tish to us
So why the distrust?
The system wanna keep us at each other’s throats
While we’re payin the tax notes
Cause bein black ain’t no fnckin minority
It’s the fnckin majority
So they gotta make us hate each other
Word, check the brothers
Mexicans – black
Jamaicans – black
Iranians – black
Indians – black
Hawaiians – black
Puerto Ricans – black
Eskimos – black
South Americans – black
Orientals – black
Yeah, that’s right
The Klan says everything’s black that ain’t white
So we gotta get our facts straight
Cause the tish they teach in school is pure hate
Sometimes I don’t know for sure
If somebody want a race war
That looks like a Bentley to me.
Also, the homelessness situation in the Interior has gotten worse. It is dire.
This is obviously a wrong accusation, but is anyone asking the hard questions here?
Why is a brokerage (which by the way is the same broker that Steve Saretsky is a part of) from Vancouver being used?
Because that is where the money is. Why is the money in Vancouver? Look at house values in Vancouver. 12M gets you a tear down in Vancouver. All the developers are redirecting their massive cash piles from the success of the past 20 years into Kelowna where they can get even better bang for their buck.
There is a developer in Kelowna (Worman homes) who picked up a parcel for 499k just two years ago and just announced 650 homes to be built on it…prime location….can you imagine the money being made on that deal? Unreal. You can’t do that in Vancouver anymore.
So, we are following the money. Now who is buying Vancouver properties to unleash that equity throughout BC? Quite frankly nobody knows, except the BC and Fed gov as well as the banks / land title, but that information is private and will never be released.
And the NDP has done nothing even though they promised to contain house prices. What exactly is going to come out of the inquiry in BC that is not delayed until December for completion?
Meanwhile 300k+ gains on houses in BC in one year. Yeah, that is normal.
The real problem here is greed and a MASSIVE wealth divide, plus monetary policy ripping inflation in these hard assets like houses higher. This is where it shows up even though the CPI shows no inflation. Then municipalities constrain supply with their land use restrictions to gas it even more in their favor. The whole market is manipulated.
That is why you have to play or be left behind.
I bought a house to hedge this hyperinflation. The purchasing power of the dollar is getting destroyed.
Gold or bitcoin. Wheel barrows of CAD paper won’t keep up.
In 5 years nice houses in Penticton will list for 20 million CAD. Might even see a loaf of bread list for 1M CAD at some point. How much more are they going to print?
Salmon Arm should be hitting 1 million for the average house soon…..but again that is only measured in CAD paper which is worthless when looking at the money printing happening.
Meanwhile all of my rich boomer neighbors keep buying new vehicles and non-stop upgrading everything on the houses and frolicking mortgage free.
#134 sail away
It is a representation of the “builder” lol – and well if you personally think that is a great place then I feel sorry for you – apparently my thoughts about you have been justified
#81 Toronto_CA on 04.27.21 at 5:09 pm
That’s the funny thing about money laundering. It isn’t meant to show up in the official stats, so using anything official to say that isn’t a factor is probably prone to failure.
And as others have said, there’s always a front person who will have the right documentation to not be counted as a foreign buyer. To turn a blind eye to this is daft, even if it is very hard to quantify / value.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-48231558
**************
When I lived in Vancouver in the late 90s. I knew of a group of local younger guys who had several houses with caretakers who lived in the house while they grew pot in the basements. They would have clipping parties when harvesting. Hire friends of friends picked them up so less cars outside the house. These guys took care of their workers. They had lots of houses on the go and somewhat of a management process. They had a lawyer on retainer just in case someone got busted. They started buying houses and no longer had the landlord factor on their backs. The average price for a house at the time was under 300k…condo 140k in the trendy areas. Price of one pound of pot was $2800-3200. My friend dated one on the caretakers.
China, the greatest super power of the 22nd century, may you live in interesting times.
#95 Barb on 04.27.21 at 6:11 pm
BC’s NDP government(s) have always been an embarrassment to the good people of the province. Mind you, all the money laundering began on Christie’s watch. NDP just saw a cash cow in not stopping it
**********
Rich Coleman is that you?
Nearing peak housing now with the comments here.
#70 Nemo is correct about the ground up there Garth, a lot of homes that are built near ravines in that area have settling problems due to the soil issues. All clay and if you walk along the KVR trail from the marina to the cemetery you will see the shift and collapsing in that area.
