Housing crisis in Canada

[Yazin]

Well, too much said in this. the real estate market in Toronto and Vancouver is a whole scam. Money laundering is a huge factor on pumping the real estate prices. Also here in BC the drug business and grow ops revenues are higher than BC government budget link here, not to mention the $43 billion that freshly arrived from Hong Kong link here and most probably were dumped in real estate
Vancouver and Toronto are overcrowded cities and not livable anymore, provincial governments are only care about higher property taxes to pay for their salaries while the federal government has a limited vision of bringing more people so there will be demand for more housing and they can keep the economy rolling right - No it's not as Canada is lacking the whole infrastructure system to support new comers, hospitals are aging and overwhelmed, parkes are overcrowded, roads and bridges are aging and congested and the list goes on.
In 2000, Vancouver real estate prices used to be double in prices than Toronto but now Toronto is taking the hype, both cities will stay attractive for immigrants because the weather therefore moving to a freezing province is the only option left to have affordable housing or you may start thinking about quitting your job and starting a grow ops business.

 

[canuck78]

Well, too much said in this. the real estate market in Toronto and Vancouver is a whole scam. Money laundering is a huge factor on pumping the real estate prices. Also here in BC the drug business and grow ops revenues are higher than BC government budget link here, not to mention the $43 billion that freshly arrived from Hong Kong link here and most probably were dumped in real estate
Vancouver and Toronto are overcrowded cities and not livable anymore, provincial governments are only care about higher property taxes to pay for their salaries while the federal government has a limited vision of bringing more people so there will be demand for more housing and they can keep the economy rolling right - No it's not as Canada is lacking the whole infrastructure system to support new comers, hospitals are aging and overwhelmed, parkes are overcrowded, roads and bridges are aging and congested and the list goes on.
In 2000, Vancouver real estate prices used to be double in prices than Toronto but now Toronto is taking the hype, both cities will stay attractive for immigrants because the weather therefore moving to a freezing province is the only option left to have affordable housing or you may start thinking about quitting your job and starting a grow ops business.

Let’s not get too crazy. Vancouver Island should be flooded with immigrants not the lower mainland if was purely a weather issue. Same could be said by Wndsor, Niagara and Prince Edward country. Do agree that the amount of foreign money being allowed to purchase real estate has certainly been a large factor in influencing real estate prices and CRA not cracking down on PR/citizen families declaring very little or no income while owning multiple expensive homes in Canada and usually having their primary income earner working abroad results in a lot of lost tax revenue. The government is often providing low income benefits while someone is living in a very nice home, driving a nice home, traveling, etc. Canada is also not good at enforcing our immigration rules and many are able to get multiple attempts to meet residency requirements. Canada has also ruined many large criminal operations that have sometime taken years to put together. Money laundering and shadow banking is a known huge problem but there have been very few attempts to stop it and the attempts to stop it have fallen apart due to poor policing or legal problems. Assume there is a good chance that organizations have infiltrated every sector of government and law enforcement. Canada has in general been very trusting and just assumes that if it sets out rules people will follow them. This concept seems strange to many people from around the world where nobody follows the rules of the government including the government. Unfortunately the Canadian govern,ent should have tried to slow down the the increases in housing prices a long time ago but real estate because such a large portion of the GDP that nobody wanted to intervene too much. In a place like Vancouver nobody wanted to stop the flow of Chinese money because nobody wanted to seem racists and offend the Chinese immigrants having moved to Canada who were living permanently in Canada and paying their taxes. Nobody also wanted to stop the Chi see money coming in through tourism or international students. Wish the government would focus more in the middle class Canadians whether they arrived last year or were born in Canada. Two parents working middle class jobs should allow someone to be a to purchase some sort of home for your family. That could mean a condo, townhouse or home but that should be attainable while being able to afford to support 2 children or we are going to be in bigger trouble than we already are demographically.

 

[canuck78]

I think money laundering is a thing of the past. The recent skyrocketing Toronto and Vancouver are mainly due to covid with multiple bidders on the same house which result the transaction price somewhat higher than the asking price. There are no scam in those market. You bid one price and the other buyer bid another price. The vendor just select one of those bidders just like if you were in Hong Kong.

Money laundering is a huge issue in Canada. Believe we are one of the top countries for criminals to launder their money. There was a slight temporary increase in the market purely due to covid. That was seen in many markets across Canada. The general increases in the market have very little to do with covid but has to do with very low interest rates, people seeking out larger homes with a back yard and the need for more supply of certain housing. The distribution of industries and jobs throughout Canada versus a few centres would also solve many problems. The fact that real estate has offered good returns in almost all of Canada for the last 20 years is also one of the issues. There are many using real estate as their main investments and so large investors like pension funds. That influences what gets built and how a community operates. There are also a lot of issues with the real estate bidding process in Canada. We should go towards a more transparent process like the Aussie style where there is a public auction. Our home buying process allows agents to lie about “other offers“ for the same home and unfortunately some agents are either responsible for both sides of the deal which usually influences the price or there are many agents that tip off certain agents about what price they will need to secure the home. Lots of funny business going on behind the scenes that shouldn’t be happening

