Supply side update
It’s tough to make the development math work these days, and builders are struggling to make a choice between building rentals (that will complete into a dramatically weakening rental market) or build condos at a time when the presale market has been struggling.
Surprisingly enough, the number of units under construction has not yet dropped from peak levels.
Starts were down 16% in 2024 from a record previous year, but completions actually hit an all-time high. Of course not all units are equal, and once you take into account that it’s mostly apartments these days instead of larger detached houses, the region still built about 20% fewer bedrooms than the peak 50 years ago.
The fact we’re still hitting a high level of construction is entirely thanks to CMHC, which has taken on the majority of the financing in recent years through their rental construction programs. Also recent federal moves like exempting rentals from GST have made rentals more attractive to build.
The problem is, CMHC is getting nervous about their exposure in this space especially in the face of rapidly weakening rental markets and has been scaling back some of their financing programs. While the rental vacancy rate overall was still below the 3% traditionally considered as balanced, in Langford it jumped to 4.4%. And that’s before the some 4000 rental units in the construction pipeline, with about half of those in the westshore.
So what about building for ownership? Well those starts are at a 30 year low, and with restrictions on short term rentals, a lack of presale discounting, higher interest rates, and more competition from purpose built rentals, it feels like demand may stay pretty slow for a while yet. That said, CMHC also tracks how much unabsorbed inventory there is, and while that has sharply increased since 2022, it’s also not a massive number of units. At about 100 new unsold units, we’re about where we were a decade ago.
However I bet the ownership dream isn’t dead in Canada, and in the long run a market building 60% rentals is going to clash with a 60% ownership rate. With detached only getting less affordable in the long run, I think there’s going to have to be more of a swing back towards building ownership housing at some point. With election season gearing up later this year, I suspect there will be various promises to incentive those kinds of builds as well.
Also the weekly market activity:
| February 2025 |
Feb
2025
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | ||
| Sales | 136 | 470 | |||
| New Listings | 308 | 1088 | |||
| Active Listings | 2408 | 2364 | |||
| Sales to New Listings | 44% | 43% | |||
| Sales YoY Change | +24% | +2% | |||
| New Lists YoY Change | +8% | +34% | |||
| Inventory YoY Change | +10% | +31% | |||
| Months of Inventory | 5.0 | ||||
Pretty similar pattern of activity in February as what we saw in January. Sales about 20-25% ahead of the levels from last February, which puts us near the long run average. New lists are up only 8% from this time last year, but last February was up 34% from the year before so we’re comparing to a pretty high baseline.
Looking only at residential resales from Sooke to Sidney, they’re up 19% in January vs a year ago. Most categories are up, but not all. Sales of condos and more expensive homes increased the most, while interestingly enough core and entry level detached sales dropped a little.
The biggest decline is in single family sales under a million, which dropped from 58 last January to 40 in the same period this year. And while entry-level detached inventory was down pretty sharply at the end of 2024, that was not the case to start 2025. There were 125 active listings of single family properties under a million in January vs 114 the year before. Some of the decline may have been activity moving more up-market due to the CMHC cap being raised from $1M to $1.5M. If we compare house sales up to $1.5M, this January was only down 6%. It’s probably something not worth reading into too much given January is always a low sales month (and thus noisy data), but affordability remains a limiting factor for families that would want to get into that entry-level detached market. We may get lower rates if the drop in bond yields sticks around, but heightened economic uncertainty could put a damper on consumer confidence while bonds hang on to a greater premium to compensate for the risk.
New post: https://househuntvictoria.ca/2025/02/18/victoria-growth-more-dependent-on-immigration-but-that-will-change/
Seems like Totoro is either a lawyer or accountant by training. They have a specific place and a role in a transaction and a good one is well worth their hourly rate but their scope is limited for a reason.
No it doesn’t. Having service workers that maintain your rental properties like window washers, roof de-mossers, gutter cleaning, gardners, lawn care, pressure washers, irrigation, pest control, and many more. There is no harm in getting a deal or favour on your PR.
Lol that is a pretty funny take. I suppose the main catalysts for the RE boom in Vancouver/Toronto in the last 10 years was all perfectly legal and by the books?
Not really. For anyone to see your point you’d actually have to give some math/examples of other legal other deductions that affect the equation.
Everyone has to do their own risk assessment. In an appreciating market combined with low fixed rate this is the right math call – course that can change – and has. No crystal ball.