Another bad area is around Forestbrook Drive/Debeck area also, basically any house east of Penticton creek and built on a bluff should have soil tests done and engineering reports for ones own protection. I am looking to purchase in Penticton for a possible retirement home in a decade or so I am avoiding those areas, and looking at places like this.
https://www.rew.ca/properties/3278699/586-bennett-ave-avenue-penticton-bc?search_params%5Blist_price_to%5D=550000&search_params%5Bonly_open_house%5D=false&search_params%5Bonly_virtual_tour%5D=false&search_params%5Bproperty_type%5D=house&search_params%5Bquery%5D=Penticton%2C+BC&searchable_id=2835&searchable_type=Geography
#103 Nonplused on 04.27.21 at 6:40 pm
I think there is money laundering in the Vancouver market but it is mostly coming from drugs.
I think it is good for people to remember that unless your last name is Running Bear chances are pretty good you descended from immigrants too.
****************
Google the Vancouver model of money laundering. Drugs are a component of the under ground banking highway. The US was on the case first after seeing an uptick in LA.
#155 Ponzius Pilatus on 04.27.21 at 9:39 pm
However… I get great pleasure from big investing wins, and spend hundreds of hours a year keeping up to speed on finances, markets, research and business. It is a greatly fulfilling hobby.
———-
The Freud in me tells me that your confusing hobby with addiction.
———-
Simple energy balance: 200 hours per year for 10 years should give enough financial acumen to reach financial independence 10 years earlier. That’s 2,000 hours.
So retire 10 years early. At 1950 hours of work per year, that’s 19,500 hours saved.
19,500 – 2,000 = 17,500 extra hours to blog.
Now you know why Crowdie and I have so much time to hang around here.
It seems these provincial haters do believe in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI).
Many other Canadians (including people from BC!) have experienced harassment for being “outsiders.”
For example:
https://driving.ca/jeep/auto-news/news/ubc-student-gets-go-home-note-and-keyed-car-over-ontario-plates
https://driving.ca/jeep/auto-news/news/watch-b-c-road-rage-over-alberta-license-plates
Who will apologize to them?
My financial advisor also told me to take my CPP at age 60. I continued to work until age 70 so my CPP continued to increase as I was making contributions at work. I didn’t need to take money from RRSP’s because of the income from the CPP. To each his own but if you only live to age 70, the government gets to keep your CPP.
DELETED
We use the term “variant” now
[insert country name] variant
Garth,
A friend listed house and expected phone won’t stop ringing.
All they heard so far is crickets.
Just one observation, still getting over ask sale notifications but may be market is running out of greater fools
Canada has three coasts, three oceans and more freshwater lakes than any country in the world (62% of all of them). It’s inconceivable to me to pay over $10 million on a house that is not actually on waterfront property.
DELETED
So then lets put a stop to international property investment in Canada then. It shouldn’t cause any problem at 0.56% right?
And then I read this stuff
https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/housing-report-offers-new-insights-into-b-c-s-non-resident-home-ownership
Or this
https://www.mortgagebrokernews.ca/news/25-of-condo-buyers-in-richmond-coquitlam-are-nonresidents-254968.aspx
Or maybe this ?
https://www.moneysense.ca/spend/real-estate/8-factors-that-really-mess-up-vancouvers-real-estate-prices/
Or
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/real-estate/the-market/foreign-investors-avoid-taxes-by-buying-real-estate-in-canada/article26683767/
Are they all wrong ?
#153 Ponzius Pilatus on 04.27.21 at 9:12 pm
#85 Do we have all the facts on 04.27.21 at 5:20 pm
RE: Dual Citizenship.
Agree.
I always have said that Dual Citizenships should be severely curtailed.
How can you swear allegiance to two countries?
_____________________
I can’t even swear allegiance to one, let alone two!
It doesn’t help when it is this country and it is being run by a former drama teacher.
About the spinning garage thingy: the green marbled garage floor is for the Bentley. The only Porsche is the red one and it gets to stay outside with the McLaren.
#19 alexinvestor on 04.27.21 at 2:23 pm
——————————————
Point one: Iif what you say is true, then is it not good that this family is spending and investing in the Canadian economy providing jobs for Canadians?
Point two: Do you know how hard it is to ‘funnel’ money out of China?
By the way, cash is dead in China.
Reason: They can’t track it.
I work for Immigration Canada and my wife’s sister is a real estate agent in the lower mainland and has been for over 20 years. Satellite families, shell companies, and people on student visas, and permanent residents constitute a significant portion of buyers in BC, more than what the “stats” are telling us. Garth has been touting these stats for years but I can promise you these are misleading. Also, money is laundered through “legitimate buyers” that have ties to Canadian residency or citizenship. The govt feeds you a statistic and it seems like critical thinking goes out the window.
