Flip tax flop
From the blood-from-a-stone department, we have a new flipping tax in BC since the start of the year. Similar to the federal version, the BC flipping tax imposes additional tax on homes flipped for a profit within a short period. Federally that is one year, and in BC the full 20% additional tax applies if a property is resold within one year with a gradual phaseout to two years (here’s a comparison of the two taxes).
I’ve long said that flipping taxes won’t do anything for the housing market, but I think this remains one of those areas where people hold on to the belief that the practice (like algorithmic rent-pricing) has a bigger impact than it actually does. Hence it’s worth a closer look to explain why I believe this flipping tax will do nothing except generate more administrative overhead.
Before we can examine the flipping tax, we first have to look at flipping itself. A few questions come to mind:
- Is there a lot of flipping?
- Is flipping bad?
- If so, will a flipping tax work?
Is there a lot of flipping in Victoria?
The Bank of Canada has been tracking the rate of home flipping on their page measuring indicators of financial vulnerability. According to their measure, approximately 2.5% of all properties in Victoria were flipped (sold and then resold within 12 months) as of the most recent data point in the third quarter of 2024. That represents the rolling average of the previous 12 months of sales. Over a decade, the rate varied from a low of about 1.4% to a high of 3.1% of properties that were flips.
To no great surprise, the rate of flipping tends to go up when prices are rising (2016/2017, 2021/2022) and drops when the market declines or flattens out. It’s obviously much more difficult to make a profit flipping houses when prices aren’t rising, though even substantial swings in market conditions seem to change the rate by only about 0.5 to 1.5 percentage points.
Note that when I took a sample of 440 sales to determine how often people move, I found a higher rate of properties resold within the following calendar year (7%). However due to some differences in methods the data from the Bank of Canada should be taken as more correct for the purpose of a flipping tax.
So right now about 1 in 40 sales is a “flip”, but it has been as high as 1 in 32 in the past. However people have to resell for many reasons (job changes, divorce, or other life events) that don’t really have anything to do with an intentional flip. Those events are likely to qualify for exemptions of both the provincial and federal flipping tax. Given that even during the extended flat market 2010-2014 we had a “flipping” rate of 1.4%, it’s quite likely that at least 1 to 1.5% of the current rate is just people selling quickly for various reasons that wouldn’t normally be classified as flips.
Looking even further, I believe what the public really gets mad about is when flippers buy a livable property during a rising market, slap on a coat of paint, and then flip it shortly after for an obscene profit. Though I might argue this is little different than owner-occupiers benefiting from the same price appreciation, it’s understandable why this profiteering is frustrating to people struggling to get into the market. People who take genuinely horrendous houses, fix them up, and resell them fully renovated would seem to be providing more of a genuine service than flippers (this property failed to sell by the way).
Is flipping bad?
Now that we’ve established that there is some amount of flipping going on in Victoria, is it actually a bad thing, or does it lead to bad outcomes? In theory the impact of any individual flipper will be zero once they have completed the flip. When they buy, they add to demand and remove supply, pushing prices up marginally. When they subsequently sell, they increase supply by the same amount for a net zero impact on prices. However if there’s a constant percentage of flippers out there that are buying and holding some percent of properties off market, then it would lead to some one-time upward price pressure as a small amount of the housing stock is perpetually not available to be lived in.
In addition, it’s certainly true that there is such a thing as too much flipping. One paper theorized that excessive investor participation and a high flipping rate in certain US markets was a key factor in their housing crash. Flipping rates in some markets like Phoenix approached 15% of all sales at peak prices. When prices turned downwards, those flippers were less likely to hang on to those properties which led to a flood of foreclosures, worsening the crash. It’s worth noting that this event illustrates the fundamentally temporary price impact of flippers, with prices being driven upwards as flippers piled in and then downwards again as they bailed. However extreme volatility in the real estate market from excessive flipping is itself a harm we should probably take care to avoid.
What is clear is that there is no relationship between flipping rates and house prices in Canada. Toronto, one of our most expensive markets, also has the lowest flipping rate in the country. The flipping rate in Vancouver is about the same as in Victoria which is about the same as much cheaper Halifax. Meanwhile some of our most affordable markets in the nation – Edmonton and Calgary – also have the highest flipping rates. If you’re wondering why, it’s because they don’t have a property transfer tax so transacting housing is much cheaper.
Overall though, Canada has a very low flipping rate compared to the US. In the second quarter of last year, the US home flipping rate was 7.6%, more than triple Canada’s 2.4%. Of course I don’t need to say which country has more affordable housing.
In fact, though it’s bound to be an incredibly unpopular take, one could even argue that our flipping rate is too low. The data out of Alberta and America show that households not overly encumbered by transaction costs would likely prefer to move more often than they do in places like BC. Meanwhile high ownership rates can impair labour mobility and raise unemployment. With higher barriers to moving, households are less able to take advantage of better employment opportunities elsewhere, which drags on productivity.
Do flipping taxes work?
But let’s assume our current flipping rate is too high and we would like to reduce it. Will the new provincial flipping tax work? Well the most proximate indicator for the impact of such a measure is the federal flipping tax. Did it reduce flipping in Canada? While of course there are many factors that influence flipping rates, the evidence does not look good. In the 12 months after the flipping tax came into effect, flipping rates did not change in Canada as a whole (actually they rose a little bit). They decreased in some cities, increased in others, but averaged out to about a big fat zero. It’s possible that the tax has more impact in times of rising prices, but I doubt we will be able to tease the impact out from the noise.
But hey, if the provincial one doesn’t work maybe we can add a municipal flipping tax. Third time’s a charm.
Also the weekly market activity:
| January 2025 |
Jan
2025
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | ||
| Sales | 31 | 100 | 341 | ||
| New Listings | 103 | 369 | 960 | ||
| Active Listings | 2114 | 2202 | 2140 | ||
| Sales to New Listings | 30% | 27% | 36% | ||
| Sales YoY Change | — | +32% | +23% | ||
| New Lists YoY Change | — | +7% | +19% | ||
| Inventory YoY Change | +1% | +6% | +23% | ||
| Months of Inventory | 6.3 | ||||
So far January is starting up much like 2024 ended, with a substantial rise in the sales rate over this time last year and a smaller increase in the rate of new listings. I wouldn’t read too much into those figures for now given the sales rate is still in the post-Christmas low point, but that will start to ramp up pretty quickly as the normal spike in new listings starts getting digested.
I’m in Prince George this week at a conference, and have been encountering quite a few lower mainlanders that moved up here in the past decade. The overwhelming reason? House prices of course. The ability to buy a house on a regular income, have a family, buy toys, and go on vacation was a common refrain. Though prices are up as they are everywhere, in relative terms it’s similar to where it was 15 years, with prices under half of Victoria’s and plenty of houses listed in the $400,000s. Maybe those ads had a point.
LMAO
If watering the issue I’m pretty sure it would be cheaper to install a fully automated watering system than to buy a new house. 🙂
Check your insurance and make sure you have a friend check regularly otherwise you risk having a claim denied. Our insurance has a clause about two weeks
My Rachio system was great. Doubt it would be very expensive to have a fully automated watering system.
Sidekick, it’s mostly all the watering . We usually have someone that comes to stay when we aren’t here . 3 week vacations are more like 5 now . Have not done any smart home stuff
Interesting. Would you mind elaborating on what that means? I had a place with a lot of “smart” gadgets where I could press a button and put the place into hibernate (minimal heat, away lighting, etc.). I assume if you’re heading out for long periods you’d need to shut off the water? How does insurance work when a place is vacant for extended periods?
Inflation down to 1.8%.
https://financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/inflation-in-canada-eases-to-1-8-on-sales-tax-break#:~:text=PMN%20Business-,Inflation%20in%20Canada%20Eases%20to%201.8%25%20on%20Sales%20Tax%20Break,threatens%20to%20derail%20their%20progress.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/article/four-of-canadas-biggest-banks-leave-climate-alliance/
Nothing like creating a structure that was overly bureaucratic being imposed by people who basically don’t want banking or investment to exist made an impossible system work in. Basically, the same thing that happens home building and development policies put forward by government. Unfortunately, we just can’t withdraw from those being imposed by zealots at city halls.
We really have to stop actors from posing as politicians and start electing properly educated intellectuals to run for public office. Most professions require proven credentials to allow one to participate in a given field, except politics. It’s a joke.