Good, I think you see my point then. I am not here to preach what is right or what is wrong, I am just calling what I see happen in reality and reality is what dictates the market.
Don’t see the need as there is already a min of 20% down payment, also not going to reduce cash flow and leverage in a low interest environment.
Pretty sure I do. Hazard a guess that I may have more experience with this topic that you’d expect. And I certainly know the difference between tax planning and tax evasion. I also have a very good accountant.
If prices drop or don’t appreciate and you have to sell your pay down amount can shield you from loss to the extent you have it to set off against the loss. You’ve already paid the taxes on this so it is tax exempt equity.
Buffer for what?
I am not going to get into tax strategy on here but given your post you really don’t have a full picture of what many people do (including accountants) do when it comes to taxation on rental properties.
It is, if you can get a 30 year amortization on a rental property. However, you’ll pay more interest and less principal so have less of a principal pay down buffer.
No, they actually would not unless they are claiming CCA which is usually quite foolish to do in most situations given the recapture upon eventual sale and the uncertainty as to future capital gains tax rates. Given the relatively low rate of taxable income if you have a mortgage on a rental as you have indicated, and the fact that it cannot be deducted against earned income, your accountant is likely to recommend you don’t claim. YMMV
Mortgage payment is actually less than 3k with 30 year amort. that’s my bad, didn’t set the parameters properly. Actual write-offs would be much more aggressive to reflect what most people do in reality. But good to see that your most conservative assumptions still prove my point.
In my opinion, neutral rental cash flow does not indicate the bottom of a market. We are unhinged from this as long as buyers continue to have a reasonable belief that the market will appreciate, especially when accounting for leveraged gains.
Depends on your tax bracket. If your tax bracket is 30% you’d actually be paying 750/month in tax and end up cash flow negative 250/month. 600 per month would be the minimum you’d pay if you reduced your income through RSP use or were in 24% tax bracket — which might be less likely if you got the 80% mortgage on the purchase price.
Cash Flow Accounting with a 30% Tax Rate
Final Calculation:
Cash Flow=Rental Income−(Mortgage Payment+Additional Expenses+Taxes)
Cash Flow=Rental Income−(Mortgage Payment+Additional Expenses+Taxes)
=4,500−(3,000+1,000+750)
=4,500−(3,000+1,000+750)
=−250
=−250
Final Answer:
You’re negative on cash flow, but you’re still building equity by paying down $2,000 in principal each month as long as prices don’t drop.
He said, “I am pointing specifically to SFH in Victoria since that’s what the majority on hhv is interested in”.
For SFH in Victoria it probably is the floor. Very close to it anyway.
Patriotz , are u saying that in the early eighties crash it was real investors that put a floor under the market
I just don’t understand how this simple common sense concept is so hard to grasp……..
That’s not what you wrote or previously wrote because you’ve arrived at 600 a month of income tax paid on the rental income.
Correct. Which is why I included the line item for “– 1000/month sewer/water/property taxes/minor repairs”. And why you are not paying tax on this amount which is deducted from rental income.
And that is correct. For example in the mother of all appreciation markets, Vancouver, the price crash of the early 1980’s bottomed when rental cash flow became possible with a reasonable down payment. Price/monthly rent for SFH bottomed at around 100.
I am saying that is the floor.
I don’t think its realistic at all to be frank, for example I don’t know of one landlord who’s only deduction is mortgage interest (something you are assuming). And there were absolutely mortgages for rentals executed at sub 2% during summer 2020 if you had a good business relationship with your lender.
I know the difference but didn’t apply the correct terminology in RE appraisal terms. In my day job we just use the term back testing to describe this particular scenario.
Vicanalyst, Totoro provided a retrospective analysis – not a pro forma which is a prospective analysis. I don’t expect a lay person to know the difference but you should. That’s a rookie mistake on your part.
Keep in mind a lot of folk and I knew a few were disappointed with what banks were paying so jumped on the condo train for return . With interest rates falling again we might see more of that happening again , folks chasing return
Seems fairly realistic to me.
Main point is we are not, imo, a market based on rental cash flow and that is not why people bought rental homes in the past. Even if you might get to cash flow neutral some years, or over a long period of time, it is appreciation that has driven investment here because it was big ROI on a leveraged asset that had the rental income subsidizing financing. Right now appreciation has fallen off a cliff. Long term it will return to some degree, but not sure if it will average more than 2-4% over the next number of years.
