Quote:
Originally Posted by devonb
The first is that there is only a finite amount of land and it's the land that holds the value. In 30 years, the condo will be worth less (in most cases) or aging and needing updating, whereas my home will most likely be worth more as land values rise.
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While I might be a bit of a bear on this point, however I just don't see this argument. First off, we state there is a finite amount of land, when we geographically have have exhausted next to nothing of the land in a global scale. It is something like 2% of the world's land holds 90% of the global population. What I would argue is, while land is not as finite as we like to think, but rather land that has received vast social investment is finite. This is to say land with no investments in such things as roads,schools, rec centers and others. we can discuss what level of public investment should be allotted to create private profits regardless of if we are talking suburban,urban or rural setting.
Second point is more directed at the notion of increased value. The problem that we face this time that we have never faced before is the demographic shift that will take place over the next 35 years. While Canada's population is to set to increase, the top age cohorts in the age-sex structure will also be increasing. This is where I do not see any real growth in the housing prices over the long term, particularly of the single family detached home. Case in point, according to various government agencies, private think tanks there are a rather large portion of Canadians who have failed to save enough for their retirement. This is further burdened by a increase in life expectancy. This naturally will lead to more downsizing as those who are nearing retirement are banking on the increased equity in their residence over the past decade or so.
Where I do see growth is in building forms that we rarely see in Calgary. Such as row housing, and townhouses. These provide stuff such as the backyard, and many of the similarities of a SFD, while tending to be more cost advantageous and naturally less maintence for the homeowner.
Some Examples from my hometown:
Quebec St
Superior St