$2.4 Million Tear Down House in Vancouver - Update: $9 Million Tear Down

[JV77]

Why do so many young people feel they have to stay right in the heart of Vancouver and no where else?  Move to Delta, Surrey, Langley, Coquitlam etc.  There are plenty of affordable options there.

People expecting Vancouver housing prices to come down is like expecting Beverley Hills or Manhattan to be affordable for everyone...

[guntrix]

3 hours ago, riffraff said:

You can cover whistler in a day?

 

thats quite impressive.

A tourist will probably cover the essentials in a full day. A person coming from Europe or Asia isn't gonna aim for the fully immersive Whistler experience, but rather the main things - same as us if we visit a foreign city.

Whistler's nice and all but let's not pretend like it's as loaded as a day trip to Positano/Pompei, Segovia, cliffs of mother, or any of the usual day trip kinda stuff in other parts of the world.

[ronthecivil]

On ‎01‎/‎02‎/‎2016 at 1:58 PM, taxi said:

The bigger issue here once again is a generational gap. The reason the government isn't stepping in is because baby boomers are making a ton of their real estate right now. However, it largely won't be them that's left with the mess when the bubble bursts and interest rates eventually go up. It's the same thing with the financial crisis, the Canada Pension Plan, health care, etc...

Meanwhile, we'll get some diatribe about how the younger generations are all "entitled" despite the fact they work far harder for far less reward than the generation before them.

 

Ding ding ding, we have a winner!

Bad news young people. Even if you did all come out and vote, your outnumbered by older people that will on one hand be disgusted by your sense of entitlement while refusing to accept a tax hike, a cut in services, an increase in interest rates, an increase in retirement age, or anything to take away the pot of gold that was largely earned entirely through luck and a long run on inflation.

One day the pyramid scheme will go kablooie and when it does lots of things are going to take a hit. Including highly desirable properties in West Point Grey.

Of course, that can will be kicked down the road as long as humanely possible.......

[ronthecivil]

12 hours ago, taxi said:

Here we have it folks, the proof is here:

 

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/in-a-six-month-period-70-of-detached-homes-sold-in-vancouvers-west-side-went-to-mainland-china-buyers

 

70% of all detached homes on the Westside of Vancouver in the last 6 months purchased by Mainland Chinese. This is what is driving the housing crisis in Vancouver. It's not interest rates, fiscal policy, Albertans, or anything else. It's money coming in at an unregulated rate from Mainland China. 

I couldn't think of anyone better to be holding the bag when the speculation goes sideways.

[ronthecivil]

3 hours ago, JV77 said:

Why do so many young people feel they have to stay right in the heart of Vancouver and no where else?  Move to Delta, Surrey, Langley, Coquitlam etc.  There are plenty of affordable options there.

People expecting Vancouver housing prices to come down is like expecting Beverley Hills or Manhattan to be affordable for everyone...

LOL prices in Coquitlam aren't AS stupid as in Vancouver. But they are still stupid. Single family homes under 600k (and these ain't nice) aren't exactly common.

All you need is a 150k income, zero desire to do renos (or much of anything else), the prayer of low interest rates to hold, and it's almost possible to own an actual house!

You gotta cross a bridge before you start getting into the zones where you actually have some money left over for anything else. Of course, then you just spend it all on gas and time commuting......

[ronthecivil]

2 hours ago, guntrix said:

A tourist will probably cover the essentials in a full day. A person coming from Europe or Asia isn't gonna aim for the fully immersive Whistler experience, but rather the main things - same as us if we visit a foreign city.

Whistler's nice and all but let's not pretend like it's as loaded as a day trip to Positano/Pompei, Segovia, cliffs of mother, or any of the usual day trip kinda stuff in other parts of the world.

Vancouver will always be relatively boring since the only thing most people can afford to do is to stay at home hitting the bong and watching TV.

There's a reason Vancouver is relatively dead culturally. Everyone is broke. The downside of spending the vast majority of your income on housing, in one form or another.

[riffraff]

10 hours ago, CanadianLoonie said:

Then be consistent and leave others' business to themselves.

Why? Others business effects us/me.  You dont have the right to say that.