What does that mean? I think the investment condo market drops off a lot – like almost entirely. Still a lot of first-time homebuyers wanting to enter the market, or move-up/down buyers, or people coming from Van or TO with cash. Townhouses and houses seem likely to hold their value at least.
Lol.
Totoro that’s a very conservative pro forma you laid out which doesn’t reflect reality but even being super conservative you are within $100 a month of cash flow neutrality.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/couple-ai-court-rulings-condo-dispute-1.7461239
B.C. couple referenced non-existent, AI-generated court rulings in condo dispute, tribunal finds.
VicReanalyst, you’ve laughed your ass off so much that your pants are around your ankles.
https://youtu.be/C250zapQ_E8?si=RSnWmRseiZ2ZvLTM
I’m not sure how you were getting 1.75% on a five-year fixed for an investment property in 2019/2020? I thought that rate was only available to an owner/occupier? Anyway:
$4500 rent
– 3000/month mortgage – 2000 is equity paydown which gets added to your taxable income – costs you about 600/month or $7200 extra in taxes (est) out of pocket – interest is cancelled by deduction
– 1000/month sewer/water/property taxes/minor repairs
Actual cash flow is minus $100 a month minus any other major expenses.
However if you bought in 2019 early 2020 you had a big appreciation bump up before the peak so net positive if you sell – also get the equity pay-down. So would have been worth it.
However, if you have to refinance this year you’ll be even further out of pocket each month with no significant appreciation forecast.
Yes. $1.985M.
Last ask: $1.999M
Original ask last year: $2.288M
Assessed: $1.877M
LMAO, wait you are the one that thought the RE markets instantly adjusts whenever there is news coming out. Go read your above statement again and see if you need to give your own head a shake.
So this fictitious amateur investor of yours doesn’t understand making money on their equity; but does understand cash flow neutrality?
It isn’t very likely to find an investor that has enough money for a substantial down payment to make a property have a neutral cash flow who hasn’t already invested that money. An investor that is willing to trade the income from an investment that is providing a return for one that provides zero return.
That’s not an investor -that’s a speculator gambling on appreciation. That’s quite a gamble these days as the expenses attributable to the operation of the property, such as taxes and insurance, are rising by double digits each year while prices and rents are flat lined. The property might be cash flow neutral in the first year but not afterwards.
An end-user would do so, but that’s because they have to live somewhere and pay rent. If you consider them amateur investors then you would be correct.
Lmao, find me an amateur SFH investor that understands and operates like this? That’s why I said the floor is cash flow neutrality which most times is a lower benchmark.
If someone bough an investment property during the times I indicated in my prior post (2nd half of 2014 to 2015, first half of 2019 and 2nd quarter of 2020) they would be cashflow neutral or positive. I am one of those people. In hindsight I should have done it again in the summer of 2020 as at that time you could have gotten the product I am talking about (3 bed up and 2 bed down in the core) in the 900k range which with 20% down and 5 year fixed in the 1.75% range would have resulted in a mortgage payment of roughly 3k, rents at the time for that product would have totaled ~$4500 ( 2700 for up stairs and 1800 for down stairs).
I don’t know about that. Cash flow neutral with what amount down? I don’t think most home buyers have been cash flow neutral on renting out a SFH here with 10-20% down in the past 20 years or so. They might become so over the years as they pay down the mortgage and rents rise, but its a long game to stay in and lose money while being called greedy. Eventually they did well I guess, but since peak it has been a losing proposition.
The 30 day median price for a downtown condo is $525,000. The average asking rent is $2,352 per month or $28,224 per year, less three percent for vacancy and bad debt is $27,377. This calculates to a GRM of 19. During the market peak the GRM was as high as 22 and 23. During an economic depression it has been as low as 12.
During an economic depression, house prices, and rents decrease while vacancy and unemployment rates increase. Eventually prices and rents reach a point where investors will step in and begin to buy once more and prices will stabilize. A point where the investor is receiving a return on their EQUITY that is at least equivalent to what they might obtain from other investments with similar risk. This is called the cash-on-cash return or ROE, which provides practical insight into a real estate investor’s annual yield.