One starts to understand why the “idiots like Max” post got so many thumbs up……
Agreed. Probably holds true also for the broader public sector and not just provincial public service.
No. I am just an average Canadian that was born in 1973 at the Royal Jubilee hospital in Victoria BC.
Max, are you now or have ever been a member of the Republican Party
Only when the tide goes out do we see the traitors among us
Fear is a really good control mechanism. It honestly wouldn’t surprise me at all if Trump was responsible for Canada’s immediate halt on immigration, JT’s immediate resignation, and the immediate attention required to secure the border from both human/fentanyl infiltration into the USA.
He means business…He’s not here to pull dick. What he is asking is just as beneficial to Canada as it is for the USA.
He more than likely feels sorry for the citizens of Canada having to endure all levels of our corrupt Canadian government for as long as we have. We need a hell of alot more than a house cleaning. We need a serious swamp draining starting from the top down.
I believe Trump has very good intentions for the citizens of Canada. I believe he has our back, I also believe Trump will be keeping a very close eye on all levels of the Canadian government moving forward!
Trump is still talking 25% on Canada and Mexico. While I would agree we need a good house-cleaning, not really interested in it being at the hands of the Orange Man.
Thanks for the link, it was a very good read. I agree with everything stated in that link!
“It is the policy of the United States to restore common sense to the Federal Government and unleash the potential of the American citizen”.
Does anyone remember the time when common sense prevailed? Those were good times. I’m happy to see what I am seeing coming out of the USA.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/federal-immigration-department-cutting-3300-jobs-over-three-years/
Chess as well.
Max, ya trump is good for the west . Canada will have the threat of tariffs hanging over it for the next 4 years . He would be great at a poker table
Good luck with bargaining for wages as the current contract expires at the end of March
Strict limits on new hiring, downsizing via retirements and letting term employees expire are on the menu immediately.
Layoffs probably a year away and not very numerous. This is Eby not Mike Harris or even Gordon Campbell.
There more than likely never will be, if we’d just get our shit together. Trump’s the man! I think he’s the perfect fit.
Thin skinned Canadians can stop whining , no tariffs today . The king of bluster pulled one over on Canada , too funny
That is surprising given the amount of renos you are doing
That is something, I have been trying to find comps for the one I bought last spring/summer and nothing else I would have purchased has come up.
https://bsky.app/profile/robshaw.bsky.social/post/3lg75aafsub2z
Sidekick , looking for a sfh 2 ish budget , more lock up and go than I have now
What are the parameters?
Condo inventory is not particularly high.
Condo inventory skewing this?
Prices seem stable but possibly up a little bit since the fall on certain products, for example the recent sale of 4479 Shadywood @ 1.69 versus 1044 Valewood Trail which seems to be a better house that went for 1.63 in the fall.
The new inventory is just in time for yet higher sales . Shaping up to be a good spring market . Yet still nothing worthwhile to look at in Fairfield and oak bay sheesh
End of January will end with the highest inventory since 2016. As 2016 was a blistering market by the time we roll into spring likely will have more inventory than last year will which will put us at the highest inventory since 2015.
The rapid ramp in new lists this time of year makes this a little tricky but first two weeks of January new lists in greater victoria.
2025
SFH 185
Condo 133
2024
SFH 147
Condo 122
Don’t see a lot of difference there.
Core only, 93 SFH this year, 73 last year.
@Leo, would be very curious in the distribution of new lists. Seems very little SFH compared to condos (particularly in the core) – wonder if that was the distribution last year.
Sales: Up 20% from this time last year
New lists: Up 21%
Inventory: Up 9%
Month Jan Jan
Year 2025 2024
Net Unconditional 188 341
New Listings 663 960
Active Listing 2,292 2,140
https://www.facebook.com/share/19ugrhegeW/
https://realestatemagazine.ca/b-c-realtor-ordered-to-surrender-ill-gotten-gains-in-3-3m-sale-after-breaching-fiduciary-duty/
Congratulations. I’m 51 and she’s 49. We’re on our 35 years of being together as well. We must be doing something right.
Your link shows almost 40% divorce rate Max, which is closer to what I understand the rate to be. Rate drops when you’re over 50. We’re both over 50 and working on year 35 – maybe skewing the stats.
Thanks for the video. Very cozy. No yard, one catches on fire, they all go and they’re all homeless. Like anything, it works for them now, but might not be very saleable in the future. Especially in that neighborhood. Would still like to know the cost to build. Wonder what water and sewer service upgrades were needed. I have a 50×150 lot at my cottage and wouldn’t dream of putting all those buildings on it . Prefer the deer coming to visit me over family.
British Columbia’s divorce rate is approximately 10.3 per 1,000 married individuals, higher than the national average.
https://zukermanlaw.ca/divorce-rates-in-british-columbia/
They wouldn’t have been able to get mortgages without the separate titling. Nothing is perfect, but I think this is better than everyone under one roof. At least they can leave/sell. Probably much easier/fairer when it comes to estate planning too.
Here is the video: https://youtu.be/A0UtKI4xk34?si=ksADPXXthNgTeOTX
“What’s not multi-generational about parents, two sons and grandmother (hers owned by daughter) and grandchildren living there?”
Separately titled lots and separate dwellings. They’re just neighbours. Multiple-generations under one roof is the real thing, IMHO.
Of course some people may have an issue with their MIL living next door notwithstanding. 🙂
That’s great for the Delta family. Nice in particular that Delta stepped out of the way and let them subdivide. Were the new homes built under construction mortgages?
Just out of curiosity, does anyone follow Ron Butler?
How do they access each property? Is it situated on a corner? That is, when they want to sell. I doubt they’ll live there forever.
What’s not multi-generational about parents, two sons and grandmother (hers owned by daughter) and grandchildren living there?
Thank for the details. But not a real multi-generational IMHO, just a subdivide where the lots were handed out to family.
There is a fairly detailed video on this. Because they were able to get 4 titles out of the lot, each unit was able to get a mortgage. The parents donated the land and the kids got mortgages to cover the build. IIRC it wasn’t a “big” lot – 60 wide, maybe 120 deep. Seems like multi-generational might be getting more popular as affordability worsens.
Apparently bc government employees got an email last week telling them to be ready for cuts.
Well aren’t you a friendly old Bag. Let me guess, your the president of the strata council. Just another reason not to buy a condo.
https://search.app/?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ecbc%2Eca%2Famp%2F1%2E7432845&utm_campaign=57165%2Dor%2Digacx%2Dweb%2Dshrbtn%2Diga%2Dsharing&utm_source=igadl%2Cigatpdl%2Csh%2Fx%2Fgs%2Fm2%2F5
It’s nice they had the money to build 4 homes. What’s the cost? $3 million? More? Not everyone has that kind of money.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/4-generations-on-1-lot-one-familys-creative-response-to-bcs-housing-crisis/
It appears that Delta allowed the lot to be split into 4 separately titled lots. Clearly the original lot was very large.
https://vancouversun.com/news/delta-family-unique-living-arrangement-gets-international-exposure
“B.C.’s real estate market set for a balanced 2025, but Trump’s tariff threats loom”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-housing-market-forecast-2025-1.7435419
January is a slow month for downtown condo rentals with few rental listings mid-month. As always, the smaller the sample size the greater the margin of error.
The average asking rent for a one-bedroom downtown condo is $1,943 per month ranging from a low of $1,650 to a high of $2,400 or between $3.00 to $4.50 per square foot depending on the building and view amenity. Median sale price about $470,000 which is a Gross Income Multiplier of 20
Two-bedroom average is $2,774 per month or about 40 percent more than a one-bedroom ranging from $2,300 to $3,200 or about 2.75 to $4.00 per square foot. Median sale price is $631,000 which is a GRM of 19.
I would characterize the downtown rental market as stable to slightly weakening. But with Victoria’s 3 percent unemployment rate it doesn’t seem that there will be any big drops in the rental rate just continued softening.
And you think you have seen everything in houses. Check this out.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1201-Marble-Way-Boca-Raton-FL-33432/87660584_zpid/
Homeowners’ battle with TD Insurance renews scrutiny over preferred vendor networks
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/personal-finance/article-homeowners-battle-with-td-insurance-renews-scrutiny-over-preferred/
No paywall: https://archive.ph/3Gk1Y
Yep , back to real estate , how big a cut coming . Rumours swirl of another 50 point cut .
