On Tuesday I attended the annual city planning event at the Museum of Vancouver. It featured prominent speakers such as Frances Bula (urban affairs journalist), Jennifer Marshall (Architect and urban designer), Noha Sedky (urban planner) and the legendary Bob Rennie. There were a few things I wanted to recap on the two hour presentation. Firstly, the thing that struck me the most was all 4 speakers echoed the same message regarding foreign investment. It has very little impact on Vancouver real estate prices. They felt it has influenced prices for only the high end luxury market and little to no affect on the average condo market. Bob Rennie and the gang went on to say that prices are coming from limited supply and demand and low interest rates. I couldn’t help but think, really, no affect on the average condo market in Downtown Vancouver? Prices went up by 18% in one year. I’ll agree limited supply and demand and low interest rates certainly play a huge roll but to downplay foreign investment. They continually referenced that only 2% of Vancouver condos were purchased by foreigners. If you believe that stat I think you’re completely oblivious. As i’ve said before it’s

Social media is taking over the internet and for some Realtors it is becoming a large contribution to their success. Yet for most Realtors they are jumping on it simply because it’s the thing to do. Another place to advertise their listings and painful market updates. They don’t understand how social media works and ultimately are doing themselves more harm than good. Let me explain. I am 24 years old, luckily I was able to grow up in the world of social media. I’m an early adapter to all the platforms. I’ve been on Facebook for almost 10 years, and jumped on all the other platforms before the masses. So naturally, I understand how these platforms work. How people interact on them and it’s benefited my real estate business immensley. So when my Mom, an older, yet very successful Realtor asked me to help her get set up on Facebook I knew there was going to be a steep learning curve. Somewhere along the lines these so called real estate “guru’s” and “coaches” have given some very poor advice. Many coaches and teachers are saying post 5 times per day on Facebook. Posting 5 times per day on Facebook, 1-2

I’ve written recently about how the current economic situation in China could encourage investors to get their money out of China and into safer places, such as Vancouver real estate. This could spur real estate prices to rise even further. However, multiple news channels are now reporting that the Chinese government is putting heavy restrictions on citizens, not allowing them to spend money outside of China. As China Law Blog article reported here, they are seeing new cases they have never seen before where Chinese citizens are having a very difficult time getting their money out of China. Chinese citizens are supposed to be allowed to spend up to $50,000 a year outside of China. Recent restrictions are making that impossible for many citizens. Anyone hoping to exchange the Yuan for US dollars are finding it nearly impossible. The government is looking for any possible excuse to refuse exchanges all in an attempt to protect the further devaluation of the Yuan. This means any Chinese citizen hoping to get $50,000 out of the country in an attempt to purchase real estate elsewhere (generally a very simple process which requires answering a standard baseline of questions) is having a difficult time moving

Foreign Investment Not The Problem- National Post Foreign Investment in Vancouver is not an issue. That was the summary from an article in the National Post. So I’m sitting here at Blenz Coffee on Abbott and Keefer researching for my next blog post I came across this article written by the National Post  titled “Don’t blame Chinese Billionaires for Soaring Vancouver Housing Prices.” While I totally will agree with the title of the headline that they are not the ones to point the finger at, they are however having a major impact on the housing prices. As I’ve mentioned before it’s the governments lack of restrictions and careless actions to not even track foreign buyers that are to blame for out of control home prices. However, the article written by Andrew Cowne of the National Post explains that foreigners are having little impact on housing prices and instead the problem is high demand and lack of supply. Well how did we get a “high demand and lack of supply”?  A rush of foreigners taking advantage of a favourable exchange rate, prices start to go up, more canadians start to panic thinking they better get in on the housing market before

Will Vancouver Housing Bubble Pop? There’s always 2 sides of the coin. Such as this article Vancouver Prices Are Not Cooling. Some predict continued growth for Vancouver real estate while some are saying the Vancouver housing bubble could pop. I want to provide some insight on some research I found yesterday.  Famous real estate investor and best selling author Robert Kiyosaki predicts a major economic collapse. You could say it’s just another investor who has his opinions, however his predictions do have some factual findings. If there’s one person I would take real estate advice from it would be Robert Kiyosaki who owns a real estate empire with a net worth of 80 million. Robert was saying how the United States is in more debt than they were in 2008 when there was a major recession. In fact the United States has added an additional 7 trillion in debt. The Chinese economy is slowing down. Anytime the biggest economy slows down evidently the rest of the world will feel the ripple effects. The Canadian dollar is the lowest it’s been in 15 years. Mortgage rates are at all time lows, trying to encourage spending. The fact is people are getting

UBC Economist Proposes 1.5% Property Surcharge It’s no secret there’s some serious outrage amongst Vancouverites over foreign investment and people leaving properties vacant. Thus reducing the overall supply and creating even more demand. I have personally been very open about the pressing issues regarding the vast amount of foreign money entering Vancouver. The lack of restrictions and tax loopholes are making life easy on foreign investors. The recent tax proposal of a 1.5% surcharge to all Vancouver homeowners is exactly what we need. The recent proposal by Thomas Davidoff a UBC economist who aided Barrack Obama on housing policies proposed a 1.5% tax surcharge to every homeowner in BC. However, anyone who pays income tax would be able to deduct the surcharge upon filing their taxes. Anyone who is renting out a property and submits their rental income would also be able to submit it for a property surcharge write-off. This means the only people who would be required to pay the 1.5% surcharge are the foreigners who work overseas and leave properties vacant or who don’t pay taxes here, or any investor who leaves a property vacant would also be subject to the property surcharge. This proposal satisfies Christy