Ask yourselves, are the above people mentioned really the Canadians we want? And should we just blindly welcome them as Garth implored above just because we need them? Do we need more Bentlys and Lamborghinis driving around the streets of the lower mainland showing off their obscene wealth?
Seems as though there are still those that have issues with vaccination?
The opportunity to be freed from a virus that has society locked down and yet some still take a stand behind their rusting guns further lengthening the misery we all share as a whole?
Not to worry. Be thankful you don’t have to suffer the jet injector us boomers endured in days of yore.
Get over it.
Dude, when you stated that ” I was completely wrong to draw down an RRSP early in favour if non – reg…I actually get you…if I flew back in my ‘way-back machine’ to 1957 when that theory was formulated based on outdated tax law. I get it….II get you. i do….I went to a business school and got a degree using outdated information in battered text books, like the guys you work with at RJ…we grok. But things changed somewhat since then. And, there’s some argument to your comment.
https://www.nexusinvestments.com/insight/cashing-in-before-71-when-early-rrsp-withdrawals-make-sense/
Portfolio management is in a new space, literally another planet versus the antiquated 69/40. 6% ? Moan.
#99 espressobob on 04.27.21 at 6:27 pm
How much is enough?
At what point is someone satiated financially?
Just a thought…
*****
At first I went with basic annual expenses and 25x but then read more about FIRE and how flawed the 4% rule is.
Changed my goal to lavish lifestyle x25 but ended up with x30 due to covid delaying everything.
Super easy and confident to pull the trigger at that point.
Bill Gates – blah. Read “Accidental Empires” and his obsessing desire with patents. He is not your friend when it comes to vaccines.
I have come to accept I learn more from my mistakes than my successes. I am still a 2 out of 3 guy. One does well, the second okay and the 3rd lousy. Fortunately, 2 and 3 cancel each other out. True I get wacked but so far I bounce back with more.
As I like to say, if I was never wrong I would be a billionaire by now. I have losers to cashier if capital gains are going to be taxed heavily. It doesn’t make sense to tax the successful more as Canadians are already one of the best at it.
I will not promote the easy way out as I think humble pie is good for the soul. Then there disagreements and I will stand and deal with the consequences.
I agree RE is way overvalued. We have done it to ourselves were leverage has paid but it cuts both ways. It is hard to find the gem among shrills. Use the brain God gave you and admit luck rather than skill.
My Reits and Preferreds are doing well recently. I expect many of my Preferreds to be redeemed. If true, I don’t know where to deploy the cash yet I will find a way through pain and pleasure. One of my favorite holdings is SYZ – bought early and now is returning 20% dividends annually on my original investment. On the other hand, I have many sad stories and good ones to tell.
I thought this guy was the “Millennium Strikes Back”. I think he is building a career as a stand up comic. Yet I found attitude funny. I probably would fire him but miss the truth.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1384517698307121153
The slick marketing campaign on this reminds me of the property just outside Calgary that went on the market for $20 million. Five years and a few price reductions later, it finally sold at auction for $5.88 million.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/terre-blanche-calgary-real-estate-springbank-french-chateau-alberta-1.5845645
And here’s the slick marketing campaign complete with Starbucks-toting realtor. With the features it contained, it could have qualified to be its own little town.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHHdpgu_T5Y&t=3s
Never could understand why folks build these sort of monuments for themselves. I just see the housecleaning nightmare — looks good on the surface but tons of dust traps and poor functionality.
Ozymandias?
Didn’t Smoking Man used to say: “You can’t bend what you can’t offend” ?
Of course hating on the realtors is stupid. Whether they were born in Canada or not is irrelevant, who cares where they’re from.
An observation: the entire property listing from pics, text, design and the video, feature all kinds of caricatures: the gangsta suits, the flash cars, the naked woman in the tub…
Perhaps pandering so blatantly to such cliched stereotypes isn’t the best approach when no one wants to be…stereotyped?
DELETED
DELETED
#19 alexinvestor on 04.27.21 at 2:23 pm
Permanent residents are not counted in the 0.56%
#25 Immigrant man on 04.27.21 at 2:34 pm
What about people that immigrate and THEN buy?
****************************
Last I checked around 5% of Canadians are indigenous, so… yeah most sales are between immigrants or the children of immigrants.
Or do you have a special definition of “Canadian” that you’d like to share?
———————
If you cannot tell the difference between an immigrant that came here a 100 years ago and the one that came last year then you are not being honest. I’ll give you a hint, it’s the culture.