Utter horse shit. Eastern European countries were begging to be let into NATO. To spin that as predatory behaviour on the part of NATO is dishonest. There are economic and security reasons why they would choose the west. And most of the security reasons emanate from a warranted fear of Russian invasion.
Somebody’s been reading Glenn Greenwald. There was no coherent deal, and if there had been Britain didn’t have veto authority over it. And the Minsk II accord was ignored by Russia as well as Ukraine.
The only legitimate argument from the Russian side is that the U.S. has no business lecturing them after the Iraq invasion. It’s not particularly relevant, but at least it isn’t a sea of lies and half truths wrapped in bullshit like the rest of their arguments.
Finally, does anyone talk about housing on this web site anymore, or is it all idiots like Max cheering on belligerent thugs at Langford city council meetings?
Spoke to a young Ukrainian lady and she said she can hardly wait to return to her homeland. She described their health care system and it was far superior to ours. It’s embarrassing.
Yes, please do.
Maybe, maybe not.
It is heart breaking what has happened to the peoples of Ukraine. Especially because everyone knew for decades that Russia would not allow NATO to take over Ukraine, but Uncle Sam & NATO tried anyway. Heck, in Turkey there was a peace deal negotiated between Ukraine & Russia that Britain vetoed…then there was the Minsk II accord that was ignored.
America is an expansionist force, which is where this thread began.
You don’t protect Donetsk by invading Kiev, which is what happened. If Russia had instead invaded Donetsk only, they would have succeeded and the war would be long over. A major blunder by Putin to invade Kiev.
Putin is not the least bit interested in protecting Russian-speaking Ukrainians. By far the majority of Ukrainian civilian casualties in this war have been Russian speakers in the east, from indiscriminate Russian bombing. Check out what happened in Mariupol for starters. Oh by the way Zelensky himself is a native Russian speaker.
I should also note that I’ve been to a number of places in Ukraine including the Donbass and I’ve met many Russian speaking Ukrainians there and also here in Canada. The only ones who were sympathetic to Putin were the actual ethnic Russians in Crimea.
I trust the UN about as much as I trust the WEF.
Invasion, or protection of Russian speaking citizens living in the Donetsk region of Ukraine.
Responsibility To Protect is a Canadian construct. “The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is a non-binding political commitment made by United Nations Member States to protect populations from genocide, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and war crimes. Canadian leadership was instrumental in the establishment of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) in 2000, which led to the development and eventual adoption of R2P at the 2005 UN World Summit” -Canadian Encyclopedia
gosing, i agree , its a good wake up call how useless canada has become. Funny to watch provincial and the federal goverments running around with theyre heads cut off. I think there will be some tariffs but it will be pick and choose.its nice to think the same folks solving the housing crises or the health crises etc will be handling the trump crises lol
Why don’t we first put some effort into putting an end to the massive amounts of fentanyl flowing across our borders into the US each and every day.
October 31, 2024.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Canadian police dismantled what they said Thursday is the largest, most sophisticated illicit drug “super lab” in the country. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police believe organized crime ran the operation where there was mass-production and distribution of fentanyl and methamphetamine across Canada and internationally.
https://apnews.com/article/canada-drug-bust-lab-c0faf8130a9859db772b8c5fe88cc745
David Eby’s solution…Well, we’ll just give the fentanyl away for free to anyone that wants it and call it a safe supply. While we’re at it we’ll throw a bunch of vending machines out there with all the necessary rigs to deliver the fentanyl into the human body.
We deserve to be hit with tariffs.
Every day there seems to be another revelation of government incompetence.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/russia-oil-canada-sanctions-1.7432083
Millions of dollars worth of Russian oil is coming into Canada thanks to a loophole in federal sanctions, providing much-needed income for the Kremlin to fuel its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
since the start of the Ukraine war roughly 2.5 million barrels — or $250 million worth of refined petroleum products like gasoline, diesel and jet fuel — have ended up in Canada.
Maps are being redrawn all around the world, so why not here?
Oilberta could become part of the USA, and the Cascadia bioregional independence movement could finally be have its day.
LOL, so Kevin O’Leary facilitated Danielle Smith’s meeting with Trump and she didn’t sign the statement to fight trump with JT and the other premiers.
Sounds like something Trudeau would agree with.
AI showing off its supreme capabilities:
>>> 338 Canada predicts a BQ Official Opposition with 45 seats, which seems likely to me, and 37 seats for the Liberals
If they win the projected 237 seats, it would be the largest number of seats won by a party in Canadian federal election history. Not the highest percentage of seats. The highest % was 78% by Dief the Chief in 1958. And then Mulroney s 74% in 1984. Their 237 would be 69% of all seats, putting them third.
Here’s the top 10 (in the last 100 years)
“Carney and Freeland are still looking at a Kim Campbell like wipe out.”
Bad, but not that bad. You don’t seem to appreciate that in 1993 the PC’s were faced with a 3 way split in their support with Reform and the BQ. Unquestionably the Liberals have lost a lot of support, but there’s no fracture of that nature.
338 Canada predicts a BQ Official Opposition with 45 seats, which seems likely to me, and 37 seats for the Liberals. They do have strongholds like Anglo Montreal left. Based on Jan 12 polling.
https://338canada.com/federal.htm
The guy wants to quadruple the carbon tax and call it a value added tax. He’s a joke.
Carney and Freeland are still looking at a Kim Campbell like wipe out. No matter what they announce, the brand is broken for at least two election cycles. Neither will be able to market as an “outsider” especially when someone asks: which policies would you have actually done differently in the last 9 years?
I now predict the Conservatives will win a minority government and they will last 2.5 years before we have another election where the Liberals will be back in power.
Yes, and here’s his official announcement about axing the capital gains tax increase.
https://youtu.be/a7Q7fpCz118?si=vO6i1Oe82vzYQJc1
>> Hi Patrick. Yes, based on only a few seconds of watching at random points during Carney’s announcement, it did seem dull. Until now, Carney’s never been a politician, so he will have to develop the ability to work a room. At any rate, so far he’s still my preferred candidate to lead the federal Liberals into an election,
Fair enough. There was a brief Q&A with reporters. They asked him about the Carbon Tax, and he gave an unclear answer – sounds like he wants to replace it with something that would be just as effective, but will let everyone know what that is “over the next weeks”. As you likely know (and agree with), he’s been a strong advocate for the carbon tax, as the conservatives are reminding people in ads like this https://youtu.be/yBB4GD-Xb6M?si=w5JPtC7iiIC26cUp
So, using his hockey metaphor, he’ll have to be careful if he hopes to “stick handle” his way through that carbon tax issue. Of course Poilievere hasn’t missed the alliteration of “Carbon tax Carney”
Hi Patrick. Yes, based on only a few seconds of watching at random points during Carney’s announcement, it did seem dull. Until now, Carney’s never been a politician, so he will have to develop the ability to work a room. At any rate, so far he’s still my preferred candidate to lead the federal Liberals into an election, one that they will probably lose no matter whom they select.
I thought there would be a certain etiquette among politicians. Much like one Realtor can’t throw shit at another Realtor. (code of ethics).
>>> introvert: Compare it with “Axe the tax. Build the homes. Fix the budget. Stop the crime”, which is just loaded with substance.
—////////
Hi Introvert, Check out the “substance” in Carney’s slogans (below) from his leadership announcement.
Carney’s press conference was dull. I was expecting some passion at least. Most memorable moment was a “cringe”. He blasted Poilievre for his “three word slogans”. OK, but a couple of sentences later he announces his “clear choice” for Canadians, and proceeds to rattle off three “three word slogans” of his own namely …
//::::
Carney: We will offer Canadians a clear choice between…
“Experience vs Incompetence ”
“Calm vs Chaos”
“plan vs slo-GAN”.
“
The cringe part is when he rhymes “plan with slo-GAN” as he is blasting poilievre for having slogans, within his own cringy-slogan. Which was greeted by a groan despite his friendly crowd of Liberals.
////—-
Here’s the link if you want to hear him do that at 22:08 https://www.youtube.com/live/ORCHwLPaUyI?si=gVGtaO7VXyt5ZJjh&t=1328s
It’s not great, what’s worse would be an agent writing multiple conditional offers at the same time for a single client knowing they will back out of at least one should more than one get accepted.
