Steve Saretsky interviews Frances Bula In this episode of #TheSaretskyShow Steve sits down with Frances Bula to discuss all the issues around Vancouver housing. Frances is a highly respected reporter who does a lot of work with The Globe & Mail and has a very loyal following on her blog FrancesBula.com. Frances mostly covers city life and politics. In this interview I keep it strictly to housing in Vancouver. Some of the things we discuss include, the current affordability crisis, has Vancouver always been this expensive? What does Frances thinks about densification and if or what areas she believes should be densified. We also focus on Airbnb in Vancouver and if she feels the two can peacefully co-exist. I’ve discussed before how Airbnb Investments in Vancouver a Cash Cow.  Frances is very well versed on all these topics and her insights were extremely valuable. I hope you are able to gain some good take aways from this interview as well. Shownotes: 0:26 Introduction 2:00 How long have you been running your blog? 3:54 What’s your take on Vancouver housing? 6:15 Have Vancouver prices always been too high? 8:27 What areas in Vancouver need to densify? 13:57 Rezoning Vancouver 17:50 In a

New Vancouver Housing Group Pushing For Change In this episode of #TheSaretskyShow Steve interviews Justin Fung. Justin is one of the members of the new housing activist group called HALT (Housing Action For Local Taxpayers) HALT is a group comprised of local citizens who are lobbying for changes within the real estate industry. HALT is not just a snob group of renters who want cheap housing prices, in fact, HALT members consist of a majority of homeowners. HALT would like to see more affordable housing options, including more purpose built rentals. In this interview I discuss how the group was formed, who’s in it, and some of the housing issues Vancouver currently faces. To learn more about HALT Vancouver visit https://www.facebook.com/HALTVancouver/ Here are the show notes: 0:45 What kind of housing action do you want to see? 1:15 Do you own a place in Vancouver? 4:40 What does HALT want to see for renters in Vancouver? 5:50 How Can Airbnb co-exist peacefully with the city of Vancouver? 9:15 What’s your background? How does race play into real estate crisis? 12:40 How do people join HALT? 13:10 How do people find HALT online? 14:15 When and where is the upcoming HALT rally?