There are many ways to calculate a return on an investment. One of which is ROI. But that formula is almost entirely used for comparison purposes. It does not measure if the investment is profitable
Marko , those numbers looks good , sales up and I see inventory hasn’t ballooned through the roof . This is a good steady market with zero distress , go Canada go
Month Feb Feb
Year 2025 2024
New Unconditional Sales 272 470
New Listings 605 1,088
Active Listings 2,487 2,364
How is that different from what I just said? Also, I am pointing specifically to SFH in Victoria since that’s what the majority on hhv is interested in, this is a market where investors are almost all amature landlords and all they care about is “will the rents pay for my mortgage”. You can look back in 2014/15 and early 2019 and the first half of 2020 where the cashflow was neutral or better, that situation did not last long. Cashflow neutral is the floor, you might get a small period where you can be cashflow positive but it won’t last long.
I don’t see that on the teranet house index. And that uses “comparables”, which you’ve stated as your preferrred method.
https://housepriceindex.ca/2025/01/december2024/
I drew in the trend that I see in red on this teranet Victoria chart. And sorry I don’t see it as an ongoing downward trend. There was a one year down trend from the May 2022 peak, but it has risen (slowly) since then. Overall up >35% over the last 5 years.
Not really for rents imo. This is the case in markets where homes don’t appreciate faster than inflation – the ROI is tied directly to rents vs. asset costs. In these markets many people remain renters because owning a home is not the path the wealth that it is in appreciation markets like Victoria. In these markets where appreciation has outpaced inflation for many decades, rental properties are assessed with appreciation plus rental income vs. costs of ownership.
Appreciation has driven the investment of capital into rental real estate here and the past lower interest rates added to the incentives to do this. Rents were not covering costs even when rates were lower – except perhaps the STR market. Now that appreciation has stalled or may flatline for a number of years people have largely stopped buying rental properties.
That said, rents are still so high here and there is a long history of valuing home ownership. Even if investors have dropped off, the demand for home ownership remains. Maybe not so much for micro condos.
The floor for houses will always be tied to rent and yields, Right now with an up and down suite (3 bed and 2 bed) you can get about 5k in gross rents safely. That will carry roughly a 900k mortgage while chipping in some other costs out of pocket. Those types of houses are currently going for around 1.2-1.3 ish, so really you are looking at maybe another 100k in price drops assuming mortgage rates stay in the 4’s and rent prices don’t move. Does another 100k drop make things “affordable”??
There were a few weak sales but also a few decent ones. Take Oakview place for example, 4229 sold for 1.43 about a month ago (50k under assessed) but 4249 went for 1.99 (100k over assessed). Main difference is that 4249 is a nicer house overall with more modern updates, seems like the crappier homes are getting struggling to find a floor while the higher end ones are actually doing better.
From peak 2022, prices absolutely are trending down (should have added from peak). Patrick, prices have nothing to do with sale price/ assessed values and everything to do with comparable’s. I study the market daily and believe me, they’re trending down.
https://www.mortgagesandbox.com/victoria-real-estate-forecast
I’m not sure why this snark was necessary. The comment you refer to was not visible in the chart you posted.
Nice try! … but Leo was clear when he posted that sales/assessment chart that the Jan 2025 numbers are using the same July 2024 assessments as the previous months.
https://househuntvictoria.ca/2025/02/03/february-steady-market-as-canada-faces-economic-uncertainty/
Leo: “ Note this is relative to 2024 assessments, not the new ones”
I think one thing to keep in mind is that assessed values generally declined in January after the new assessment data were released. So selling at 2% above assessed value after a 3% decline might not be net positive.
I did some househunting up island over the weekend and still very little inventory in all the good spots and not cheap either. I came back empty handed but still determined lol
Your data-free assertion would mean something if it weren’t for Leo’s saleprice/assessment chart, which throws cold water on your “prices absolutely are trending down” theory. Current to end of January 2025, you will notice no trend down in SFH saleprice/assessment , and we are currently selling at 2% above July 2024 assessment.
So it’s over to you Muggins … if “prices absolutely are trending down”, why aren’t we seeing it on saleprice/assessment data?
Not sure I am seeing such….below a million SFH in core is only 30 listings or so, not that long ago it was upwards of 60. Market is fairly flat from what I can tell.
Sounds like we are going to have some ugly stats at the end of February yikes .
I was just quoting a couple of high ranking politicians broadcasting to the world on national television.
Donald Trump:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fECKwMw_ldc
Pierre Poilievre:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIxJ0UI0_J0
Don’t shoot the messenger.
Thirsty, sales are up from last year, logistics matters as last year sales were very low. Prices absolutely are trending down, I’m seeing numerous listings back on the market for $50,000-$100,000+ lower. Also plenty for around what they sold for just a few years ago. Still need prices to drop more to be anywhere near affordable. My guess is that’ll happen in the next 6-12 months as recession is realized and more and more loose their jobs. Government workers are on a hiring freeze, plus being let go. It’s not looking good.
