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Canada's housing crisis goes well beyond just the large cities. It extends into small towns as far as the Yukon. It may be a somewhat different situation compar

Canada's housing crisis goes well beyond just the large cities. It extends into small towns as far as the Yukon. It may be a somewhat different situation compared with the US.

cyberax 2y ago
Smaller town in Canada don't really have skyrocketing prices. For example, in Whitehorse in Yukon the average house was $420k (or $550k inflation adjusted to 2024) in 2015, and $660k in 2024. So less than 20% growth after inflation within the last decade. During that time, Vancouver BC went from $640k ($820k after inflation) to $1300k. The average square footage also went down in BC, but stayed stable in YK.
- bluefirebrand 2y ago
  > For example, in Whitehorse in Yukon the average house was $420k (or $550k inflation adjusted to 2024) in 2015, and $660k in 2024. So less than 20% growth after inflation within the last decade. These are already insanely high prices for such small, remote, and undesirable cities
  - cyberax 2y ago
    Whitehorse is not undesirable, it's located in a beautiful valley and has a fairly mild climate. And I specifically took the worst case of price growth in YK. If you look at Watson Lake, the price there has not grown at all. My point is that smaller cities in Canada are not experiencing runaway price growth. This should make it clear that it's not a housing shortage problem. Otherwise, it'd be experienced equally across the board.
    - twixfel 2y ago
      It’s still a housing shortage problem if what houses there are, are situated where people don’t want to live.
      - cyberax 2y ago
        That's just another way to say what I'm saying: people are being forced into ever-denser cities, into ever-more-miserable living conditions.
        twixfel 2y ago
        Density isn’t necessarily misery. I live in a dense city in Europe and would pick it over American/canadian shithole sprawl any day of the week. Also, no, we definitely aren’t saying the same thing you and I.
      - 9rx 2y ago
        Vancouver has more houses per capita than Whitehorse does. It is where the houses are, both in relative and overwhelmingly absolute terms. The only problem is that they are more expensive than people wish they were. But that high price condition comes as a result of people wanting to live there. The way to undo high prices is to see people no longer want to live there (or, at least want to live elsewhere just as much).
        twixfel 2y ago
        Or build more housing there.
        9rx 2y ago
        New houses generally cost more than used houses. If people already think a used house is more than they can afford, who is going to pay even more to build a new house? If you truly believe you can build new houses in Vancouver for less than the cost of its used houses, you've found one amazing arbitrage opportunity. You should be asking yourself why investors aren't lined up at your door.
        mitthrowaway2 2y ago
        Building new houses reduces the cost of used houses! Coincidentally, the price of used cars went way up during the pandemic, right when the supply of new cars was bottlenecked by industry shutdowns and a global semiconductor shortage. Even though new cars generally cost more than used cars. Strange but true!
    - jcelerier 2y ago
      You can get actual castles in France for less than that, and not too far from a tgv line
    - bluefirebrand 2y ago
      > Whitehorse is not undesirable, it's located in a beautiful valley and has a fairly mild climate I think you have a somewhat skewed idea of mild climate, tbh, because the Territories aren't what I think most people consider mild I'm also not talking about necessarily the scenery. What is the nightlife like? The job market? The restaurants? Also being that far north you have the problem of the length of days and nights being very skewed throughout the year
      - zimpenfish 2y ago
        > the Territories aren't what I think most people consider mild Mild from June to August but the winter months do not look appealing. https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/canada/whitehorse/climate https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/canada/whitehorse/climat...

Canada's housing crisis goes well beyond just the large cities. It extends into small towns as far as the Yukon. It may be a somewhat different situation compared with the US.

cyberax 2y ago

Smaller town in Canada don't really have skyrocketing prices. For example, in Whitehorse in Yukon the average house was $420k (or $550k inflation adjusted to 2024) in 2015, and $660k in 2024. So less than 20% growth after inflation within the last decade. During that time, Vancouver BC went from $640k ($820k after inflation) to $1300k. The average square footage also went down in BC, but stayed stable in YK.

bluefirebrand 2y ago
> For example, in Whitehorse in Yukon the average house was $420k (or $550k inflation adjusted to 2024) in 2015, and $660k in 2024. So less than 20% growth after inflation within the last decade. These are already insanely high prices for such small, remote, and undesirable cities
- cyberax 2y ago
  Whitehorse is not undesirable, it's located in a beautiful valley and has a fairly mild climate. And I specifically took the worst case of price growth in YK. If you look at Watson Lake, the price there has not grown at all. My point is that smaller cities in Canada are not experiencing runaway price growth. This should make it clear that it's not a housing shortage problem. Otherwise, it'd be experienced equally across the board.
  - twixfel 2y ago
    It’s still a housing shortage problem if what houses there are, are situated where people don’t want to live.
    - cyberax 2y ago
      That's just another way to say what I'm saying: people are being forced into ever-denser cities, into ever-more-miserable living conditions.
      - twixfel 2y ago
        Density isn’t necessarily misery. I live in a dense city in Europe and would pick it over American/canadian shithole sprawl any day of the week. Also, no, we definitely aren’t saying the same thing you and I.
    - 9rx 2y ago
      Vancouver has more houses per capita than Whitehorse does. It is where the houses are, both in relative and overwhelmingly absolute terms. The only problem is that they are more expensive than people wish they were. But that high price condition comes as a result of people wanting to live there. The way to undo high prices is to see people no longer want to live there (or, at least want to live elsewhere just as much).
      - twixfel 2y ago
        Or build more housing there.
        9rx 2y ago
        New houses generally cost more than used houses. If people already think a used house is more than they can afford, who is going to pay even more to build a new house? If you truly believe you can build new houses in Vancouver for less than the cost of its used houses, you've found one amazing arbitrage opportunity. You should be asking yourself why investors aren't lined up at your door.
        mitthrowaway2 2y ago
        Building new houses reduces the cost of used houses! Coincidentally, the price of used cars went way up during the pandemic, right when the supply of new cars was bottlenecked by industry shutdowns and a global semiconductor shortage. Even though new cars generally cost more than used cars. Strange but true!
  - jcelerier 2y ago
    You can get actual castles in France for less than that, and not too far from a tgv line
  - bluefirebrand 2y ago
    > Whitehorse is not undesirable, it's located in a beautiful valley and has a fairly mild climate I think you have a somewhat skewed idea of mild climate, tbh, because the Territories aren't what I think most people consider mild I'm also not talking about necessarily the scenery. What is the nightlife like? The job market? The restaurants? Also being that far north you have the problem of the length of days and nights being very skewed throughout the year
    - zimpenfish 2y ago
      > the Territories aren't what I think most people consider mild Mild from June to August but the winter months do not look appealing. https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/canada/whitehorse/climate https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/canada/whitehorse/climat...