 

You used gang activity in Beijing as a reason why we shouldnt question what goes on in Vancouver real estate and still no answer from you as to how it actually does affect real estate in Vancouver.  That's ridiculous.  It obviously doesn't and you're assuming that we as vancouverites or even Canadians should care  about that.  The purpose of Canada is not to bandaid the worlds problems.  We have enough of our own and this is one right here in my hometown.

 

shady dealings and taking advantage of a system is still just that.

 

70% of sales to Asians?  I don't realize "multicultural" meant Asian.

 

i was raised in Vancouver since the '70's....I haven't lived there in twelve years.  If you think unaffordable housing for the majority of people regardless of origin is ok and zero sense of community is ok, then obviously money/business is your only care.  Fun.  Enjoy that life.

 

where do you live?  

[riffraff]

8 hours ago, guntrix said:

A tourist will probably cover the essentials in a full day. A person coming from Europe or Asia isn't gonna aim for the fully immersive Whistler experience, but rather the main things - same as us if we visit a foreign city.

Whistler's nice and all but let's not pretend like it's as loaded as a day trip to Positano/Pompei, Segovia, cliffs of mother, or any of the usual day trip kinda stuff in other parts of the world.

Matter of opinion I guess.

curious as to what you feel the essentials are?  I'm sure most people local to the westcoast would not consider whistler as a day trip. It sure sounds like you haven't really thought this statement out.  There are l people who have gone to whistler as tourists and have never left.

 

ive been to Europe twice.  In total I spent 15 months travelling through it.  Most cities i spent 3 or 4 days in to cover the basics as you say - London, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Munich, Florence, Rome, sienna, Athens, Istanbul, etc.  So imo a tourist in any city is comparable.  The majority of my time in Europe was spent relaxing on coast lines: French Riviera, Greece, turkey and on England's south coast.

 

i find your statements fairly generalizing like you feel European and Asian tourists are all looking for the same thing.? Huh.?  For example on mt. Washington on Vancouver island, the majority of the hill staff are euro.  That means they are employed on work visas. That means they are here as longer term tourists or even possibly applying for residency .  That means they are here for more than a few days.  Why is that?  That's the same for places like whistler.  Honestly your comments are short sighted.  

 

There are many people who don't travel For the purpose of going to a couple tourist sites, restaurants and nightclubs.  

 

True story:  I actually just got an email from an english woman I met in turkey back in '95.  Her son has now applied for a Canadian work visa and plans to come to Canada for an extended trip.  I'm sure he wouldn't go to that effort if he felt he could cover whistler and Vancouver in a week.

 

 

[riffraff]

5 hours ago, ronthecivil said:

Vancouver will always be relatively boring since the only thing most people can afford to do is to stay at home hitting the bong and watching TV.

There's a reason Vancouver is relatively dead culturally. Everyone is broke. The downside of spending the vast majority of your income on housing, in one form or another.

It's also dying culturally because multicultural is losing the multi.

[taxi]

15 hours ago, CanadianLoonie said:

1.) What authority do you have in intervening in the private business transaction of a willing buyer and a willing seller?

2.) The repatriated Canadian money is being parked here in real estate because there is no better asset class to put it in.

3.) Canadians destroyed their own economy by consenting to long-term destructive fiscal and monetary policies by the government and central bank in return for short-term "benefits" and"stimulus".

It's not a purely private business transaction. We have two sets of people playing by different rules. Canada has rules surrounding labour and the environment, which prevent people from getting rich at the expense of others. China is corrupt and has poorly enforced rules. We are dealing with two sets of people from two sets of governments.

The vast majority of countries have rules set in place to prevent non-residents from simply buying up all the real estate. Real estate is more than just an "asset". It's a crucial part of the economy that provides shelter and allows businesses to thrive. For whatever reason, Canada, unlike most other countries in the world, has just allowed our real estate to be plundered. 

[Rocky Balboa]

On 1/30/2016 at 0:48 AM, PhillipBlunt said:

This city has changed so drastically as far as population, I barely recognize the place. When I was a kid growing up in South Vancouver, the neighborhoods were the United Nations. It was awesome. I grew up in an Irish household on the corner lot. And grew up listening to Indian, Hawaiian, Quebecois, Afghani, Japanese, German, Russian, Chinese, and, Italian.