Not hard to name Tesla cars. Schutzstaffel is still available.
…is as ironic as his complaining about people being disrespectful.
Did 4249 Oakview Pl sell? I don’t see it on mls
Prime minister mark carney , march 9th and interest rate cut march 12th . Canada will go crazy with enthusiasm
Vicre, from what what I’m hearing sales are still running well above last year and I’m not seeing downward pressure on prices imo. Trump trash talk is wearing thin and I’m sure folks will stop listening
What market? I see weakness in the recent solds.
In more important news, the market is still rolling at healthy clip . Trumps rubbish is not stopping folks from shopping for a new home . Canada is still the greatest country .
Actually my Wife is a real peach.
You’re a real peach, eh Max. Firstly you’re not going to discount the under 20’s and over 70’s? Brings it closer to 20mill that could likely be involved. 1 mill of 20mill is a pretty good indicator. As for the rest of your spew, I’m watching the polls adjust as people wake up (there’s a freebee for you) to what Trump and mini-me represent. I was going to vote conservative.
Okay, so we have 1 million Canadians on Facebook (American) out of 40 million Canadians (2.5%) having a little sissy fit and boycotting American products in Canadian grocery stores or whatever. I’ll bet at least half of those individuals are of the LGBTQIA+ community. Knowing that Trump is not a big fan of this community while at the same time understanding that Pierre Poilievre is on the same page as Trump when it comes to how natural procreation actually works…That in itself is a very good start!
Back in the day, if you were on a large ship that was going down, the rule was always women and children first into the lifeboats. How exactly would we handle a situation like that today.
If you have a real job Maggie. The Conservative Pierre Poilievre is our best shot to survive as a Nation.
That applies to pretty much anything, USA is the number 1 place to go if you are ambitious and capable. Canada is just so messed up now with how it penalizes capable and hardworking people while rewarding the lazy and those wishing to game the system.
I am too deep embedded currently family wise to make the move but when the parents pass and the kids are old enough GTFO is definitely on the agenda if things don’t get better.
Max calling anything “childish” is like Poilievre accusing someone of never having a real job.
The Winnipeg Jets goalie won the game for the U.S.A. He’s currently the best in the world. Looks like a rematch coming up, Canada up 4-0 over Finland in the second period. Put your money on the U.S., goaltending wins championships.
Do you honestly think we are winning the game? What I mean by that is all our Canadian talent is down south.
Demand will increase regardless of bully behavior or tariffs if the CAD strengthens significantly against the USD.
Lmao then lose the game 3-1… What an embarrassment.
Agree. Also impacts travel to the states.
Depends. IMO demand will be reduced if tariffs and bully behaviour continue/escalate. Particularly if we have a coordinated national campaign to ex. buy Canadian or boycott US travel, for example.
Houses are getting smaller. Economics limit this. As they do social norms will adjust.
Why do so many people living in other parts of the world dream of coming to Canada?
Its very weak. Think of the Americans on Canadian NHL teams being booed on home ice along with their Canadian team mates. Talk about awkward times during the period intermissions in the locker rooms.
Poke the bear all you want man. It just shows even more weakness!
Well Max, that’s the whole point: to show disrespect.
Yes, I think anyone booing anyone’s National Anthem is very childish and disrespectful.
“Yes, more people in North America should spent time in other parts of the world to see that there are other ways to live that are not primarily based on driving and consuming.”
It is very cultural. We went 6 months without a car in Europe and it was not a big deal. When I lived in Vancouver we used our car about once a month. The fact is that Victoria is very car centric and the other real alternative that people focus on is bikes. Either people are car people or bike people here and it turns out I’m a train person. Would pick trains over car any day but I pick car over bike most of the time.
Yesterday my spouse drove me to the ferry to drop me off. Drove al the way up the patty bay highway and passed the new flyover for keating crossing that will make it safer and better for cars. I would have taken a train no problem up there. They can make a train all through the Yucatan peninsula but somehow not here.
In my opinion Victoria needs to focus on other kinds of transport not just cars and bikes. Have to take people where they are – not just wish for different kinds of people. But it is what it is what can you do.
“Eat less, travel less, live in smaller homes, drive smaller compact cars.”- Every North Korean’s dream.
