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I'm in one of the hardest hit areas in Canada. Rental vacancies hit ~0% last summer. House prices jumped ~20% last year alone. Amusingly, the crunch has been so

by jml7c5 9y ago

I'm in one of the hardest hit areas in Canada. Rental vacancies hit ~0% last summer. House prices jumped ~20% last year alone. Amusingly, the crunch has been so bad that our city has reached the point where we have approximately as many realtors as listings. For someone who aspired to one day own a home, the realization that prices have jumped 125% over the last decade is disheartening to say the least.

dublinben 9y ago
Why is there not more construction to increase the amount of housing in your city?
- arielweisberg 9y ago
  That is the odd part isn't it? At some point the sale price of a new home has to incentivize building houses.
  - acover 9y ago
    Isn't it the zoning rules that limit building densely? The incentives of existing owners are against development.
- stupidhn 9y ago
  >Why is there not more construction to increase the amount of housing in your city? Many reasons, of course. But one is that, perhaps, builders see the demand being temporary and unsustainable. I'll assume the OP is talking about VanCity (which is the most overpriced market on the planet last I heard); is it really smart to build units in such an environment, when housing demand is outpacing all forms of economic growth? Wouldn't want to be the bagholder...
- wvenable 9y ago
  Construction is rampant and units that won't finish being constructed for another 3 years or more are already sold. The way I see it, there is plenty of construction but demand outpaces even that. The other issue that builders are incentivized to build property for investors and speculators rather than for people to actually live in them.
- jaredhansen 9y ago
  Consider the incentives of municipal representatives. Faced with a choice between a change in zoning laws that would allow more construction (thereby preventing price increases that would benefit current holders of real estate), and maintaining the status quo with the effect of driving up the value of their own holdings as well as the value held by any homeowners who voted for them, what do you think they are going to do?

by jml7c5 9y ago

dublinben 9y ago

Why is there not more construction to increase the amount of housing in your city?

arielweisberg 9y ago
That is the odd part isn't it? At some point the sale price of a new home has to incentivize building houses.
- acover 9y ago
  Isn't it the zoning rules that limit building densely? The incentives of existing owners are against development.
stupidhn 9y ago
>Why is there not more construction to increase the amount of housing in your city? Many reasons, of course. But one is that, perhaps, builders see the demand being temporary and unsustainable. I'll assume the OP is talking about VanCity (which is the most overpriced market on the planet last I heard); is it really smart to build units in such an environment, when housing demand is outpacing all forms of economic growth? Wouldn't want to be the bagholder...
wvenable 9y ago
Construction is rampant and units that won't finish being constructed for another 3 years or more are already sold. The way I see it, there is plenty of construction but demand outpaces even that. The other issue that builders are incentivized to build property for investors and speculators rather than for people to actually live in them.
jaredhansen 9y ago
Consider the incentives of municipal representatives. Faced with a choice between a change in zoning laws that would allow more construction (thereby preventing price increases that would benefit current holders of real estate), and maintaining the status quo with the effect of driving up the value of their own holdings as well as the value held by any homeowners who voted for them, what do you think they are going to do?