4 ms·

That type of home appreciation happens in larger US real estate markets as well, assuming you're willing to put a few hundred thousand into renovations. Everyth

by mcast 3y ago

That type of home appreciation happens in larger US real estate markets as well, assuming you're willing to put a few hundred thousand into renovations. Everything has shot up tremendously post-COVID.

pcthrowaway 3y ago
Nothing in the U.S. compares to the Canadian housing bubble
- FalconSensei 3y ago
  I guess because Canada only has like... 6 large cities? (1 million+ people)[0] edit: also... not only a matter of size. But a lot of areas in Canada are just way too cold, so ppl just don't want to be there? I'm in Vancouver, lived in Toronto for a year, but I don't see anywhere else besides Vancouver that I would like as much as here - for the green areas, mountains, ocean, and milder winter and summer. Toronto weather is bad, either too cold, or too hot. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_largest_population_centres_in_Canada https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_largest_population...
  - dangerwill 3y ago
    It's not a function of density, there are plenty of incredibly dense cities in Europe and Asia that don't have anything like the price inflation of Canada. Canada has a) not been building nearly enough housing (same story as the US, UK, Australia, NZ, etc) to keep up with demand and b) their version of fannie mae/freddie mac is fully part of the government instead of a private/public thing. In 2008 the Canadian government just allowed people to borrow more to keep home prices intact instead of the US where there was a big drop as the bottom of the market fell out. And the Canadian government since has continued letting people leverage themselves harder and harder so the market doesn't dip. That is how modest homes are selling for over a million CAD. The US is in the same trajectory but with higher salaries and the dip in 2008 we are just 5-10 years behind Canada on this. See also the UK now allowing for mortgages to be passed on to the children of the home buyer, so that the term length can exceed a human lifetime, so as to not explode the monthly payment.
    - FalconSensei 3y ago
      I'm not saying that's all the reason. But the thing - and another commenter mentioned - is that you kinda HAVE to live in one of those few cities if you want to work in a top company, or don't hate your live because of the winter. Whereas in the US you have way more options. We are building in Canada, but because of local regulations and just the fact that everybody wants to live in those few 3 or 4 major cities, it's way more difficult. Prices in other cities are WAY more reasonable.
      - dangerwill 3y ago
        Japan has 3x the population of Canada (125 million vs 38 million). The corridor from Toronto to Quebec is about (eyeballing this) 50% of Japan's land area, with the greater metro areas of Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Calgary probably adding up to another 15-25% of Japan's land area. If you had Japanese style land use you could fit 2-3x more people in the existing large metro areas of Canada
        tivert 3y ago
        > If you had Japanese style land use you could fit 2-3x more people in the existing large metro areas of Canada If you built high-rise dorms or tiny apartments, you could probably fit even more. https://www.designboom.com/design/brownstone-shared-housing-capsulte-pods-shared-living-05-05-2022/ https://www.designboom.com/design/brownstone-shared-housing-... https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/03/business/tiny-apartments-tokyo.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/03/business/tiny-apartments-...
    - dukeyukey 3y ago
      > See also the UK now allowing for mortgages to be passed on to the children of the home buyer Are you sure that's true? I googled it it and it looks like the Johnson Government floated the idea but I can't see anything saying it's now a thing. And we've got two Prime Ministers since then.
      - dangerwill 3y ago
  - TMWNN 3y ago
    >I guess because Canada only has like... 6 large cities? (1 million+ people) More than that, if you want to get to the top of your industry, all major companies (and their jobs) are based on Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver (plus Edmonton and Calgary for oil/gas). In the US, depending on the industry, it's entirely possible to get to the top of your field while living in (say) Denver, Dallas, Orlando, Charlotte, or Las Vegas.
    - pcthrowaway 3y ago
      Natural resource extraction, agriculture, and conservation/forestry aside (because of course those happen outside of the big cities), you have an excellent school in Waterloo for academics at the top of their industry, Ottawa and Victoria (and I'm sure some other cities) for politics, Alberta for a decent film/acting scene, and a few other cities (Gatineau?) for misc government jobs.

