Originally Posted by twoNeurons
Soooo... lots of anecdotal stories here.
85% of my building are Asian!
90% of people lined up are Chinese!
75% of people in line came out of a tour bus!
Seems to me, the best way to separate facts from fiction is to simply publish the actual numbers. Or make all the data public as to HOW MUCH, WHO, and COUNTRY of origin.
And don't give me that BS that the data doesn't exist. The data is controlled by the RE industry, audited and filtered by the RE industry, and self-regulated by the RE industry.
Why, oh why, do we allow the RE industry ( turning into the biggest industry in the country ) to regulate itself, release its own numbers, and restrict access to data?
I have friends who used to work for the RE board office ( not as realtors ). They told me they would often get requests, even from Revenue Canada, about a property. They were instructed NOT to release data. Yes, you can get LOTS of data on the history of a property by paying a low fee ( per property ) through a realtor. I think it's something like $15, but no one can get access to the data feed itself. At least not in BC.
Surely, if foreign buyers were such an issue, there should be hard unfiltered data so that we can make an INFORMED decision, rather than rely on anecdotal evidence.
Surely, having this raw data available to independent data analysts is a vital and necessary tool to figure out what is REALLY going on.
Why has there been no push to get this data?
Why has there been no REAL effort to PROVE allegations, beyond anecdotal stories of rogue real estate agents counting Chinese surnames by hand?
Why don't we see hard numbers and breakdowns of sales of ALL properties sold in Greater Vancouver, or even the city of Vancouver?
Why don't we see ACTUAL house prices averages instead of the fudgeable house pricing index?
Without data, we have guesswork. And guesswork is open to interpretation, manipulation, and ultimately capitulation ( of the general public ).
It leads to FEAR of being overrun by foreigners.
It leads to UNCERTAINTY of what is actually going on.
It leads to DOUBT of anything any person says about the industry.
When you have FUD, you have the making of a perfect storm for SPECULATION.
The real estate industry does NOT want more regulation and scrutiny ( who does ) so they tow the line of whatever public opinion is. The public thinks that foreigners are buying all the real estate, and the RE industry simply go along with it.
It's much more comfortable to point the finger OUT than IN.
And to those that point to Australia as a shining example of restricting foreign ownership... prices went UP when they restricted ownership, not down.
Switzerland has high real estate ( and everything else ) because they have a VERY protectionist mindset. Swiss people have just 'accepted' that things are expensive in Switzerland... because they're somehow more special. However, it's known that the protectionist policies had led to higher prices in general... and it's a part of their Swiss identity, almost a point of pride.
It's like how Canadians beam with pride about a "FREE" medical system, even though introducing a % of co-pay ( even if only for those over a certain income threshold ) would make the system more efficient, more sustainable, and less wasteful.
Anyway, the POINT is that protectionism RARELY leads to the outcome that you expect, especially when based on public sentiment and anecdotal stories.
Think about it, without hard data, we're SPECULATING about how much SPECULATION there is in the market. How crazy is that?
And as for the "Vancouver's land is constrained! We have no room for more houses! We can't build any more land!" arguments, I suspect people who say that don't REALLY understand what constrained supply really means. There's PLENTY of stock out there, and plenty of land to build upon. Sure, the city of Vancouver doesn't have much greenfield land left, but even in Vancouver, there's plenty of room, plenty of infill and PLENTY of teardowns.
We ARE in an odd place right now where you have very little stock on the market. Why? When prices are skyrocketing so quickly, why would you be in a rush to sell? Greed takes over. You want to wait just ONE more month, to sell at a higher price. Many people are afraid of selling. THAT is the only supply and demand issue we're seeing. A real estate agent friend of mine told me that there is a surprising dearth of work for most agents and that it's not easy to get them. This only adds to the paranoia.
I'll finish with another story. My parents recently sold their SFH in Cloverdale in a desireable convenient location to downsize and become mortgage free. Got WAY more than they expected. Had a few offers from a variety of people. One Asian family ( raised in Vancouver type ) sent a lowball offer. In the end, It was on the market for 3 weeks and the ultimate buyer... a truck driver. White. Single. late 30s. Moved in with his parents. So much for China buying up Metro Vancouver.
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... and then
I'm sure he wouldn't question where the buyer got the 2 mil from.
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