 

[steaky]

Money laundering is a huge issue in Canada. Believe we are one of the top countries for criminals to launder their money. There was a slight temporary increase in the market purely due to covid. That was seen in many markets across Canada. The general increases in the market have very little to do with covid but has to do with very low interest rates, people seeking out larger homes with a back yard and the need for more supply of certain housing. The distribution of industries and jobs throughout Canada versus a few centres would also solve many problems. The fact that real estate has offered good returns in almost all of Canada for the last 20 years is also one of the issues. There are many using real estate as their main investments and so large investors like pension funds. That influences what gets built and how a community operates. There are also a lot of issues with the real estate bidding process in Canada. We should go towards a more transparent process like the Aussie style where there is a public auction. Our home buying process allows agents to lie about “other offers“ for the same home and unfortunately some agents are either responsible for both sides of the deal which usually influences the price or there are many agents that tip off certain agents about what price they will need to secure the home. Lots of funny business going on behind the scenes that shouldn’t be happening

But low interest rates is due to covid. And during covid, people seeking bigger homes with backyard. During covid, the need for more supply of certain housing. Everything is related to covid.

Edit: We are not out of the woods yet.

 

[canuck78]

But low interest rates is due to covid. And during covid, people seeking bigger homes with backyard. During covid, the need for more supply of certain housing. Everything is related to covid.

Edit: We are not out of the woods yet.

Interest rates have been low for a long time, they went slightly lower due to covid due to worries about the economy and to encourage borrowing. People were seeking larger homes during covid to have a home office but the ability or the desire to work remotely is remaining although the economy is opening throughout Canada. Th fundamentals that affect housing prices are not related to covid. Housing prices would have increased even if covid didn't exist.

 

[steaky]

Interest rates have been low for a long time, they went slightly lower due to covid due to worries about the economy and to encourage borrowing. People were seeking larger homes during covid to have a home office but the ability or the desire to work remotely is remaining although the economy is opening throughout Canada. Th fundamentals that affect housing prices are not related to covid. Housing prices would have increased even if covid didn't exist.

No, at present, everything is related to covid. I would use your words: We haven't seen the real repurcussions of covid because governments are propping up the economy!

 

[canuck78]

No, at present, everything is related to covid. I would use your words: We haven't seen the real repurcussions of covid because governments are propping up the economy!

The housing crisis existed before covid so it can’t be due to covid.

 

[steaky]

The housing crisis existed before covid so it can’t be due to covid.

The housing crises continued during covid. I mean current housing crises in Toronto might also be a temporary issue due to covid.

 

[steaky]

Just to add that the housing crises is not everywhere in Canada. If OP don't want to leave Canada, he should consider places like Calgary.

 

[ZZDown]

Just to add that the housing crises is not everywhere in Canada. If OP don't want to leave Canada, he should consider places like Calgary.

Calgary is fine, but I doubt that I would be able to find a decent job in Calgary. US offers much better prospects of getting a job.

 

[canuck78]

Calgary is fine, but I doubt that I would be able to find a decent job in Calgary. US offers much better prospects of getting a job.

Would add that in many areas in the US they are also seeing housing bubbles and price increases that are not sustainable.

 

[ZZDown]

Would add that in many areas in the US they are also seeing housing bubbles and price increases that are not sustainable.

That's true, but my impression is that US in general has more job opportunities as their job market is better developed. While moving to US itself is another problem, although articles like this one suggest that it's going to become easier for Canadians to transition to the southern neighbour. And btw that very article also preys on the unaffordable housing prices.

In any case, this whole issue is super depressing to say the least. I am very disappointed with my quality of life, and don't know what to do about it.

 

[Cath621]

depending on your occupation you may consider different options. Calgary is not optimal but it's ok, imo, but I also agree that its economy is not very attractive.
Also consider ottawa, waterloo, london, montreal, halifax, etc. Some are more expensive than Calgary but still cheaper than Toronto. For some specific fields they have way better job markets than Alberta.

For GTA, if you don't need to go to an office in DT Toronto everyday, consider some suburban regions like Durham region, or Halton.

 

[canuck78]

That's true, but my impression is that US in general has more job opportunities as their job market is better developed. While moving to US itself is another problem, although articles like this one suggest that it's going to become easier for Canadians to transition to the southern neighbour. And btw that very article also preys on the unaffordable housing prices.

In any case, this whole issue is super depressing to say the least. I am very disappointed with my quality of life, and don't know what to do about it.

You can’t compare Canada and the US one country is 10 times the size of the other. Really depends on the job you get. If you get a well paying job, with healthcare in an affordable area (not greater NYC or greater SF) then you may have a better quality of life. Moving to a western country doesn’t mean an increase in lifestyle for everyone or an easy life.

 

[steaky]

You can’t compare Canada and the US one country is 10 times the size of the other. Really depends on the job you get. If you get a well paying job, with healthcare in an affordable area (not greater NYC or greater SF) then you may have a better quality of life. Moving to a western country doesn’t mean an increase in lifestyle for everyone or an easy life.

But you also compared US, Australia with Canada. Look at post #2 previously in this thread.