There are guys out here in the westshore that door knock. A buddy of mine does this. The westshore is loaded with 1980 builds on 10,000 sq/ft lots. He searches for corner lots and knocks on the door offering above fair market value with no Realtor. He gets them more often than not.
Since there is no septic field in the backyard anymore, he builds a spec house. Now he has two houses on the 10,000 sq/ft lot. He makes bank doing this.
Mark “Carbon Tax” Carney is holding a live press conference in Edmonton announcing his candidacy. Since he grew up in Edmonton, sounds like he might be running there. Good luck to him running in Edmonton, and let’s hope he doesn’t chicken out and run in Ottawa instead. Though he could run in the North since he was born in the Northwest Territories.
https://www.youtube.com/live/arPblQxLZPY?si=GYc5Y6dTSL7Bo6cO
Fair enough. Would it be safe to say an agent running rampant all over town dropping low ball offers would garner a very bad reputation in short order?
Max – Realtors just email over a signed CPS etc. They don’t present an offer in person
I’m not talking about me. I just think that people that try to low ball are going to have a real hard time finding an agent. Even foreclosures, forced sales, or whatever always end up going for fair market value.
Max , I think u yourself would have a better chance if u went to the front door . I would guess no agents would be too interested as it’s most likely a waste of time . We are not even close to that kind of market where low balls will fly . There’s very little stress in the market . We are trending 30 points higher in sales and 2 or 3 points higher year over year in prices
It would have to be the buyers agent that meets with the seller in person. “My buyer is prepared to make you an offer of 50% less than what you are asking”.
Lol what? write an amount that is 50% of the asking price and send it in. The buyer’s agent may refuse to do so in this circumstance.
Pretty sure realtors have to present all offers to their clients unless they have instructions from their client to only present offers “over X” etc
Basically, I think the agent wouldn’t even present an insulting offer to their clients. Is there any obligation to do so?
How would one present a low ball offer? I’m guessing you would need an agent to present the low ball offer directly to the sellers in person (not the sellers agent). Is this correct?
BNN-Poilievre will reverse the capital gains changes.
Every year we basically tear down as many houses as we build. Slowing immigration is the only solution.
Patrick , wow those stats really do paint a picture . Yes a couple of folks have been pushing that it all comes down to zoning . Appears that missed the mark . Market conditions and the cost to build seem to matter too lol
CMHC released year-end numbers for housing construction starts, with complete results for 2024.
Since upzoning was introduced by the government in November 2023, this is the first year after that, so let’s see how BC did compared to the rest of Canada.
… . And these shows DISMAL results post-upzoning for BC compared to other provinces and Canada overall.
Housing starts in 2024 for …
Canada overall… SFH up 3%, multi up 2%. Overall up 2%.
BC SFH -20%, multi -8%, overall -9%.
And greater Victoria is even worse than that!
Victoria starts – SFH -23%, multi -16%, overall -16%.
For illustration, Greater Victoria managed only 298 SFH starts in 2024, many of which also had a teardown so net SFH add will be much smaller than that. And the starts are mostly Westshore, leaving net addition of core SFH houses to be about ZERO.
The HHV upzoning advocates here told us we’d “build, build, build”, with units of all types.
Yet BC is down -9% in overall units and down -8% in multi units, and down -20% in SFH.
The sum total of all the BC government housing initiatives to ”build, build, build” seems so far to be a FLOP!
https://assets.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/sites/cmhc/professional/housing-markets-data-and-research/housing-data-tables/housing-market-data/monthly-housing-starts-construction-data-tables/2024/monthly-housing-starts-tables-2024-12-en.xlsx?rev=2c253824-5f94-4ebe-bfdf-774d6083b6ac&_gl=1*1gypmzv*_gcl_au*ODU5OTkzMzM2LjE3MzcwNDMwMDI.*_ga*ODIyNDE3NDMyLjE3MzcwNDMwMDM.*_ga_CY7T7RT5C4*MTczNzA0MzAwMy4xLjEuMTczNzA0MzA4NC40NC4wLjA.
So almost every politician in other words. Vey few that aspire to top political leadership get there by saying “I’m going to leave everything pretty much as it is”. Darlings of both the left and right promise to reorder parts of society according to their political preferences.
Leaders whose names we remember both for greatness and awfulness are those who re-ordered society for better or for worse.
> Sorry. I’ll go back to being quiet
I enjoyed the discussion, and I expect others did too.
Also, the topic well within HHV norms, as it was politics/government actions which “re-order society” and affect many. Moreover, your account of your father was in housing constructions, which is a directly on topic.
And your account of government actions killing home construction in Florida is particularly relevant now. Because as I will post above, BC government has done a lot of actions in the last few years on housing, and the results are showing that house construction is FALLING in BC, unlike the rest of Canada.
Sorry. I’ll go back to being quiet. (I’d actually hate Reddit and generally dislike discussing politics; more important things to do, like computations and raising kids and enjoying life. I babbled on accounting of getting pretty pissed off at the whole “You have your opinion because of your privilege” schtick.)
Housing would be much more interesting but so little is going on these days.
I think many of you off topic types would enjoy reddit more.
Last comment. The narrative around Civil Rights Act (unpopular but morally right law mandated by enlightened people on the right side of history) is not quite right.
https://www.statista.com/chart/32528/share-of-respondents-with-the-following-opinion-on-the-1964-civil-rights-act-after-it-was-signed/
It enjoyed supermajority-level popularity at the time of its signing largely because the Civil Rights movement had already made an effective and convincing case for its rightness which was then implemented as an example of ordinary democratic governance, with Congress enacting popular will.
I wish government would lead by example. For example, when imposing restrictions on society (for our own good) during the “plandemic”, many politicians did not follow them. Also, I don’t see Trudeau being chauffeured around in an EV. He must have one of the largest carbon footprints in the world.
That’s a deepity. To the extent that it is true, it’s trivial (government does things!). To the extent that it’s a non-trivial claim, say that it is a normal function of government to shape its citizens’ values, it’s a sharply contentious proposition.
Anyway this is far too much in the world of vague generalities to be worth discussing further. Probably you have a data bank of examples in mind with your comments that is quite different than mine (as I tried to lay out below). We may well be talking past each other.
Politics and government are always reordering society.
Introvert, I grew up in the Florida Keys in the 80s. Dad was an electrician, ran a one-man outfit, sometimes had a helper. Lots of biodiversity in the Keys, along with continental US’s only coral reef about 10k offshore. Bit of a funny political landscape at the time, split between locals and rich out-of-towners with second/third/../nth homes in the Keys, with lots of concerns about environmental matters. One concern was that the coral reef off of Key Largo was slowly dying. This was laid at the hands of construction on the islands, the claim being that runoff was making its way over to the reef and killing off the coral. One day, shortly after my sister was born, my dad had ~ six months of work lined up, and without any warning all permits for that work were unilaterally canceled. That segment of the political divide dominated by rich out-of-towners had passed a moratorium on new construction on the basis that doing so would help get the reef back to shipshape. They brought in scientists, papers, etc. Well, our family was obviously up a creek and it nearly ruined us. I was five at the time. Took a year of poverty and my dad working odd things at >70 hours/week, seven days a week, but after a year or so he was able to successfully reconfigure his outfit to handle service work at a pace that could put food on the table.
Years later, it became clear that this moratorium did jack shit for the coral. Of course it helped the rich out-of-towners, putting price pressure on normal people, getting some of them to leave allowing their property to get scooped up, driving up property values, all the sorts of things you would expect when there’s construction freeze in a highly desirable area with little land to build up. To make matters worse the main cause of decay ended up being due to completely unanticipated and uncontrollable effects having to do with particulate matter swept to us from West Africa. Last I checked it’s still a problem and one smart people are trying to figure out. But, you know, good intentions and unintended consequences and all that.
I’m not drawing any allegory or commonality with things today. Just explaining the history. In general, it’s good not to accuse interlocutors of insincerity by attributing their viewpoints to being wealthy white males or some such when there’s probably a more interesting and complex history behind their sensibilities.