<your rotting fence…your daddy…you are a loser
Did someone say something about "childish"?
Nope, you are a loser and I choose to call you out.
Marko is your daddy, and you have to protect him.
Lmao you need to worry less about fx tickers, your rotting fence isn’t going to fix itself.
“Eat less, travel less, live in smaller homes, drive smaller compact cars, etc., but guess what Canadians still wants large SFHs full of crap off Amazon and their vehicle of choice is a Ford F150 – not a Mazda2”
Yes, more people in North America should spent time in other parts of the world to see that there are other ways to live that are not primarily based on driving and consuming and that are actually happier and healthier.
It must be difficult naming Tesla models since Comet, and Firebird were already taken.
A third, different incorrect version of “Juniper.” He has to be trolling me, even though he muted me, right?
I wonder when Marko will realize that the Canadian currency code is CAD?
The CND dollar is also substantially weaker than it was this time last year. I am sorry I just can’t see a family boycotting Disneyland for a long period of time especially if affordability improves (dollar goes back up).
My prediction is a year from now still 5 to 6 flights taking off from Vancouver to Vegas every day.
If Tesla introduced a Juipter Model Y for $49,900 you would be surprised how quickly sales would bounce back even with Elon being off the rocker…looks like he might have a 13th child – what a nut.
In my opinion what actually needs to change is fundamental consumer behavior. Eat less, travel less, live in smaller homes, drive smaller compact cars, etc., but guess what Canadians still wants large SFHs full of crap off Amazon and their vehicle of choice is a Ford F150 – not a Mazda2 which you can’t even buy in Canada as there is no demand for it.
Looks like not much has changed in the US with the new commission regulations ->
https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/17/economy/new-nar-rules-home-buying-update/index.html
I have a friend from Croatia that owns a 450 realtor brokerage in the US and says the exact same thing. Coop commissions data in he brokerage shows exact same average coop commissions pre and post rule changes.
Canada is a money pit.
That’s a little harsh Frank. You don’t think he’d amend his offer instead? Surely you think Canada is worth something?
When Trump puts in his offer to buy Canada hopefully he’ll be smart enough to use the rescission period to do a thorough inspection and get a few appraisals. Then he’ll withdraw his offer.
Max, “I think the booing of the American anthem and this boycotting American grocery protest is very childish.” I disagree with booing the anthem but wouldn’t call it childish. As for boycotting US products of all kinds, why would we not choose Canadian over US given the choice? There’s now over 1,000,000 people joined the facebook site, “Made in Canada – Canadian Products”. Apparently they don’t see Canadian unity and support as childish either.
>> why would we want to do that?
The foreign buyer prohibition ….
—- doesn’t stop foreigners from taking up our homes. Foreigners can rent as many homes as they want in Canada, which also avoids foreign buyer taxes or BC spec/empty homes taxes.
—- Unequal treatment. Canadians can buy homes in the USA, and if we’re expecting equal treatment for trade, why would we expect privileged treatment where Canadians can buy American homes, but Americans can’t buy our homes?
—— disincentivizes new home construction. If we allowed foreigners to buy new homes, it would provide more buyers and incentive new home construction.
—— I happen to think that foreigners buying in Canada stimulates our economy, and is a net positive. The foreigners that buy here are well-heeled and business oriented, and tend to spend money here, including starting and building businesses employing people.
Why not?
That is your data point? Your assessment of how many flights to Las Vegas there are in progress? You do realize that the tariff response will show in bookings made after the announcement rather than bookings made before this right? Many bookings made before are going to be hard or impossible to cancel so the effect will ramp up over the next six months.
How about we go straight to travel agents, WestJet, and Air Canada who have current booking data? WestJet is reporting a 25 per cent drop in Canadians booking trips to the United States over the past week. Travel agents are also reporting a dramatic decline.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/travel-agents-canadians-us-trips-1.7455826
https://calgary.citynews.ca/2025/02/14/canada-usa-travel-tension/
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/air-canada-sees-encouraging-booking-trends-into-2025-core-profits-above-2025-02-14/
Why would we want to do that?
We should let foreigners buy properties in need of extensive repairs. That makes sense.
How full are the flights? Maybe they have yet to rejig.
Canada should end the ban on foreigners buying homes in much of Canada. If we can’t do that, at least modify it so that it doesn’t apply to new homes.