Indigenous (who themselves immigrated here over the Bering land bridge he-he) ARE in fact a special case of Canadian. With many privileges enshrined in law. However, I do not envy them. I’ve seen enough reserves and urban Aboriginals. Many social problems. The reserves and the handouts completely screwed them – sad story.
“People believe what they wish to believe. If something supports the narrative in their brain, they’ll accept it. If the facts don’t fit, they’re discarded.” – Garth
—————————————————————————
Just like the greatest musician and social commentator
of our time, the distinguished ane honourable Frank Zappa, said, and I repeat:
“Everybody believes in something and everybody, by virtue of the fact that they believe in something, uses that something to support their own existence.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOnYFlhzpDg
Garth and Frank. The greatest thinkers of our time.
@#190 Billybob
“An observation: the entire property listing from pics, text, design and the video, feature all kinds of caricatures: the gangsta suits, the flash cars, the naked woman in the tub…
Perhaps pandering so blatantly to such cliched stereotypes isn’t the best approach when no one wants to be…stereotyped?”
++++
Thats a bingo.
“The 1970s was a nasty decade overall — prices rose by over 10 per cent a year, wage and price controls were brought in, and interest rates were hiked quarterly to combat the scourge that kept eroding our spending power. Can you imagine taking out a mortgage at 20 per cent?”
Good article in NP this morning about ‘realities’. Here is the link:
https://pressreader.com/article/281981790441373
And there is this:
TIME TO RETURN TO WORK, DIMON SIGNALS TO WALL STREET
National Post (Latest Edition)28 Apr 2021
Jamie Dimon is sending a message to his fellow Wall Street chiefs: It’s time to bring employees back to the office. Jpmorgan Chase & Co. became the first major U.S. bank to mandate a return to offices for its entire U.S. workforce, with staffers being told they’ll need to come back in about two months. The lender’s top decision-making body, led by chief executive Dimon, said in a memo to staff Tuesday that it “would fully expect that by early July, all U.s.-based employees will be in the office on a consistent rotational schedule.” Industry leaders have been preparing for an end to remote work since the earliest months of the pandemic last year. Dimon, shown, said as far back as September that he expects economic and social damage to result from a longer stretch of working from home.
@#51 kommykim on 04.27.21 at 3:50 pm
A turntable for your car just screams, “I can’t drive!”
Plus, I can think of much better things to spend 12 Million on.
–
nah, just screams I have more money than I know what to do with. 12mil is pocket change to whomever buys this house.
#147 Faron
“It’s about maximizing impact.”
How does prioritizing a racial subset of people in a hotspot postcode do that? To carry the question to a further absurdity, would you prioritize only the blacks working in Amazon fulfillment centres?
To paraphrase John Cleese, you are…utterly immune to the ravages of intelligence.
Place is spectacular
Anybody notice the Doge in the window.
167 DON on 04.27.21 at 10:51 pm
#95 Barb on 04.27.21 at 6:11 pm
BC’s NDP government(s) have always been an embarrassment to the good people of the province. Mind you, all the money laundering began on Christie’s watch. NDP just saw a cash cow in not stopping it
**********
Rich Coleman is that you?
———————-
No, silly.
It’s me, Christy.
#153 Ponzius Pilatus on 04.27.21 at 9:12 pm
RE: Dual Citizenship.
I always have said that Dual Citizenships should be severely curtailed.
How can you swear allegiance to two countries?
———–
Well, with Canada and the US being essentially the same country, I consider our family a desirable unit benefitting whichever country we choose to live in at the time.
Sort of like a family of golden egg-laying geese deciding to nest on the property, you know?
196 the Jaguar on 04.28.21 at 8:37 am
“The 1970s was a nasty decade overall — prices rose by over 10 per cent a year, wage and price controls were brought in, and interest rates were hiked quarterly to combat the scourge that kept eroding our spending power. Can you imagine taking out a mortgage at 20 per cent?”
Good article in NP this morning about ‘realities’. Here is the link:
https://pressreader.com/article/281981790441373
———————-
That was the 80s.
This should produce a few giggles…
Daily Mail US
@DailyMail
“Hunter Biden will guest teach class on ‘fake news’ at Tulane this fall.”
https://twitter.com/DailyMail/status/1387140713301909512
Hi Garth,
As a Canadian-born of Chinese descent, I just want to thank you for publishing your position on this. Some people are sick, hateful, envious little buggers and need to grow up. Thanks for clearly standing up for civility and human decency.
#199 Job#1 on 04.28.21 at 10:07 am
#147 Faron
It’s easily defended. Not getting into it again. DYO research w/ an open mind.