Now that diversity is gone. Completely absent. 

I'm from South Central Vancouver as well and I remember those times.  Back in the 80s, South Vancouver was a great and safe place to be. 

Old South Vancouver has a cancer...that cancer is crime.

[taxi]

31 minutes ago, Rocky Balboa said:

I'm from South Central Vancouver as well and I remember those times.  Back in the 80s, South Vancouver was a great and safe place to be. 

Old South Vancouver has a cancer...that cancer is crime.

It's a myth that crime is on the rise. Crime rates peaked in the early to mid-90s and have fallen dramatically since then.

[smokes]

2 hours ago, taxi said:

It's not a purely private business transaction. We have two sets of people playing by different rules. Canada has rules surrounding labour and the environment, which prevent people from getting rich at the expense of others. China is corrupt and has poorly enforced rules. We are dealing with two sets of people from two sets of governments.

The vast majority of countries have rules set in place to prevent non-residents from simply buying up all the real estate. Real estate is more than just an "asset". It's a crucial part of the economy that provides shelter and allows businesses to thrive. For whatever reason, Canada, unlike most other countries in the world, has just allowed our real estate to be plundered. 

Foreign investment in properties have definately driven the prices up in the Lower Mainland but calling it the reason why real estate prices are so high is borderline racist. The laws of real estate are written by the government. If the government wanted to implement rules to regulate the cost of housing it would not necessarily be such a hard thing to do, many countries do it. The fact is the more expensive your property is, the more money the government receives for the sale. Added the fact that many housing taxes are in relation to the value of your property, the higher real estate prices go up the more money in governments pockets. So do you think the government will help cut off their cash cow?

And In regards to China being corrupt and with poorly enforced rules. I'm sorry but have you been to China? I mean have you actually went to China? Or are you making comments about China based what you read artcles written by other people who have never been to the country? From what I have seen whinin politics in this world, there is corruption in all levels and in ALL countries. The fact that there are so many Chinese investors coming in to purchase housing only shows the lack of Canadian investors there are. To me this statement is all about finding a scapegoat. As a real Canadian, I'd hope you would be more wise than that. 

[guntrix]

4 hours ago, riffraff said:

Matter of opinion I guess.

curious as to what you feel the essentials are?  I'm sure most people local to the westcoast would not consider whistler as a day trip. It sure sounds like you haven't really thought this statement out.  There are l people who have gone to whistler as tourists and have never left.

 

ive been to Europe twice.  In total I spent 15 months travelling through it.  Most cities i spent 3 or 4 days in to cover the basics as you say - London, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Munich, Florence, Rome, sienna, Athens, Istanbul, etc.  So imo a tourist in any city is comparable.  The majority of my time in Europe was spent relaxing on coast lines: French Riviera, Greece, turkey and on England's south coast.

 

i find your statements fairly generalizing like you feel European and Asian tourists are all looking for the same thing.? Huh.?  For example on mt. Washington on Vancouver island, the majority of the hill staff are euro.  That means they are employed on work visas. That means they are here as longer term tourists or even possibly applying for residency .  That means they are here for more than a few days.  Why is that?  That's the same for places like whistler.  Honestly your comments are short sighted.  

 

There are many people who don't travel For the purpose of going to a couple tourist sites, restaurants and nightclubs.  

 

True story:  I actually just got an email from an english woman I met in turkey back in '95.  Her son has now applied for a Canadian work visa and plans to come to Canada for an extended trip.  I'm sure he wouldn't go to that effort if he felt he could cover whistler and Vancouver in a week.

 

 

Are you saying that Vancouver is worth more than a week trip? I'm sorry, it's simply not on the level of New York, London, Paris, etc. Maybe you should let the guy know that he's allocated too much time so the poor guy doesn't run out of things to do halfway through.

As for Whistler, it's not shortsighted to say that you could cover the essentials in a day. And yes, unless a tourist plans to ski/snowboard on Whistler (which in that case, it wouldn't be farfetched to stay a night), they're probably looking at the same touristy sites, whether they be Asian, European, South American, etc.