Will Christy Clark Start Tracking Foreign Investors? The United States will begin tracking secret buyers of luxury real estate aka foreign investors. They will being by identifying and tracking buyers of luxury properties in Manhattan and Miami. In 2014, 54% of sales over 5 million in Manhattan were sold to Shell companies. Shell companies are companies which serves as a vehicle for business transactions without itself having any significant assets or operations. These companies are commonly used for tax avoidance and used primarily in its international operations in an attempt to dodge taxes. With much of Vancouver real estate being sold to house makers/ house wives and corporations (Shell companies) will Christy Clark follow suit and identify and track buyers? Unlikely. It seems to be all talk and little action from both Christy and Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson. A recent study from BTA works “architectural and urban research and development division” in Vancouver performed a study (link) which determined 88% of properties over 5 million in Vancouver (West Point Grey, Dunbar, University endowment lands) were sold to people with non-anglicized Chinese names. Certainly you could argue the study has some flaws as a name should not determine the entire outcome.

Should Vancouver Consider Stackable Parking Stackable parking in Vancouver- Should we consider it? I did a YouTube video on stackable parking a few days ago and it would appear recent news further enhances my viewpoint. As I mentioned in the video you can watch HERE I talk about how other cities such as New York and even Toronto are using stackable parking to help solve a limited supply of land which in turn has created a shortage of parking. Anyways, CBC did an article here that says one of the most ambitious commercial-residential developments in Vancouver is being scaled back because of some issues regarding an underground aquifer and parking. They discovered a large aquifer and now would complicate their designs for a 3 level parkade, as a result they have had to scale back and thus we will be losing 450 proposed residential units. Could this all be avoided by using stackable parking? Maybe, I mean you would think you could cut it down from at least a 3 level to a 2 level parkade if you used stackers. Or perhaps even a one level if they used this ferris wheel parking system like they do in Brooklyn. But

What’s the discount for foreign investors in Vancouver? It’s true, foreign investors in Vancouver are receiving some pretty big discounts. I’m not literally talking discounts from the Government or the seller himself. However, the Canadian dollar just fell below 69 cents for the first time in 15 years. After the exchange rate it becomes more than a 40% discount for anyone south or east of the border. You would have to be crazy not to consider investing in Vancouver. This coupled with the unsteady Chinese economy will probably spur more Chinese to get their money out of China and into Vancouver real estate. With Vancouver real estate at such a discount it makes me wonder why anyone would be calling for the bubble to burst. A recent report is calling for the market to “slow” they site a 9% growth in prices this year. In case you didn’t know, 9% is still a very steep incline, but I guess that’s nothing to the 20% we saw this year. With nowhere for Canadians to go and huge discounts for anyone outside of Canada, one would have to think the money will stay in investment friendly cities like Vancouver. What do you

Thinking of buying pre sale condos? Here are 10 things you need to know before you do. So you’re thinking about buying pre sale condos here in Vancouver. There are many pros and cons of pre sale condos in Vancouver. You get the peace of mind of having something brand new, but there are also additional costs and the uncertainty of what you will end up with upon completion. You’re about to invest in a pile of dirt, buyer beware. You need to be aware that all pre sale condos are subject to 5% GST on top of the purchase price. This is a significant additional cost so make sure you factor it in. If you’re a first time buyer you are eligible for a rebate of 36% if it’s under $350,000. Anything from $350-450,000 will be subject to a portion of that rebate. There can also be builder closing costs upon completion. It’s important to review your contract to determine what they will be  There is no guarantee of financing. You can get pre-approved for financing of the condo, however should your financing situation change (losing your job) before closing, you are still required to close. Timelines can change.

Stackable Parking Could Solve Vancouver Parking Problems As the city of Vancouver continues to densify, parking is becoming more and more of a problem. Vancouver Parking stalls are being sold in Downtown Vancouver anywhere from 20,000-$50,000 to some higher end parking stalls going for as much as 120,000. So should Vancouver consider stackable parking? Stackable parking is a parking system which basically works as an elevator for your car. You drive your car onto a pallet and it hoists you up into a spot. It looks almost like a game of tetris, take a look. (Insert video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1OE2qMAAdg&feature=youtu.be With Vancouver parking becoming such a scarcity should we consider this? It is currently only in one high end development, the Jamieson. However,  it is already common practice in heavily densified areas such as New York and many Europian and Asian cities and has recently been introduced to several new condo developments in Toronto! I think it will ultimately come down to what the city of Vancouvers long term plan is. It’s obvious they want to minimize cars on the road as they continue to increase public transit and the ever growing car sharing programs available. However, should we be giving citizens

Concord Pacific to Develop Molson Canadian Brewery The next big real estate development in Vancouver is coming. The Molson Canadian Brewery located just before the Burrard Street bridge, which was sold to a mystery buyer back in November, has now been revealed as Concord Pacific and it will be converted into a sea view apartment development. Although the site is currently zoned for industrial use I imagine when there’s that much money involved it won’t take much to sway Gregor Roberts and the rest of the gang to convert it into residential zoning. It certainly is prime real estate and would make for some spectacular views. Would you want to live there?