When it comes to boutique values getting enforced from on high, of course I can’t help but mention that before moving here we lived in the Bay Area, moving to the Island in Fall 2020. If ever there was a confluence of derangement that was our life before moving here. Who can forget “Defund the police,” a deranged position that polled at supermajority levels against for black Americans in California, and which as a sensibility gave birth to DAs who went on record talking about how prosecuting petty crime is racist and which in a completely unforeseeable development led to 30% rises in crime in mostly poor, black, immigrant urban neighborhoods. Colleagues at my institution also went on and on about how high schools in California should stop teaching calculus, on the grounds that doing so is racist, since the racial distribution of students succeeding in calculus does not map perfectly onto the racial distribution of the general population. Or the idea that biological sex is an offensive construct, being a woman (even in the locker room) is a matter of self-identification. Or that hiring decisions should in a flagrant violation of the Civil Rights Act be based whenever possible on the basis of race in order to ensure the correct racial distribution of University Faculty, that speaking publicly against such policies should be grounds for termination, etc. etc.
Again, not drawing any allegories. Just explaining the sensibility, which is to as a matter of principle withdraw from using neutral institutions to enforce values. I promise to not do it, but I’d rather those with other values not do it to me either.
It was a joke dude…Relax.
I’m not thinking of selling the house. I’m going to bed now.
How do you plan to battle my low ball offers? You can counter and I can say no and that’s that.
Yes, that seems clear if you ever try to look up places in foreign countries. Say you’re looking for a place in Spain, or ok let’s say Croatia, or Australia, or Mexico, or almost wherever (other than Canada and US). Instead of a nice, reliable central website that is comprehensive of listings & actually shows you the prices, you get a mish-mash of semi-exclusive individual websites that more often than not don’t even show you all the prices.
News letter from accountant….I’ve already chewed out the BC secondary suite program for being complete non-sense but this makes it even worse for the three people that will sign up for it in BC 🙂
Because that’s how I roll. I know what the house is worth from a professional appraiser. I know with a clear conscience the house has been inspected by a professional. This gives me the artillery necessary to battle low ballers like you and your brethren.
-breth·ren
“humorous
people belonging to a particular group.”
Fill us in on what you’re alluding to here.
By the way, this sort of (again, rude) comment shares a lot with arguments that are sometimes made in academic spaces wrt civil liberties, institutional neutrality, etc.
There is a line of argument for example that asserts that the principle of free speech is one championed by the privileged. (See also invective against the idea that the University should maintain institutional neutrality on political topics of the day, rather than asserting one contentious position as correct and along the way effectively mandating adherence to that belief as a condition for employment.) But this argument is akin to a man-bites-dog story, in the sense that it has cause and effect precisely reversed. In that case it is robust legal protections and a culture of free speech that protect those out of power allowing them free expression.
A simpler way to put it is that it is a hell of a lot easier to be happy with government enforcing values when it’s your values being made into law.
This is all generalities and sensibilities. I’ll admit that progressive illiberalism and authoritarianism and general moral posturing piss me off something fierce. But I am none too happy with the other side of things. (I’m politically unaffiliated.) Canada has real material problems to confront. Conditions for young people are extremely difficult. Housing is awfully expensive, health care is in free fall, and economic innovation is not great. What are we producing as a country? There is a serious problem when your chief economic production is lumber/fossil fuels, selling houses to each other for increasingly large amounts of money, and yet there is a commitment toward zero carbon emissions. The first and third features are in obvious tension with each other. Ideally serious people would have interesting and serious ideas to address them, but speaking for myself I have been utterly underwhelmed by existing proposals. I am open to argument and being convinced but the politics of shame and acting-smart-while-being-mediocre don’t cut it.
Why would you care what the bank thinks when selling your house?
“ A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.”
Sounds like Victoria city council. We didn’t know that we needed a war on cars, a splash pool and free range criminals downtown. But we ought to. Thankfully we have great leadership
If someone wants to lead me where I don’t want to go, I’ll run them over.
To the cattle cars? Its no wonder your an Introvert…Turn coat!
>> decarbonizing our communities and economies
That phrase needs work, doesn’t stand a chance against “Axe the Tax!” 🙂
By the way, my allergy was shaped as a result of growing up in a working class family whose livelihood was nearly annihilated by rich pompous people with high opinions of their moral clarity who enforced their own values as policy.
Elitism and arrogance summarized.
Agreed. This seems another example where the Liberals will be “anointing” a leader that looks good on paper, reminiscent of Paul Martin (2003) and Michael Ignatieff (2009). Each of them lasted only 3 years as Liberal leader.
“A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.”
—Rosalynn Carter
If I were to consider selling my house I would hire a professional appraiser. I would also hire a professional house inspector. I would also hire a professional photographer. Why? Because this is what the banks want. They don’t want some realtor giving a verbal evaluation that could be very easily pulled from a fortune cookie.
These three pieces of professional unbiased documentation would not only be respected by the bank. They would also be respected by the potential house buyer. And its cheap.
Mark Carney is an ultimate capitalist, a career central banker, who is too close to bankers on Bay Street, Canary Warf, and Wall Street. He might have a side passion for climate change issues but ultimately he is a puppet of the bankers.
Lol.
“But I get it, if the status quo appears to be working for you, why change anything.”
“I would also submit that your allergy betrays a level of privilege that not everyone shares.”
Both of these comments are rude, particularly Introvert’s.
People on the left should really have other mental models for governance beyond the US Civil Rights movement, which was really anomaly not the norm in political history. More of what I had in mind is that, in a pluralistic and democratic society, it is not the government’s job to reshape the priorities and values of its citizens. That should be utterly uncontroversial — history is littered with too many examples of how it goes awry otherwise, including the treatment of indigenous peoples here in the New World. Imagine a government running the country enforcing values that strongly differ from your own. As for climate change, yes it is real, and something to be addressed with policies that follow from a democratic mandate. It is very important, but not a war of survival, where democratic norms are short-circuited.
IMO, decarbonizing our communities and economies is also a reordering of society that is desperately needed, and any politician who recognizes that and is willing to work meaningfully to that end is someone who has my support.
Respectfully disagree. Sometimes reordering society is required, such as when the US passed the Civil Rights Act.
I would also submit that your allergy betrays a level of privilege that not everyone shares.
The Liberals have the same kind of policy in action right now, although perhaps more carrot than stick. But as usual PP is short on details.
I’ve said before that I really don’t think a change in the feds will matter much to the housing market as the real problems are under provincial jurisdiction.
Of course Canada itself was created by politicians reordering society on a grand scale, starting with getting the original inhabitants out of the way. But I get it, if the status quo appears to be working for you, why change anything.
Regarding Carney, do keep in mind he was appointed governor of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England by Conservative governments. Some people seem to have the idea that being concerned about climate change is part of some left wing ideology. It’s not about ideology, just survival. And the concept of carbon pricing was created by conservative economists.
Sold two homes last year with payment upfront, but the vast majority of sellers are not up for this setup. Consumer wants the agent to take on all the risk in terms of photos/floorplans, etc., and the agent’s time and obviously that risk of potentially not getting paid and taking a loss is going to translate into much higher commissions.
On a side note, some sellers are also not in a position to pay upfront due to lack of financial resources.
100%, but barely anyone understands this.
As I am now licenced in Croatia I am working with a number of Canadians buying in Croatia and common feedback is…..”wow, the process of buying in Canada is 100x better.”
Until you have some perspective on how other markets operate you don’t really realize how good we have it in Canada in terms of buying/selling property. Combination of the MLS system and almost all available product listed in one place plus BC Land Title (one of the best in the world imo we take for granted) makes the process a lot easier than the vast majority of countries/markets.
I wrote down a list of things that were better in Canada in terms of real estate sales and I got to 22 without much thinking. One example out of 22, in Croatia there is no exclusitivy on the listing end so sellers list their place often with 5+ brokerages and often with different prices. The data input is a diasaster. The land title system is a disaster, etc.
Here is a nice place with a pool listed by at least four different brokerages with four different prices! I’ve seen a place listed with 13 brokerages and 8 different prices before.
https://www.njuskalo.hr/nekretnine/bozanstvena-kamena-vila-bazenom-brac-dracevica-oglas-41002972
https://www.njuskalo.hr/nekretnine/dracevica-preporuka-kamena-kuca-bazenom-oglas-42855269
https://www.njuskalo.hr/nekretnine/prekrasna-kamena-vila-bracu-oglas-43870087
https://www.njuskalo.hr/nekretnine/brac-prekrasna-kamena-vila-bazenom-oglas-40596599
You guys will run out of detached houses sooner rather than later.
Another reason to stay away from the westshore
Ya, I’m doing a week in wilki right now and my internet privileges are restricted to HHV only.
Max!