I've got a few Australian friends that are employed temporarily at Grouse and they're mostly ski/snowboard fanatics that are here to spend some time abroad. They're not exactly here because they think Vancouver takes an extended amount of time to see.

Seriously, you must be the only person I know that thinks that Vancouver takes that long to see. Even the Vancouverites I know disagree with that.

[smokes]

5 minutes ago, guntrix said:

Are you saying that Vancouver is worth more than a week trip? I'm sorry, it's simply not on the level of New York, London, Paris, etc. Maybe you should let the guy know that he's allocated too much time so the poor guy doesn't run out of things to do halfway through.

As for Whistler, it's not shortsighted to say that you could cover the essentials in a day. And yes, unless a tourist plans to ski/snowboard on Whistler (which in that case, it wouldn't be farfetched to stay a night), they're probably looking at the same touristy sites, whether they be Asian, European, South American, etc.

I've got a few Australian friends that are employed temporarily at Grouse and they're mostly ski/snowboard fanatics that are here to spend some time abroad. They're not exactly here because they think Vancouver takes an extended amount of time to see.

Seriously, you must be the only person I know that thinks that Vancouver takes that long to see. Even the Vancouverites I know disagree with that.

What Vancouver lacks in attractions it more than makes up for in terrain. I think Vancouver would attract a different type of tourist. Ones that are more into nature.If you are a nature buff, easily 1 day in Stanley park, a day in Squamish, Gouse Mountain, . New York, London, Paris may beat Vancouver in terms of being an "exotic" city. But Vancouver trumps when it comes to natural beauty.

[taxi]

2 minutes ago, smokes said:

Foreign investment in properties have definately driven the prices up in the Lower Mainland but calling it the reason why real estate prices are so high is borderline racist. The laws of real estate are written by the government. If the government wanted to implement rules to regulate the cost of housing it would not necessarily be such a hard thing to do. The fact is the more expensive your property is, the more money the government receives for the sale. Added the fact that many housing taxes are in relation to the value of your property, the higher real estate prices go up the more money in governments pockets. 

1) I don't see how limiting investment to foreigners is racist in any way. Residents and non-residents have entirely different sets of laws ruling them. We don't get to enforce environmental/criminal/employment/tax/etc... laws on them. Why should non-residents benefit from the situation we've created here at the expense of people actually living here? I'm not talking about signaling out Chinese people, but applying restrictions across the board against all non-residents.

China place heavy restriction on non-Chinese citizens buying property in China. Why are Canadians expected to allow foreigners to drive up property prices and park money here without any restrictions? 

And yes, foreign investment is the reason why residents of Canada cannot afford even a run-down detached home in the GVRD. Prices would still be high without the investment, but they wouldn't be absurd. It's the difference between a house on the east side costing 900k and 1.5+ million. Property in Vancouver will always be expensive, but it's at the point now where even dual income families and high earning professionals are shut out of the housing market.

2) I agree the government and the people who already own property have been complicit in the real estate mess. Like I said earlier, they are both profiting in the short term. Meanwhile, young families now and future generations will have to pay the price. The baby boomers strike again.

 

[smokes]

2 minutes ago, taxi said:

1) I don't see how limiting investment to foreigners is racist in any way. Residents and non-residents have entirely different sets of laws ruling them. We don't get to enforce environmental/criminal/employment/tax/etc... laws on them. Why should non-residents benefit from the situation we've created here at the expense of people actually living here? I'm not talking about signaling out Chinese people, but applying restrictions across the board against all non-residents.

China place heavy restriction on non-Chinese citizens buying property in China. Why are Canadians expected to allow foreigners to drive up property prices and park money here without any restrictions? 

And yes, foreign investment is the reason why residents of Canada cannot afford even a run-down detached home in the GVRD. Prices would still be high without the investment, but they wouldn't be absurd. It's the difference between a house on the east side costing 900k and 1.5+ million. Property in Vancouver will always be expensive, but it's at the point now where even dual income families and high earning professionals are shut out of the housing market.

