Real Estate discussions

[jollyburger]

Developers don't like the program so it must be good.

B.C. developers say they don't want a buyout for empty condos

B.C. Housing Minister Christine Boyle said the goal of the condo program is to allow people to purchase a home who would not have been able to do so previously.

She said it wasn’t surprising that developers aren’t supportive of the idea, given it won’t help them.

“The development sector has made clear this isn’t what they asked for, because, as I and the premier have said, developers won’t benefit from this,” said Boyle.

“I hear often from people who are working a good job, they’re making a good income, often they’re paying in rent what they would be paying on a mortgage. But because they don’t have help from the ‘bank of mom and dad’ or other sources to be able to save for downpayments, they’re locked out of home ownership. The program we’re designing looks to support British Columbians like that of all ages.”

https://vancouversun.com/business/real-estate/bc-developers-dont-want-buyout-for-empty-condos

[kikin]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

... often they’re paying in rent what they would be paying on a mortgage.

honestly sounds like bs, have they actually priced out the costs of home ownership? From what I am seeing it is significantly higher than what is being charged for rents now. Lots of plumbing issues everywhere leading to expensive insurance claims. Appliances that last 10 years and require repairs. Special levies to resurface parking levels and other inevitable building repairs.Strata fees climbing due to insurance costs. Taxes. Interest rates are relatively low now but can we expect them to stay this way for the rest of a 25 year mortgage?

If they can't afford to sacrifice and save a 5% down payment, I question whether they can afford to pay the mortgage payments either. Expecting to own in a highly desirable city in the whole world is not supposed to be cheap. Our prices are already drastically lower than many world cities.

[CanSpice]

Originally Posted by kikin

Strata fees climbing due to insurance costs.

I just wanna say our strata's insurance premiums dropped by 30% last year because we switched providers.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Developers don't like the program so it must be good…

Yes, the headed of Wesgroup was conspicuously lukewarm about it. Which makes you wonder if Eby and the NDP even consulted anyone in the industry about it.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Yes, the headed of Wesgroup was conspicuously lukewarm about it. Which makes you wonder if Eby and the NDP even consulted anyone in the industry about it.

I don't think Wesgroup have any 'distressed' buildings, and the developers who developed the buildings or units that the provincial program is hoping to acquire probably wouldn't be jumping at the chance to talk to anybody in the government about selling their units until the details of the program are available.

[whatnext]

Looks like June figures weren't a harbinger of a recovering real estate market after all:

Vancouver-area home sales drop nearly 10% in July as summer demand slows: board
VANCOUVER — Vancouver's real estate board says the region saw a nearly 10 per cent drop in home sales in July compared with a year ago, erasing June's gains that kicked off the summer.
Canadian Press
a day ago

VANCOUVER — Vancouver's real estate board says the region saw a nearly 10 per cent drop in home sales in July compared with a year ago, erasing June's gains that kicked off the summer.

Greater Vancouver Realtors says there were 2,061 home sales last month, 9.8 per cent lower than July 2025. This was also 18.6 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average...

...Meanwhile, total inventory fell four per cent annually to 16,476, which was 26.8 per cent above the long-term average...

https://www.biv.com/news/real-estate/van...ly-as-summer-demand-slows-board-12630250

[whatnext]

What's the point of the NDP's Land Registry Transparency Act if you can still disguise ownership?

Douglas Todd: Why can't we know who owns Canada's second most expensive house? (Part 1)
The estate at 4707 Belmont Ave. in Vancouver has an assessed value of $70 million. But, even with B.C.'s land ownership transparency act, the quest continues to figure out who actually owns it.
Author of the article: Douglas Todd
Published Jul 29, 2026

Postmedia News has been trying to figure out the owner of Canada’s second most expensive house, at 4707 Belmont Ave. in Vancouver, for more than a decade. Its assessed value is $70 million.

Then Vancouver Sun reporter Jeff Lee tried to get to the bottom of the matter in 2013, when the house was the priciest in Canada, since the owner’s name didn’t show up in B.C.’s Land Title Registry or corporate registries. Given the mystery, Lee tracked down the architect of the expansive home, the lawyer for the owner and the contractor who did the stonework. They all said they were under strict orders to not disclose the owner’s name....

....When the B.C. NDP launched the Land Ownership Transparency Registry Act seven years ago, it boasted that, “in response to advocacy from journalists and other interested parties, the province is “going … to allow searches at no cost for everyone.”

But, as an illustration of continuing transparency problems, it’s still not possible for the public to find the name of the owner of this estate ..