Speaking only for myself, it seems like he wants to end capitalism.
Speaking only for myself, I am allergic to politicians who see it as part of their mandate to reorder society. That’s not the job. Administering good governance is.
100% my read on the guy as well. Not the right person to pull them towards center. Based on what I’ve seen from him he is more left than JT.
This is how pissed off Langford residents feel about the current mayor and council.
https://www.timescolonist.com/local-news/rcmp-asked-to-attend-langford-council-meeting-after-unacceptable-behaviour-10071268
Their days are numbered. Big time!
Yet.
I like carney , but a change of government seems fair enough. Not a big deal if the the prime minister can add and subcontract, governments aren’t a business
When “grand visions” come from someone like Justin Trudeau who has zero business/financial experience, that’s one thing. But when laudable visions like that come from a person who used to work at Goldman Sachs and who ran the central bank of two separate G7 countries, it carries a lot more weight — and is all the more impressive, IMO.
Having a single platform where almost all homes are listed, like MLS, is incredibly convenient, and I don’t see a strong competitor in the market right now.
People are free to post their property on Facebook marketplace and deal with tire kickers for 2 months just to not end up selling their place but for the time being MLS is the best thing sellers have.
To reduce costs in the current real estate market, negotiating buying and selling commissions with multiple agents or using mere postings seems to be a more effective strategy than praying for massive changes to the MLS system
Or we could just scrap the MLS system altogether and put an end to the monopoly.
So many people complain about high realtor commissions yet fail to negotiate them. On the buying side, it’s often possible to get 30-50% of the buyer’s agent commission refunded if you’re decisive and only view homes you actually think you will write on. On the selling side, negotiating 50%+ off your listing agent’s commission is achievable if you’re willing to pay it upfront. For the cooperating commission seems a bit more risky to drop it too much, 1.5% flat would be unlikely to cause issues, but going to 1% could deter agents unless the property is highly desirable and buyers ask their agent to show the property to them right away (e.g., under $1M in the core or under $1.2M with a suite).
I understand sellers may hesitate to pay commissions upfront due to perceived risk if the home doesn’t sell. However, if your agent is even minimally competent, responds to all inquiries, has quality photos, lists the home on Realtor.ca, and the house is clean, the issue is likely pricing, not the agent/marketing.
For example, upgrading from a $1M home to a $1.5M home with half off the selling commission and 50% of the buying commission refunded would cost about $13,500 in total commissions on all sides. In this scenario your net commission paid are actually all from the cooperating commission from other agents. While $13,500 is still quite high, it’s less than other costs like property transfer taxes and far less than inflated CMHC premiums, especially after recent insurable limit increases, which involve little risk for CMHC.
What is Mark Carney’s net worth? Maybe he should donate 90% of it to the less fortunate.
Re: Mark Carney; I watched his interview as well and he did look good as answered the soft lobs of the comedic host Jon Stewart.
However, if you want an insight into what his beliefs are, read his book ” Values “. He wants to reform our society from a market driven economy to one that is more humane and rewards human values for a better and fairer society. A grand vision isn’t it?
So if you think the Liberal party is too left of center, you haven’t seen anything yet if he becomes leader and eventually PM.
Saw him/her on a billboard; great way to choose a realtor.
Not sure Marko. What I am sure is that neither you nor I know enough about Carney’s strategy right now to have conclusive opinions other than that he is very bright, highly educated, very experienced in international markets and with international leaders, and the man has a sense of humour – it is a better prospect than I expected and I believe he would only proceed with a detailed plan. Does not seem to be a wing it kind of guy.
And yes, Trudeau was well-liked, although not for his business acumen or strategic abilities, and that is the weird pendulum of politics. You can be a hero and a villain depending on what rolls out and time will tell and not everything is within your control. What became clear over his term was that there was less strategic thinking and math/business acumen than the job demanded.
I’ve worked with a number of elected officials in my career. I would say that a lot of the time what is missed is that the front person acts on the advice of their staff and only with the agreement of other elected officials – they are just the figurehead on the organization. However, sometimes a leader is elected who has enough expertise that they can assess advice at as high or a higher level than the staff supporting them and they can actually have a pivotal influence on the direction of entity which is supported by the confidence of others in that person’s abilities and judgement. The Trump scenario can also play out where someone has enough electoral support and bullies and intimidates their way through any objections – short-sighted.
Be worried about getting 10,000+ steps in per day, strenght training 3-4x/week, eating healthy, aquiring new skills, spending time with your family, etc., like things that can actually impact your quality of life.
Agree. I would add learn financial management and investing skills. However, I’m not as blase as you about the US/Canada political scene. I would like to have a plan for the economy that makes sense for the future and is based on math and modelling – not slogans like “Axe the Tax”.
Day Trump got elected for second time I had friends on FB posting “didn’t sleep last night” and best part is they work a union health care job in Canada. What exactly happened with Trump 1.0? We all woke up every day and went to our jobs and that was that. Canada will not be annexed, why even worry about that? Be worried about getting 10,000+ steps in per day, strenght training 3-4x/week, eating healthy, aquiring new skills, spending time with your family, etc., like things that can actually impact your quality of life. The world will not end with Trump’s tarrifs. In realty they will get washed down to a number much lower than 25% and life will go on.
JT was also well liked, just saying.
I am sure Russia, China, North Korea and everyone else are going to be a fair actors in internationally carbon emissions tax calculations.
The failure rate for new realtors is extremely high and in my opinion is it is because everyone is doing the exact same thing such as hosting open houses to generate leads. It is completely mind-boggling that 15 years into my career no new agent (and there have a couple of thousand) has even tried to offer mere postings. You get paid upfront a small amount (better than paying for marketing) and guess who the mere posting seller uses to buy a property after they’ve sold their mere posting and saved 10-20-30k on the sale? This and many other way better lead generation avenues imo. All my lead generation is paying me (mere postings, monetized YouTube channel, etc.) Whenever I drive by billboards on the highway, I just shake my head.
And they can come to the open house and overhear all the negative comments for tire kickers. The busiest market we’ve ever seen in the history of VREB with the highest % of over ask offers was during a time when open houses were banned due to covid. Covid eases, open houses make a come up and we get three slow years of sales below 7,000.
That being said I am glad most sellers think open houses and other activities are important as that keeps commissions propped up. Instead of focusing on getting the best possible deal on commission/fees the consumer is focused on getting an agent that will carry out non-productive activities/”work.”
Pretty important to make it clear to Canadians. Many are not sure about that and it is destabilizing.
Agree. He has done a fair number of interviews over the years, but I have only read a few and only after watching the interview.
No expert, however he has expressed views which align with government investing in Canadian businesses and individual productivity through skills training which bring people ahead on the AI curve, incentivizing highly productive businesses to start or relocate to Canada, align Canada with a cleaner energy future, plannning to introducing tariffs on the import of goods produced in high carbon ways which other countries are already developing, and building a massive amount of energy efficient housing.
In terms of clean energy, I found it interesting that he stated that larger corporations are going to look to set up in jurisdictions which rely on cleaner energy as, at some point in the future, the world view is that carbon emissions are going to be calculated and taxed internationally on products/services which will make this an important consideration. His position seems to be that now is the time to build for a future that is inevitably going to be centered around AI innovation and cleaner energy/climate change mitigation on a global scale.
Seems like he is quite focussed on improving the productivity gap between the US and Canada.
I like Mark Carney. I should say I do want to hear more details on how exactly he would help encourage the construction of more houses that don’t cost so much. (Something I don’t think can be really changed.) I also want to know how he would fix the street problem and help those with mental addictions.
I like him enough to take the time to hear him explain these things.
It will be interesting times ahead. Keep your heads down:)
Some realtors are not as established. A couple hours in the afternoon (it’s not hard work) could result in several leads. You have to start somewhere. I would want an open house, especially in a hot market when you are expecting several offers. Even if a prospective buyer has viewed the property, they can return to the open house to give it another look without bothering their agent. While there, they might observe several other buyers and that could influence their offer.
Or instead of wasting time marketing yourself you could just lower your fees, offer different services (i.e. mere postings, for example) and provide a great service in general to obtain leads and then spend all your time being productive actually working. Imo, a lot more productive to spend Saturday/Sunday showing my buyer clients properties versus sitting at an open house trying to find leads.