#199 Job#1
Read this thread that was a reply to the City of Hamilton’s tweets. Actually read it and then debate the writer and the activists he cites.
https://mobile.twitter.com/RyanMcGreal/status/1387061302946840579
I’m going to guess this issue popped up loudly in your twittersphere with far more weight than it has in reality. Ask yourself why that is, why such a tiny issue has outsized repercussions for someone like yourself who isn’t at all impacted.
#151 Ponzius Pilatus
Ponzi, what do you think of Paulaner (weiss) avail here in BC?
It’s my favorite beer.
Also interested to know from those politically inclined if it’s possible for Mr. Carney to switch to / lead the PC party. He’d have my vote.
Are the odds slim to none or is it the classic line from Dumb and Dumber?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/federal-private-ownership-registry-1.6004004
“Liberal budget aims to implement a ‘corporate beneficial ownership registry’ by 2025…
Prospective home buyers in this country’s hottest housing markets have been frustrated by skyrocketing prices. But they’re not always bidding against other potential homeowners. Sometimes, they’re bidding against criminals looking to stash money in real estate…
…..B.C. is hoping to change that with a new database set to go online Friday with info on the real, or “beneficial,” owners of properties in the province to deter money laundering….#
Garth,
This is 100% the truth. I am a Vancouverite who recently moved to Ottawa. In BC everyone complains about Chinese buyers, “foreign money,” etc. The truth is, there are about 560,000 people of East Asian descent in the lower mainland, so inevitably, if you sell a house (or a car, or a boat, or grocery items or anything else) you will have a Certain number of this demographic coming in to buy. Only when it comes to real estate do people assume they are all “foreigners” with (gasp!) foreign money.
Here in Ottawa, a grandfather pushing the grandkid on the swing the other day struck up a masked, socially distant convo with me. When I told him I was from the land of sushi, tree huggers and weed, he started grumbling about how expensive it was out there because of “Asian money.”
I kept thinking…this neighbourhood here is in a bit of a bubble itself…and I can’t even get dim sum. Pretty white and yet a bubble persisted. Hmmmmm.
#187 westcdn
https://twitter.com/i/status/1384517698307121153
Hilarious stuff!
Thank you for linking that! Made my day!
xD xD xD
201 Ponzius Pilatus on 04.28.21 at 10:41 am
167 DON on 04.27.21 at 10:51 pm
#95 Barb on 04.27.21 at 6:11 pm
BC’s NDP government(s) have always been an embarrassment to the good people of the province. Mind you, all the money laundering began on Christie’s watch. NDP just saw a cash cow in not stopping it
**********
Rich Coleman is that you?
———————-
No, silly.
It’s me, Christy.
*******************
The ‘Usual Suspects’
The irony is that the realtors are the ones that use the meme :
“you better get in now, because all the rich Chinese are moving here, this is the best place on earth, and the prices will escalate to infinity because we are running out of land”.
When oil prices are up, they switch it over a bit:
“ the oil rich Albertans are buying up BC because they all want a second home….in the best place on earth.
#211 The West on 04.28.21 at 12:25 pm
#187 westcdn
https://twitter.com/i/status/1384517698307121153
Hilarious stuff!
Thank you for linking that! Made my day!
xD xD xD
*****************
I didn’t think I would laugh as long and hard as I did.
Thank you.
#207 Faron
I do not believe you can fix racism by picking new targets for discrimination as a means of redressing wrongs/balancing the scale.
To achieve maximum impact, the prioritizing should be based on health risk factors, not race.
Who will determine whether you’re black/coloured enough? DNA profile? Blood quantum?
The exceptionalist policies result in reverse-racism, which to me is just as bad.
On slavery and history:
My people were slaves for 300 hundred years!
The Italians oppressed my people and executed some real cool guys into the bargain.
You don’t see me hurling Molotov cocktails through Pizza Pizza’s window!
#4
ccp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgWZDvgW9OA
DELETED
@#215 Job#1 on 04.28.21 at 12:58 pm
I do not believe you can fix racism by picking new targets for discrimination as a means of redressing wrongs/balancing the scale.
To achieve maximum impact, the prioritizing should be based on health risk factors, not race.
Who will determine whether you’re black/coloured enough? DNA profile? Blood quantum?
The exceptionalist policies result in reverse-racism, which to me is just as bad.
===================
Seriously? We have time for this? We need to get as many people vaccinated as possible – particularly those who are more likely to become infected and more likely to spread it. Racism has nothing to do with it. Give your stupid head a shake.
#84, regarding taking CPP at 60. Take it. How do I know that’s the right decision……took it.