Like Australia has done,
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/02/16/australia-bans-foreigners-buying-existing-homes/
Well, they would be likely replacing the air handling unit, heat, and AC all at the same time.1950s chest height ducting runs isn’t likely the best anyways. I like forced air, but it might not be practical for space downstairs. The problem with the heat pump options: the mini split system with the wall mount is just an eyesore even though it’s the easiest; I haven’t heard enough about the ceiling cassette mini splits, but it looks like a preferable option; a lot of heat pumps connected to existing ducting seems to always require a back up option. If I need a backup for the heat pump, I will probably just with a gas furnace with an ac coil and forget about a heat pump The last option also opens up just putting a horizontal furnace in the attic and clearing the entire space downstairs. So, probably just need a recommendation on a good pro that can give me an honest assessment on the best thing to do for my house because so far hear pump guys push heat pumps and gas furnace guys push gas furnaces.
I am seeing 5 or 6 flights per day Vancouver to Las Vegas next week?
There are still three flights yet to take off just this evening.
Only two weeks old and this prediction is already not aging well.
Between the dollar and Trump craziness my guess is Canadian travel to the US absolutely tanks in 2025
He’s coming out with the Model SS soon. Only makes right turns.
Fix your rotting fence yet?
Check into reducing the flow of your ducts, it could affect your furnace’s performance. Probably not recommended.
Does anyone have any good HVAC company recommendations? I am looking at having ducting slimmed and hidden.
Yet they feed the world.
the Prairies are not considered part of Canada’s Ecumene Habitable zone for permanent human settlement, or habitable zone, for permanent human settlement.
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/92-195-x/2011001/other-autre/ecumene-ecoumene/ec-eng.htm
Well, Belize is nice this time of year. A Westminster democracy in the Caribbean that is english speaking.
There are 30 million Canadians freezing their asses of across the Prairies and digging out from continuous snow storms from Ontario to the Maritimes that wish they were somewhere warmer.
I think putting tariffs on U.S. produce and products that we need would be stupid. Our Canadian peso already inflates prices.
Frank , different time and is irrelevant
First it was Jupiter. Now it’s Jupinter. He’s so close to the real name, Juniper!
This is how I look at it. We have business #1 (CAN) and we have business #2 (USA). Right now we are currently in the middle of a little business bitch fight. Business #2 is pissed off because he is providing all of the protection required to defend the deal at his insurance and expense for both business #1 and business #2.
I have absolutely no doubt this will be resolved. We just need to bring a lot more to the negotiation round table until both involved parties are happy again.
I think the booing of the American anthem and this boycotting American grocery protest is very childish.
Thursty, probably not wreck but they are likely to hobble our growth & prosperity.
Your optimism is unshakable, however, in other places I read about investment dollars shifting from Canada to the USA. As an example, today CBC has an article citing Greig Mordue, a former auto industry executive and associate professor at the W. Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology at McMaster University.
He says Trump’s threats have already changed the landscape. “Whether or not they ever be put into place, the damage is done..For at least the next four years, there will be no serious investment in the Canadian automotive industry,” said Mordue.
High tariffs imposed by the U.S. in 1930 have been blamed on causing the Great Depression. Look into it.
Zero chance the U.S is taking over Canada and zero chance trumps tariffs are going to wreck Canadas economy, it’s all overblown
But Dee, they did have developing economies, albeit economies that were not in synk with America’s economic theory. I would stretch it a bit and say that Germany no longer has a strong economy because of actions by the USA, now they buy more American LNG and pay more for the energy causing their industries to be less competitive.
Like with Germany, business investment in Canada is moving to the USA, which in my opinion is the whole point American tariffs & sanctions.
Fair. I mean it seems to be certain – but not all – regions of Canada might be more vulnerable to that (ie the arctic). The countries you listed also didn’t have developed economies at the relevant time (I believe – please correct me if I’m wrong).
Did anyone come along and save those guys? This is real man. We need to take this a hell of a lot more seriously than we are. Can anyone say, with a straight face, that the three current levels of the Canadian Government actually care about the citizens of Canada? Or do they just care about themselves and their own well being?
lol, funny but true. They could cut the owner builder exam department, but will they? No. They Will keep a 110% useless department around.
Guy emailed me this morning lives in an rural area of BC where there is no zoning no permits but needs to write the BC Housing owner builder exam.
The unfortunate side of government looking at finding savings and efficiencies.