I think the primary function of an open house, from a realtor’s perspective, is to increase their exposure to prospective buyers or sellers. Connecting with the public, interacting with people in the hope of getting more business. Personality is the main determination of one’s success. Prospective sellers would be compelled to go to an open house in their neighborhood to do a comparison and give them an idea of the value of their property. This could lead to another listing if they are impressed with the realtor. Not doing an open house is a lost opportunity.
There are boards in Canada that have banned re-listing and you can only re-list if you are switching realtors. Difficult to isolate if and how much a re-list helps because often it is done in conjunction with a price drop. I wish the VREB would just ban re-lists, horrible practice!
As for open houses from our 2024 data survey of 3,200 respondants only 0.68% buyers found their home via open house. From my experience you can actually cut this number in half as half of the 0.68% would have booked a private showing if there was no open house held.
Problem is a lot of agents can’t justify their value so they pitch a ton of things like open houses, they will be present for showings (counter productive in majority of cases), fancy pamphlets, brokerage brand, etc., that actually don’t yield results.
Not sure why a position on this is important whatsoever as it will never happen. Rather hear his position on housing, health care, immigration, economy, budget deficit, etc.
Unfortunately, I don’t think anything will change under PP but at least he attempts to throw out some ideas like holding back funds to municipalities unless they speed up housing approvals. In reality it won’t work just like Oak Bay will out maneuver the the province locally but it’s an idea at least.
Reasonable individual I agree, but I personally think the liberals need someone to pull them back towards center and not sure if this guy is the one to do that based on what I’ve seen from him.
Voted once in my life and it was a protest vote for the green. Until electoral system is changed/tweaked from this first past the post crap won’t be voting again.
Yes but relist does help in some circumstances, just like open houses.
Compare it with “Axe the tax. Build the homes. Fix the budget. Stop the crime”, which is just loaded with substance.
He came across as intelligent with a sense of humour with a clear position on Trump’s statements about annexing Canada. And he has a very impressive resume and education.
At least he is a reasonable candidate at this point, and that is somewhat hopeful as, at the very least, the next candidate is likely in until fall. The conservatives are going to win the next election barring a miracle candidate for the Liberals.
I’m ambivalent on which party wins at this point, but if feels like Canada needs someone highly strategic and qualified as a leader to pull everyone together ASAP as we are facing some serious headwinds. I would feel relieved to have someone who is not a career politician in charge.
Just engage a mere posting service that includes a VREB lockbox. Seller or seller’s friend showing a home is counterproductive in the vast majority of cases imo.
What’s so great about the interview? Jon didn’t push him on anything. Carney didn’t give much substance in terms of how to solve any of the many problems we are facing such as housing, etc.
Didn’t Carnet write in his book how Canada should be a model for carbon tax? He might be a math person but common senses tells me China farting emits more carbon.
An impressive interview with Jon Stewart. I read through most of the comments and they seemed very positive. However, populism is strong throughout most of the world today as it appeals to the one issue voter. To give PP some credit he is a skilled debater as he has been a career politician for his entire life. One might even call him a master debater.
Great interview. And he’s a math person – that is who should be in charge right now.
Thank you Deryck! You may help to save the housing crisis by reducing the realtors fees. Realtor fees are by far the most overestimate of work done. Going forward Realtors are paid by the hour and house prices immediately drop. There you go…
https://youtu.be/zs8St-fF0kE?si=glnMDlmy7UVKDP6z
Mark Carney interview with Jon Stewart.
Best news I’ve heard yet for Canada.
Why would it have to be re-listed? If you really want to play the re-list “0 days” on market game that could be worked into an agreement. One included and each subsequent one $500 and feel free to re-list as many times as you want. Reality is it comes down to price.
How does it work with re-listings if it stays with you? Unlimited times?
Mark Carney was on the Jon Stewart show and hinted at running for PM. Christy has bowed out of the race.
Fee only financial advice has been around for years.
A good solid, stable, local internet platform. Personal real estate appraisal, lock box, the Touchbase app, and a lawyer could save you tens of thousands of dollars.
GDP per capita is 33% higher in the US than Canada so clearly they are quite a bit richer than us. Travelled extensively there and not that convinced they really live 33% better than us. (more like some things are awesome and others seem pretty crappy)
Noticed same in Europe. Nominally richer countries like Switzerland (spent a year there recently). Standard of living amazing but not so much better than Canada.
Still the fact that Canada has been on a solid downward trend does concern me. At some point that will affect living standards and certainly relative living standards
Only because there isn’t a stable internet platform available for this area yet. Its coming.
1) Paint the interior if that will make your house look a LOT better (don’t bother unless this is desperately needed). Do yourself – may not add enough value to justify hire, obvi no RE agent will do this step anyhow
2) minimal outside cleanup – get rid of junk – pay someone or do yourself. Again no RE agent going to do this for you
3) If your front steps front door, or entrance look like absolute crap compared to the rest of your house then do some cheap fixes (paint?) – do yourself
4) Clean like a demon – do yourself
5) Stage the home if you are living elsewhere. You can just pay for this separately. If you are still living there then declutter MASSIVELY and put 90% of your stuff in storage.
6) Pay someone to take pictures for you if you aren’t happy with the quality you can take yourself
7) Take advantage of 2-3 realtors offers of free market assessments. Could hire an appraiser too.
8) inform yourself on the selling process and make sure you have a lawyer lined up to review offers
9) Price reasonably
10) Consider cooperating commissions as Marko has explained here many times. If you have zero cooperating commissions then you will only be really fishing in the pool of private buyers/unrepresented buyers. This can work still in a hot market but may be a false economy otherwise.
11) Pay for mere posting on MLS and advertise through other free channels.
Many private sellers skip step 9 and wonder why it doesn’t work.
Consider having a reliable friend there rather than you for showings if you have such a wonderful helpful friend available.
Others know much more than me. This is my observations from the one private sale I managed (which actually ended up being much simpler than this) and from seeing several friends, acquaintances, and neighbours both fail and succeed with private sales
I need you to land the roof trusses first thing tomorrow. Bring your hard hat.
What work do you think is required to sell your home?
You always have a flat fee option -> https://markojuras.com/flat-fee/
I haven’t expanded to by the hour yet but last year I sold two homes where we negotiated a full-service upfront payment (non-refundable if home doesn’t sell). Depending on the price point and a few other variable I am open to negotiating up to 50% off in exchange for upfront payment.
“Sam: When we sold our house in Victoria, we used Rick Hoogendorn and Cheri Crause (Husband and wife team with Royal Lepage – coast capital reality I believe it’s called.)
Anyway…Rick was outside raking the leaves up and moving things around to make the place look better for the open house.
Hard working and honest couple.
Highly recommend them both.
If Canada were to be annexed, we would be the most educated, highest taxed (provincial taxes), poorest, but the most peaceful population in the expanded USA.
Even in Red states, 40-45% of the people are Democrats. In California, 40% of the people are Republicans. Besides, in an interconnected economy, it is very hard to target specific states or regions.
We don’t have to sink to Trump’s level. As in any international matter, our response should be measured and equal.
I just interviewed five realtors to sell my house. Only one of them wanted to do any work to sell my house. They may stage it?? The rest. they want to do nothing ….that I cannot do myself. Are there any realtors that want to work? I would pay a lot per hour but … where are the realtors for a fee? That is coming soon as is fee only financial advice. The commissions on both are ridiculous. If there is a realtor that wants to work by the hour, please contact me.
Fixed mortgage rates heading up, again, perhaps 25 points this week, I am becoming more bearish on housing market this year where before i was just neutal.
I would suggest they look into becoming a red state.
Max, Canada would not likely want to attack the economy of California as it is a blue state. However the convicted felon would.
Dude. The wildfires in California will soon be demanding a shit ton of lumber from BC. There will be negotiations on the tariffs.
Interesting to see if Trump’s tariffs will include Oil and Gas?
In contrast one of our larger trade deficits (30 billion) with America comes from services.
There is never a winner when it comes to a trade war. For Canada, It’s a matter of strategically attacking the economies of red states while minimizing the effects on those that provide goods and services to the US markets. Keep that up until the congressional mid-term elections in two-years and the US House and the Senate could go to the Democrats.
And then the convicted felon would be impeached and removed from office.
And that is a gift in itself.
