Stinkypup

Yep..but just keep it very very quiet..schtum..ok?

Lynsi

We are a young family living and renting in North Vancouver. We also have a large dog and nowhere else to go until we can save enough. The island is a really great option. Some people even commute to down town via ferry or float plane. The prices are however starting to creep up. Surry is one of the worst places to live here. There are shootings every other day but south Surry is nice white Rock area. There's always a shortage of GP's so I don't think you will have any problems finding work. Feel free to message me if you want more info.

Davita

One of the reasons Vancouver's property market is overheated because foreigners, mainly Chinese, have speculated or have purchased but moved back to Asia to make more money than they can acquire in Canada....and leave places empty.
I have spent a couple of summers living on my boat in False Creek and have witnessed the numerous apartments in Yaletown left empty as the lights are always off and there are few people in the street. If those apartments were full the businesses in that area would be booming with people.
The new Mayor of London was interviewed this week and said the same was happening in London and he was going to do something about it...I hope Vancouver can also do something.
One idea which Whistler and Florida do is increase property tax on vacant property.

aja424

Have seen a few decent looking properties in Maple Ridge. With coquitlam a possible place of work then Maple Ridge area looks probable. Also seen a couple of good properties in West Vancouver for $370000. Properties were off build but looked very good given the price and proximity to downtown Vancouver.
I don't really get it to be honest regarding Surrey and the high crime rate. It just doesn't seem consistent with Vancouver being one of the best cities in the world to live in, and not conducive with raising young children. I was originally looking at this area due to being close to the city and reasonable house prices, but sounds more akin to some of the American big cities.

JonboyE

There was a section on the local TV news (CBC) about this last night. They were talking about a change in the provinces property purchase tax rules where a buyer would have to state their citizenship. The reporter was saying that there are currently no records of the citizenship, origin or residence of owners of land in the province.

Interestingly, there is of members of condominiums. In Vancouver 3.5% of owners of condominiums are not resident in Canada.

JonboyE

Are you sure you have not missed a zero? I have just searched West Vancouver for anything under $400,000 and there are half a dozen one bedroom condos (flats) and a trailer. I also searched for bare lots. The cheapest is $5.8m.

Surrey is, geographically, a big city though the population is roughly the same as Vancouver. There are several districts or town centres, many with farmland in between. The district of Whalley, across the river from New Westminster can be a bit grim. Industrial by the river and with a skid row area near the centre. To the extent Surrey has a petty crime problem it is here. There is a lot of older "low rent" housing. Those with delicate sensibilities cross the river, see Whalley, and flee declaring that Surrey is a sh*t hole.

The crime rate you refer to is presumably the recent spate of shootings. There is a turf war at the moment between dial-a-dope gangs. It flares up every now and again in Whalley and Newton. I don't sell drugs. It is not part of my life.

Apart from Whalley and some of Newton Surrey is mostly farmland and inoffensive dormitory suburbia that is designed for family living.

Engineer_abroad

Foreign ownership restrictions would be treating the symptom and not the cause. The market is red hot because of simple supply and demand economics. When you have less housing stock than people needing housing, prices go up. Until you build more houses than are required you won't solve the issue. Restrictions on properties being bought as investments are required though and owners leaving their properties empty should be hit with huge tax implications. Solving the self regulation of realtors would be a start as well to stop illegally obtained foreign money being laundered in real estate transactions.

Davita

Thanks for your post...I'm in Bali so can only read the digital Vancouver Sun for info...will be back to Vancouver in 2 weeks.
It wouldn't be too difficult to create a by-law, in the City at least, to double property taxes by a specific date. Then allow those owners to prove residency or show a lease that the property is rented....and get a rebated property tax.
I think there would be a scurry to sell, or find tenants, which would immediately create a price war and deflate the market from speculators.
Just a thought!

Edit: Just read engineer's post and agree with his last statement...not enough control has been put on illicent money being laundered. I saw this in Bali when Russians were buying almost anything, at any cost, then surreptitiously laundering into clean cash.

aja424

Here you go jonboy. There's another one pretty similar and same price if you have a look on the site.
So taking into account areas like Surrey and Maple Ridge, there is enough housing for a reasonable price, just not 10 minutes to the City.

412 BETH Crescent , Kingston, ON K7P 0K8 MLS®-360892436 for Sale

BristolUK

Kingston Ontario?

aja424

??
It shows on the map within West Vancouver. Shown last night and again today.
Go on Remax its still there.

JonboyE

Well, quite. Prices go up because there are more people that want to live here than there are homes available to buy. With a projected population increase of 1 million in the next 20 years this is unlikely to change soon.

I am not sure how you can punish the intentions of a buyer. Property rights are fundamental to Western society. Someone buying a multi-family property is undoubtedly buying it as an investment but we do not want to discourage them.

We do have to be careful about creating rules for political reasons that are ineffective in practice. Mexico has a law that says only Mexican citizens can own property in certain coastal zones. You go there and cannot move for property owning gringos. In Vancouver, what about properties owned by Canadian corporations, or Canadian trusts? There can be many good reasons for having real estate owned by a trust and it would not be good public policy to stop this.

The one thing that can be regulated is use. There is already a mechanism in the property tax system to penalize homeowners who do not occupy their homes as their principal residence. Maybe this can be extended.

This is a red herring. Realtors, whether dodgy or not, do not create demand. There is already legislation in place requiring realtors to report suspicious transactions. This is federal law and nothing to do with self-regulation.

JonboyE

It is a bit more than 10 minutes. I suspect you are nearer to that house than me.

Edit: the best site to view Canadian homes for sale is realtor.ca.

Shakyuk

I agree things are down to supply and demand however currently supply and demand are detached from the local population and artifically driven by foreign investment. In London, Vancouver and Sydney, foreign ownership is extremely high. These foreign owners are pricing the local population out of the market. Arguably the laws and politicians of the land should act in the interests of the local population and I think restrictions on foreign buyers buying up large areas of cities for investment purposes would definitely be in the interest of the local population. This way although supply and demand would still operate and so property prices will inevitably rise in the long term; the link between the local population and supply and demand would be re-established. I have no doubt that in all three cities that if people have property on the market for a long time because the local population cannot afford the property then the sellers would start to lower their asking prices or at least the market would cool allowing inflation to catch up wages to prices.

Engineer_abroad

I agree with you and believe the best way to do this is for governments to build homes and then they can control who the sales are too.