2) I agree the government and the people who already own property have been complicit in the real estate mess. Like I said earlier, they are both profiting in the short term. Meanwhile, young families now and future generations will have to pay the price. The baby boomers strike again.

 

Foreign investment absolutely should be restricted just like China, just like Austrailia. But no one can restrict them except Christy Clark and the Liberals. And people should be fighting Clark on this if you honestly want change to happen.

[taxi]

1 minute ago, smokes said:

Foreign investment absolutely should be restricted just like China, just like Austrailia. But no one can restrict them except Christy Clark and the Liberals. And people should be fighting Clark on this if you honestly want change to happen.

I agree.

The issue is that older more conservative home owners make a huge proportion of the voting base. Even the opposition parties are shying away from outright stating they will restrict foreign investment, as they don't want to upset this huge voting block. If a party had the balls to explicitly state they are going to put in in major and substantial restrictions on foreign ownership, I would definitely vote for them.

[riffraff]

29 minutes ago, guntrix said:

Are you saying that Vancouver is worth more than a week trip? I'm sorry, it's simply not on the level of New York, London, Paris, etc. Maybe you should let the guy know that he's allocated too much time so the poor guy doesn't run out of things to do halfway through.

As for Whistler, it's not shortsighted to say that you could cover the essentials in a day. And yes, unless a tourist plans to ski/snowboard on Whistler (which in that case, it wouldn't be farfetched to stay a night), they're probably looking at the same touristy sites, whether they be Asian, European, South American, etc.

I've got a few Australian friends that are employed temporarily at Grouse and they're mostly ski/snowboard fanatics that are here to spend some time abroad. They're not exactly here because they think Vancouver takes an extended amount of time to see.

Seriously, you must be the only person I know that thinks that Vancouver takes that long to see. Even the Vancouverites I know disagree with that.

I'm only responding to balance out your blanket suggestion that this area can be "covered in a few days"

 

many people come out for so much longer and some don't leave.  People come here and realize how unique and special it is.  Why do you think you almost never meet anyone who is actually from Vancouver anymore?  Most are transplants from wherever. There are legit reason for that and it seems you and others ignore them. That's all.  Maybe the vancouverites you know haven't been out much? I wouldn't know.  Not being rude.  Legit question.

 

as I said I don't actually live in the city anymore.  It's busy and expensive and admittedly not as friendly as it was.  Having said that, after the 18 countries I've travelled to, four work visas, one perm res application and several more cities, spending nearly four years to do it, I still say I wouldn't want to live anywhere other than the wesctcoast of Canada.....maybe the westcoast of the north island of New Zealand.

 

in my experience I wouldn't suggest to anyone "yeah I've traveled there" when in reality I followed a pamphlet for a day or two.  And many I have met on various trips feel the same.

 

 

[guntrix]

43 minutes ago, riffraff said:

I'm only responding to balance out your blanket suggestion that this area can be "covered in a few days"

 

many people come out for so much longer and some don't leave.  People come here and realize how unique and special it is.  Why do you think you almost never meet anyone who is actually from Vancouver anymore?  Most are transplants from wherever. There are legit reason for that and it seems you and others ignore them. That's all.  Maybe the vancouverites you know haven't been out much? I wouldn't know.  Not being rude.  Legit question.

 

as I said I don't actually live in the city anymore.  It's busy and expensive and admittedly not as friendly as it was.  Having said that, after the 18 countries I've travelled to, four work visas, one perm res application and several more cities, spending nearly four years to do it, I still say I wouldn't want to live anywhere other than the wesctcoast of Canada.....maybe the westcoast of the north island of New Zealand.

 

in my experience I wouldn't suggest to anyone "yeah I've traveled there" when in reality I followed a pamphlet for a day or two.  And many I have met on various trips feel the same.

 

 

Experiencing a vast influx of incoming immigration is something consistent with all Canadian cities. It's not a Vancouver thing, it's a Canadian thing.

And even then, Vancouver used to be more multiculturally varied. Nowadays, you got a bulk of the new Vancouver population composed of Chinese and South Asian, sprinkled with the occasional Vietnamese, Philipino, Korean, etc.