Saw this today, I really like the concept. 50′ lot split into two freehold SFHs – https://www.instagram.com/p/DE0EjqaS_oo/?igsh=MWh1b3VwMXhqbDAzMA==
BMO forecasts that even with a stable economy, steady wage growth and neutral interest rates, home prices won’t return to 2022 levels until about 2029.
“Coming out of the pandemic a number of “bullish forces” peaked in the housing market. Just as millennials were entering their home buying years, demand was further stoked by an immigration boom and interest rates reached historic lows.”
-Robert Kavcic senior economist with BMO Capital Markets.
Now with millennials’ housing demand cresting, immigration has been curtailed by the federal governments. And borrowing rates?
“Suffice it to say that, barring a major disruption on the macroeconomic front (e.g. a real risk of significant tariffs), mortgage rates of around 4 per cent should be the norm for some time”.
It used to be quick & easy with few complications and we became complacent, but soon we may see that complications outweigh the easy parts. If we had functioning governments, trade missions to other prospective customers (and not just the “like minded” ones) would be in the works.
We can grow soy beans if we put our heads together. Is joining the BRICS taboo or something?
Arrow , yep u never know. Don’t know why trading with the U.S is such a big deal , lots of places to sell stuff , and it’s not like we are a trading dynamo. China in fact said they can jump in and help out , so there’s our friend when we need one
In a retaliatory situation they may go higher:
I think he is just posturing.
Its not the first time though. What about the .com bubble when everyone thought they were all gonna die?
I never said I thought it would be the end of the world. But there is no denying that 25% tariffs on Canadian imports into the US will hurt badly.
or at least a “concept of a plan”
Max, totally agree , Canada will do just fine , if anything interest rates will just go lower .
Its not the first time though. What about the .com bubble when everyone thought they were all gonna die?
Trump just announced his plans to create the euphemistically named External Revenue Service, and even Danielle Smith conceded that blanket tariffs are probably coming. So there’s your economic downturn.
LOL, if I withhold supply I get zero cashflow…. The residential rental market is too fragmented for this kind of pricing strategy.
Unlikely. For a family to carry a mortgage in the 900k to 1M range and live somewhat comfortably (retirement savings, kids expenses and somewhat enjoy life with vacations etc.) they should have a HHI of 225k+ with another 250k in down payment. That would get you an average house in a crap neighborhood or a starter fixer upper home in a good neighborhood right now (The math does get better if you have a rental suite).
What people want is to live that lifestyle on 160k-180k HHI as that is likely more representative of a typical family with two working adults in Victoria. It would take a significant increase in income to go from 160k to 225k.
If you are a landlord and have a suite coming available in the next month there are many internet platforms that you can research to determine the price to rent your suite. Nothing wrong with that at all. The rental market is suppose to be a free market and you are pricing your suite at what you believe the market will bear.
But what if you entered into an agreement to share private information among other landlords? The membership in the program being that you pay a fee and have to abide by the software companies rules or lose your membership.
Then you would have information of suites that would be coming onto the market over the next quarter. A program that shares information about rents, occupancy, pricing, strategies, and discounts? A program that would relay information of when a property management company should put a suite up for rent in order to maximize the rent? A program which the users can participate in group discussions of plans for renewal increases, concessions, and acceptance rates of rent recommendations.
With this information and the suggestions from the software provider it would be possible to collectively control the supply of suites coming on to the marketplace at any given time in the near future in order to maintain a higher rental rate. Now it isn’t a free marketplace anymore. It’s collusion. That’s the allegation that is being made by the government regarding price fixing.
If similar collusion allegations where being made against the automotive industry, veterinarians, real estate commissions, funeral services, Oil producing countries, etc. most of us would be saying that this falls under the Anti-Combines Act to prevent anti-competitive practices that restrain trade.
Are you suggesting tax the already taxed income that it took for the principle paydown?
I guess the goldilocks scenario would be several years of flat and then wage growth would make things a bit more affordable without affecting anyone’s precious home equity.. Honestly even a modest home price correction wouldn’t by itself cause much distress in the market. The distress will be the combo of fallen prices plus whatever economic downturn caused the prices to fall
Uhhh, the last time I checked a stagnant RE market does not make homes affordable here…. how many times have we seen posts on HHV complaining that families can’t get into a SFH making the average income in Victoria??
It does appear to be boogeymanism doesn’t it? @Leo with the announcement of these additional regulations, do they ever announce the conditions that would have to be in place before it’s eliminated? If we have to wait for politicians to pass another law to remove them, the timing won’t be ideal.
Disagree. A price stagnant RE market does not “kill the equity”. No one should have been counting on their home providing an entire income’s worth of growth.
Condo peak was after that I believe.
House prices are a zero sum game, if you want to make housing cheaper for new buyers then you have to kill the equity of existing owners. It’s just that simple…… If government wants cheaper prices then they need to implement polices that will blow up the RE market, which of course will not be popular.
I am looking at the one you got listed in the falls which is now just 7k above the 2019 purchase price, maybe that is an exception.
“back down to 2019 prices due to general market forces” Marko’s list are all Gov / near Gov interventions. It’s almost like you cannot tax your way out of the housing crisis. Every Gov action has an equal and opposite reaction.
Down from peak, but on average no where close to 2019 prices. Lots of concrete examples of that on a daily basis.
All original unit sold yesterday at the Juliet for $599,900.
Same unit sold in Dec 2021 (close to all time peak) at $657,000
Same unit sold 2019 for $505,000.
That particular unit was already down substantially from $657,000 before the SRT ban went into effect.
So you are saying that downtown condos are back down to 2019 prices due to general market forces other than STR ban?
Once you remove the overall condo market drop due to high interest rates, pro-tenant tenancy act changes (less investors in market place) and the lower appeal of living downtown due to homelessness issues the true STR ban impact is low.
Falls, Era, Juliet, Astoria, Legato all seen prices go down which has also affected other condo buildings. You are getting sub 700k for a fairly new high floor 900sqft+ 2 bed 2 bath now.
Does anyone know if there are stats on SFH starts in BC going back to WWII?
Numbers just released for 2024 -> https://www.bchousing.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/New-Homes-Registry-Report-December-2024.pdf
That has to be the lowest number of SFHs registered/built in 50, 60, perhaps 70 years?
2004 – 15,414 SFHs
20 years later (and a much bigger population)
2024 – 5,860 SFHs
I would say slightly cheaper Janion units no one wants to owner occupy in the first place is a short term fix. Long term a bunch of projects now sit dormant such as the next two BOSA towers at Dockside and what does move forward gets converted to CHMC purpose built rental. I think purpose built rental is great but should be encouraging construction on all fronts including SFH and strata condos and for this you do need invenstors/pre-sales.
I’d say downtown condos are mor affordable now due to the str rules.
They are still screwed because of the EU and the majority of foregin buyers are going to be EU residents. They will eliminated Brits and Russians but you still have Germany, France, Netherlands, etc.
I have to give credit to the government, they’ve done an amazing job in terms of pointing fingers and distracting the voters from actual problems. The government really gets people fired up about “foreign buyers,” “greedy short term rental owners,” etc., and keeps those conversations front and center often months/years at a time. Then the policy is impemented, nothing tangible changes, and then they come up with the next non-problem to solve. Currently we are discussing the flipping tax.
Economically speaking there are probably 10 things various levels of government have introduced in the last year that negatively impact cost and housing supply to a greater extentent than “flipping” that you’ll never heard about. For example, COV soil sample testing of city property to hook up sewer/storm/water. That is an additional 10k/connection on every renovation/new build that adds to the cost of housing for literally no reason. We’ve been hooking up these services for 100+ years without soil sample testing.
We need common sense policies like this on a huge scale across all three levels of government -> https://www.castanet.net/news/Nelson/522290/New-legislation-considered-for-reducing-cost-of-construction-of-secondary-suites-laneway-houses
However, that will never happen.
Side note, would a reduction in flipping reduce the number of overall transactions; therefore, reducing PTT revenue?
The world has been divided into rich land owners and poor tenants for over a thousand years. Land is power. That’s why wars are fought over it.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr7enzjrymxo
Everyone wants to point and blame someone. It isn’t the flippers. It never was. It isn’t the developers. Was never them either. It is, and always has been the limit on supply caused by excessive government requirements and lack of business sense. Langford boomed when it was run by a small business man. It’s the only reason there’s any housing in Victoria that is/was every relatively entry level. But hey, if the bad guys keep pointing the finger long enough, maybe they’ll run out of people to point at.