The Metro Vancouver Real Estate Thread

[osirisboy]

Originally Posted by Feathered Friend

By Glen Korstrom
https://www.biv.com/article/2017/3/c...-under-bill-4/



This slipped past me in March. However, I noticed the sold sign when I went walking past today. I hope we get better density here than at the nearby 10th and Oak project.

Everything in this area needs to get torn down! So this is a good start. Yeah I agree hope the fsr will be higher than the 2-2.5 although I'm not expecting much. It's a good size lot I'd love to see 400 units but probably get 50 lol

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

Everything in this area needs to get torn down! So this is a good start. Yeah I agree hope the fsr will be higher than the 2-2.5 although I'm not expecting much. It's a good size lot I'd love to see 400 units but probably get 50 lol

Yes tear it all down. We shouldn't have affordable units close to a major employment area when there are foreign investors begging for buying opportunities!

[whatnext]

From today's Sun:

Massive and risky home loans are increasing in number across Metro Vancouver, while mortgage fraud cases are also on the rise, connected to the growth of so-called “shadow banking,” a Postmedia investigation shows.

The trend of increasingly risky loans underlying Metro Vancouver’s high home prices is illustrated by Bank of Canada figures that show the rapid growth since 2014 of large mortgages made to people with relatively low incomes.

This is a growing danger for Vancouver’s real estate market, because under new tighter lending standards introduced for banks in fall 2016, the Bank of Canada says that many of these big mortgages can no longer be insured, and won’t be issued again by federally regulated lenders.

As a result of the tighter federal lending rules, borrowers trying to buy million-dollar-plus properties in Vancouver’s market are increasingly taking out dangerous loans from shadow bankers in a fast-growing and poorly regulated financial market.....

http://vancouversun.com/news/local-n...ate-in-the-red

I'll take "harbingers of a real estate crash" for $200 Alex.

[Cypherus]

Originally Posted by whatnext

From today's Sun:

Massive and risky home loans are increasing in number across Metro Vancouver, while mortgage fraud cases are also on the rise, connected to the growth of so-called “shadow banking,” a Postmedia investigation shows.

The trend of increasingly risky loans underlying Metro Vancouver’s high home prices is illustrated by Bank of Canada figures that show the rapid growth since 2014 of large mortgages made to people with relatively low incomes.

This is a growing danger for Vancouver’s real estate market, because under new tighter lending standards introduced for banks in fall 2016, the Bank of Canada says that many of these big mortgages can no longer be insured, and won’t be issued again by federally regulated lenders.

As a result of the tighter federal lending rules, borrowers trying to buy million-dollar-plus properties in Vancouver’s market are increasingly taking out dangerous loans from shadow bankers in a fast-growing and poorly regulated financial market.....

http://vancouversun.com/news/local-n...ate-in-the-red

I'll take "harbingers of a real estate crash" for $200 Alex.

Those risky loans being made to people with low incomes is true, but they have hundreds of thousands of dollars overseas, which are not being reported on their Canadian tax return (note, all Canadians report world income - not just income earned in Canada). That's why federal tax authorities are targeting certain individuals living in million plus dollar homes in Vancouver, and reporting low income that they are getting GST credits and social assistance.... Their lenders know they have money despite low income, which is why they do not have to go through loops to get financing. Real Estate cannot crash if an individual has $50,000 "gift" coming from, say China, every month to support housing costs.

[whatnext]

It's interesting watching the SFH listings pile up. Really in the CoV or Richmond nobody except a Mainland Chinese buyer can afford the prices, so it's not surprising the inventory is stacking up quickly. What will force sellers to be more realistic I wonder?

So locals area all forced into the condo or townhouse market which is hot. Still, it is fun to see the overreachers, like this seller:

https://www.rew.ca/properties/R21754...e-vancouver-bc

Well over a $1,000 sq/ft for an eight year old one bedroom in a rather anonymous building and area? Good luck.

[Waders]

$725,000 for one-bedroom condo at Joyce Station raises red flags
It is over $1,600 per square feet! Looks like the Joyce-Collingwood Station Precinct Review would not help housing affordability.

[Vin]

That is ridiculous, even if this is a high-end condo. It's East Van for crying out loud. Developers should be made to build multiple towers, from affordable to high end. This would lessen the impact on unaffordability.

[whatnext]

This week's ludicrous listing. For almost $4 million you get one of the worst architectural taste offenders from the Eighties. Not in an area for land assembly, and on the wrong side of Main. Sure it's a 50' lot, but at that price not even the dumbest spec builder would buy it.

http://www.realtylink.org/prop_searc...000000&SCTP=RS

[logan5]

The 2 lions at the front gate adds a bit of class.

There should absolutely be no 50 foot lots in Vancouver. You can easily fit 2 detached homes on a 50 foot wide lot.

And on another note, most of the laneway homes being built are almost useless. There is no living room area in these units. Just a kitchen area and bedrooms upstairs. Really only appropriate as a dorm room. Laneway houses need to be bigger.

[p_xavier]

Originally Posted by Waders

$725,000 for one-bedroom condo at Joyce Station raises red flags
It is over $1,600 per square feet! Looks like the Joyce-Collingwood Station Precinct Review would not help housing affordability.

From the same link

However, a June 22 article posted on a Singaporean real estate site, theedgeproperty.com, says that 40 of the suites in the 256-unit building have been reserved for Singapore buyers, and that one-bedroom apartments start at $715,825.

“Singapore will be the second stop following the development’s global launch in Vancouver, China, Hong Kong and Taipei on June 17 and 18,” the post reads. “So far, 85% of the units have been sold.”

Unbelievable the guts of the real estate agents! Basically we're selling all the units for other countries and maybe some units left for people in Vancouver!