by mcast 3y ago

pcthrowaway 3y ago

Nothing in the U.S. compares to the Canadian housing bubble

FalconSensei 3y ago
I guess because Canada only has like... 6 large cities? (1 million+ people)[0] edit: also... not only a matter of size. But a lot of areas in Canada are just way too cold, so ppl just don't want to be there? I'm in Vancouver, lived in Toronto for a year, but I don't see anywhere else besides Vancouver that I would like as much as here - for the green areas, mountains, ocean, and milder winter and summer. Toronto weather is bad, either too cold, or too hot. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_largest_population_centres_in_Canada https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_largest_population...
- dangerwill 3y ago
  It's not a function of density, there are plenty of incredibly dense cities in Europe and Asia that don't have anything like the price inflation of Canada. Canada has a) not been building nearly enough housing (same story as the US, UK, Australia, NZ, etc) to keep up with demand and b) their version of fannie mae/freddie mac is fully part of the government instead of a private/public thing. In 2008 the Canadian government just allowed people to borrow more to keep home prices intact instead of the US where there was a big drop as the bottom of the market fell out. And the Canadian government since has continued letting people leverage themselves harder and harder so the market doesn't dip. That is how modest homes are selling for over a million CAD. The US is in the same trajectory but with higher salaries and the dip in 2008 we are just 5-10 years behind Canada on this. See also the UK now allowing for mortgages to be passed on to the children of the home buyer, so that the term length can exceed a human lifetime, so as to not explode the monthly payment.
  - FalconSensei 3y ago
    I'm not saying that's all the reason. But the thing - and another commenter mentioned - is that you kinda HAVE to live in one of those few cities if you want to work in a top company, or don't hate your live because of the winter. Whereas in the US you have way more options. We are building in Canada, but because of local regulations and just the fact that everybody wants to live in those few 3 or 4 major cities, it's way more difficult. Prices in other cities are WAY more reasonable.
    - dangerwill 3y ago
      Japan has 3x the population of Canada (125 million vs 38 million). The corridor from Toronto to Quebec is about (eyeballing this) 50% of Japan's land area, with the greater metro areas of Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Calgary probably adding up to another 15-25% of Japan's land area. If you had Japanese style land use you could fit 2-3x more people in the existing large metro areas of Canada
      - tivert 3y ago
        > If you had Japanese style land use you could fit 2-3x more people in the existing large metro areas of Canada If you built high-rise dorms or tiny apartments, you could probably fit even more. https://www.designboom.com/design/brownstone-shared-housing-capsulte-pods-shared-living-05-05-2022/ https://www.designboom.com/design/brownstone-shared-housing-... https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/03/business/tiny-apartments-tokyo.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/03/business/tiny-apartments-...
  - dukeyukey 3y ago
    > See also the UK now allowing for mortgages to be passed on to the children of the home buyer Are you sure that's true? I googled it it and it looks like the Johnson Government floated the idea but I can't see anything saying it's now a thing. And we've got two Prime Ministers since then.
    - dangerwill 3y ago
- TMWNN 3y ago
  >I guess because Canada only has like... 6 large cities? (1 million+ people) More than that, if you want to get to the top of your industry, all major companies (and their jobs) are based on Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver (plus Edmonton and Calgary for oil/gas). In the US, depending on the industry, it's entirely possible to get to the top of your field while living in (say) Denver, Dallas, Orlando, Charlotte, or Las Vegas.
  - pcthrowaway 3y ago
    Natural resource extraction, agriculture, and conservation/forestry aside (because of course those happen outside of the big cities), you have an excellent school in Waterloo for academics at the top of their industry, Ottawa and Victoria (and I'm sure some other cities) for politics, Alberta for a decent film/acting scene, and a few other cities (Gatineau?) for misc government jobs.