...records show the property continues to be owned by Pisonii (PTC) Ltd., which Lee discovered 13 years ago wasn’t registered in B.C. When the property was purchased in 2005, it was bought by a related company, Pisonii Ltd., which is registered in the British Virgin Islands, an international tax haven where Lee found corporate identities are protected...

...There is no evidence that the owner of 4707 Belmont has done anything wrong...

https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columni...-owns-canada-second-most-expensive-house

[whatnext]

Foreclosures on the rise. Can be a great buying opportunity.

'Big trouble': Vancouver's increasing real estate foreclosures indicate a disturbing economy
The new wave of foreclosures has 'shifted up-market,' Zealty president Hamidreaza Etebarian says, with a surge of activity in Metro Vancouver's most expensive housing markets.
Author of the article: Dan Fumano
Published Sep 14, 2026

The company’s data shows 773 court-ordered listings last year in the areas represented by the Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley real estate boards. That was roughly triple the annual average between 2017 and 2022. But the first eight months of this year blew past that number, with 845 court-ordered listings hitting the market between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31.

If the pace of listings for the rest of this year matches the average in the first eight months, 2026 could see more than 1,200 court-ordered home listings, Etebarian estimates. Although the totals also include other legal proceedings, including bankruptcies and family act filings such as divorces, most of these court-ordered listings stem from foreclosures...

... “There is a big difference between this crisis and the previous one,” Etebarian said. “I would say the ‘08 cycle was about people losing their jobs. But this cycle is about people who borrowed cheaply at the top of the market, and now they cannot carry the cost.”

Etebarian sees many court-ordered listings for high-end homes purchased in 2020 and 2021 in expensive neighbourhoods, at a time when Canadian interest rates were at their lowest in recent history..

https://theprovince.com/business/real-es...wcm/e60e6c90-cfc9-406c-a22c-3fa5ab2109a2

[whatnext]

Interesting, we're now starting to see SFH on the West Side crash below the $2 million mark (still overpriced). I guess when sellers realize there's no offshore buyers or "missing middle" developers coming to bail them out, they start to get more realistic.

https://www.rew.ca/properties/1554-w-65th-ave-avenue-vancouver-bc?property_click=map

[chowhou]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Interesting, we're now starting to see SFH on the West Side crash below the $2 million mark (still overpriced). I guess when sellers realize there's no offshore buyers or "missing middle" developers coming to bail them out, they start to get more realistic.

https://www.rew.ca/properties/1554-w-65th-ave-avenue-vancouver-bc?property_click=map

This property was already assessed at under $2M since the structure is officially considered near worthless. The land itself is assessed at $1.9M.

https://www.bcassessment.ca/Property/Info/QTAwMDAwMUpHRA==

Also this is really stretching the definition of "West Side" to me. Marpole real estate was never priced like Dunbar real estate where they're still asking $4M+ for newer houses.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by chowhou

This property was already assessed at under $2M since the structure is officially considered near worthless. The land itself is assessed at $1.9M.

https://www.bcassessment.ca/Property/Info/QTAwMDAwMUpHRA==

Also this is really stretching the definition of "West Side" to me. Marpole real estate was never priced like Dunbar real estate where they're still asking $4M+ for newer houses.

South Granville is still the West Side and during the offshore boom homes near this would have been well over $2mil for some "students and housewives" looking to build their Churchill catchment dream home.

[chowhou]

Originally Posted by whatnext

South Granville is still the West Side and during the offshore boom homes near this would have been well over $2mil for some "students and housewives" looking to build their Churchill catchment dream home.

This is not South Granville, this is Marpole I thought you would know that. And no teardowns like this never went for "well over $2M". At the market peak in 2023-2024 similar teardowns seem to have went for a little over $2M in the $2.1M-$2.2M territory. So sure it's a 15% crash but it's not a 50% crash.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by chowhou

This is not South Granville, this is Marpole I thought you would know that. And no teardowns like this never went for "well over $2M". At the market peak in 2023-2024 similar teardowns seem to have went for a little over $2M in the $2.1M-$2.2M territory. So sure it's a 15% crash but it's not a 50% crash.

Um, you better tell MLS. Behold"South Granville" listings:
https://www.rew.ca/properties/areas/south-granville-vancouver-bc

The area you're thinking of is Fairview in real estate terms.

As to price discovery in the South Granville area....

7687 Oak St Listed $1,890,000

Sold 2022-02-16
$2,200,000

Sold 2019-08-28
$1,840,000

Sold 2009-11-25
$800,000
+137%
https://www.rew.ca/properties/7687-oak-street-vancouver-bc