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by whatnext

This week's ludicrous listing. For almost $4 million you get one of the worst architectural taste offenders from the Eighties. Not in an area for land assembly, and on the wrong side of Main. Sure it's a 50' lot, but at that price not even the dumbest spec builder would buy it.

http://www.realtylink.org/prop_searc...000000&SCTP=RS

Wow you're right!!! UUUUUUUG - LY !!!!

[whatnext]

Newly released documents show Christy's vote-pandering first time homebuyers' program got a big thumbs down from the CMHC:

Canada’s housing agency refused a B.C. government request to waive some mortgage rules for first time homebuyers, saying the province shouldn’t “lure the most vulnerable Canadians” into the Vancouver housing market, newly released documents show...

https://thetyee.ca/News/2017/07/07/C...on-Home-Loans/

[whatnext]

Turns out the BC Liberals subprime lending plan for 1st time buyers may have had the unintended (though not unexpected) effect of raising home prices:

Finally, we get a look at numbers for the newest loan scheme going on in British Columbia – the BC Home Partnership. The BC government released an update on the first quarter this program has been running, and boy was it popular. The subprime borrowing scheme was so popular in fact, it may have added pressure to prices. Ironically, this effectively kills any advantage it would have given.

If you’re not from BC, you likely have no idea what the BC Home Partnership is, so here’s brief intro. The BC government will give a first-time buyer up to 5% of their down payment, on a high-ratio mortgage of up to $750,000. The loan is interest and payment free for the first five years, and you have 25 years to pay it off. The loan is registered as a second mortgage, so congrats! You’re a first-time buyer and now you’ve got two mortgages. The rest of the country is totes jealous. It’s almost like you’re teasing us with your low, low rates....
https://betterdwelling.com/city/vanc...state-in-q1/#_

[SpongeG]

Feds take developers to court over presale flippers

CRA wants to ensure resellers tax compliant; company protective of buyers’ privacy

By Darryl Greer | July 24, 2017, 10:28 a.m.

The federal government is taking the property developers behind the Marine Gateway project on Marine Drive and the Residences at West on southeast False Creek to court, probing for information on buyers who flipped their presale contracts before construction was completed to verify compliance with the Income Tax Act.

...

https://www.biv.com/article/2017/7/f...sale-flippers/

[whatnext]

A timely reminder from Better Dwelling that presales are currently exempted from the Foreign Buyers Tax, and that might be inflating condo numbers and adding to the erroneous perception of a "shortage":

...These numbers are based on property transfers, which fails to capture an important part of the influence of foreign money on home prices – condo presales. Condo pre-sale assignments are not subject to the foreign buying tax in BC until they register. Local developers have been offering big incentives for foreign buyers to buy at presale. If they’re selling in any significant quantity overseas to people that are engaging in “assignment flipping,” a.k.a. selling before the condo registers, foreign buyers could be adding a markup to condos. In China they addressed this by creating a mandatory lockup period in dense areas, ensuring that the owner has to hang on to the property for 5 to 10 years after the property registers (or pay a massive fine).

Vancouver and Richmond in particular have a huge number of condo projects currently under construction (or being planned). If non-resident buyers are engaging in assignment flipping, you’ll see a number of pre-sales being sold on the MLS as resales any day now. If they aren’t, and they plan on holding the property through registration, we’ll see a bump up in the non-resident buying numbers – as old transactions start completing. That isn’t to say only non-resident buyers do assignment flipping (we’ve found locals that are flipping whole floors in some cities), but the numbers do fail to capture this..

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/newr...te=1&p=7830436

[whatnext]

More shenanigans at realtor that caters to new Canadians:

A prominent Richmond realtor has been accused in a lawsuit by her former employer, New Coast Realty, of “forging and concealing” changes made to 11 contracts, and causing the firm to lose listings contracts and commissions.

But in her response to the lawsuit filed in B.C. Supreme Court, realtor Wendy Yang alleges “it was common practice” for realtors at New Coast to write their manager’s name on documents submitted to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, and that she left the firm because she refused to take part in what she believed were “unethical and unlawful practices.”..

http://www.theprovince.com/news/loca...508/story.html

[whatnext]

Surrey buyer who walked away from sale ordered to pay damages. $1.2 mil for Newton? Madness!

The B.C. Supreme Court has ordered a buyer who walked away from a Surrey, B.C., real estate deal last summer to pay the sellers more than $360,000, or six times his original deposit.

The ruling puts the would-be buyer on the hook for the difference between the contract he signed — for $1,260,000 — and what it eventually sold for after the homeowners failed to find another buyer to match the initial high offer.

The original deal was struck in May 2016, a month that saw record-breaking frenzy in the Vancouver-area real estate market.

The sellers, who were downsizing to a condo, accepted a no-subjects offer with a $60,000 deposit to buy their single-storey rancher in Surrey's Newton neighbourhood, according to the court ruling.

But by the closing date, Sept. 1, 2016, the buyer walked away...
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/britis...360k-1.4232844

[logan5]

A three-bedroom house at the intersection of Cambie Street and West 35th Avenue was recently posted for sale with an asking price of $11 million.

it's a large lot, but the asking price is close too $500/ buildable sq ft. Insane. The sale price for these units will be around $1500 per sq foot.

[Vin]

It's ok, Burnaby will attract more people to live there soon, plus the fact that by being debt free they can make the city even more liveable.

http://vancouversun.com/business/com...-of-1-billion?
utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#link_time=1502954173

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by logan5

A three-bedroom house at the intersection of Cambie Street and West 35th Avenue was recently posted for sale with an asking price of $11 million.

it's a large lot, but the asking price is close too $500/ buildable sq ft. Insane. The sale price for these units will be around $1500 per sq foot.

Still, it is double what it sold for last year. Double!

This is what happens when governments enable a speculative bubble.