Hey Dee,
You’re correct, partly. In my lifetime no country has successfully taken over another country, however, that doesn't mean the USA has not attacked many countries leaving them in a state of financial, social, and political chaos. Examples abound: Vietnam; Somalia; Kosovo; Afghanistan; Iraq; Libya; Yemen; and most recently, Syria.
Economic advantage & political/military control by the USA does not require "taking over" and occupying a sovereign state.
Yeah show me an example where a country in the past 100 years has successfully taken over another one. War is costly and almost always futile because the people still remain and remember and even generations later remember. It’s all too settled now. I remember living in Korea and people still told stories about the Japanese. It’s all doomed to failure because people don’t just lie down and accept some outside taking them out. They revolt and so war is pointless.
This is nothing new, and hasn’t anything to do with Trump or Elon. The North American Union has been in the making for decades.
The Chinese have already flooded our markets with cheap inferior products. I’m not in favor of lifting tariffs off Chinese evs either, I would use it to send a message to Trump and Musk. Canada should design and build our own vehicles.
As for mortgage appraisals, there is basically only three mortgage appraisal companies (AMCs) in Canada.
-Centract
-Nationwide Appraisal Service (NAS)
-Solidifi
NAS for example operates in 17 countries. In Canada it has provided over 2.6 million appraisals.
Those that complain about mortgage appraisals should realize that you have no choice selecting an appraiser and neither does your loans officer. In a competitive marketplace the bad appraisers would go out of business for providing a sub standard report. But under this non- competitive system the lowest fee appraiser gets the assignments and are rewarded with more work.
It’s a system that most brokers and loans officers dislike as they can not chose an appraiser that provides a high quality analysis and they can not speak with the appraiser about problems that may come up after or during the appraisal inspection as direct communication between the loans officer and the appraiser is highly discouraged. The appraisal assignment ends up going to the lowest priced appraisal company and not the best appraiser. That lowest fee appraiser generally can’t be fired for doing inaccurate work which in an open and competitive market would put them out of business.
When it comes to a residential mortgage most home owners are getting the short end of the stick. They can’t chose who does their appraisal and they end up overpaying, as the AMC adds their fee to the appraisal, and the home owner gets a sub standard valuation.
And it’s bad for any appraiser that works for an AMC as they assume that the quality of report they are providing is good as they have no feed back from the loans officer or the home owner. Without constant feedback from the loans officers and home owners, the appraiser can not improve the quality of their analysis and report.
In a free and open market a company that provides a bad service is forced out of business. In Canada, the market place for residential appraisal services in neither open to choice or competition.
One way or the other, large, powerful countries have their sights on Canada. China, India, the U.S. all want our resources and land. I wouldn’t be surprised if we are taken over by the U.S. There is a history of powerful countries dominating weaker countries. Look at the British Empire, which we were once a part of. The U.S. bought Alaska from the Russians, took control of Hawaii, even Texas was once independent but chose to join the Union. I think Trump is dead serious. We’re ripe for the picking.
We should keep the tariffs on Chinese EV. Government in China subsidized manufacturing too long. If tariffs were removed they would flood this market and crush the possibility of growing the technology here at home. It’s protectionist but otoh Chinese government played an even bigger role in getting its industry to what it is. Take away: government needs to play a role in important fledgling industries.
Yeah, lets hop in bed with China now. Brilliant!
How did the Tesla protest go yesterday in Langford? Reddit thread has some 500+ comments so I assume at least 500 people showed up, right?
I’ve driven a few Chinese EVs in Croatia and not bad at all. Tesla still has the infrastructure going for it….pretty much anywhere you go in Europe you can rely on supercharging.
Will ignore the weakening CND dollar part that was cited…..
btw, still 5 flights leaving for Las Vegas today, JUST from Vancouver.
The problem isn’t Elon in my opinion but the product offering pricing.
Model S/X – now 10+ year old designs.
Cybertruck is really expensive.
Model Y Jupinter pricing is just ridiculous. My Model Y was 53k minus 8k in rebates – 45k. If this was applicable to the Jupinter they would be selling like crazy but now it is 85k and no rebates. Sure that is the foundation series or whatever BS but even after they roll out the cheaper models it will bottom out at 60k and no rebates.
Elon is obviously crazy – not a fan; however, I’ve now been driving Tesla’s for 10 years over 400,000 km combined with almost no servicing. Both my 2023 Model Ys in Croatia and Canada have never gone into service and never had a single problem. I should boycott Tesla’s so I can go buy a crap product because other companies have ethical leadership.
My parents have a Honda Ridgeline and Audi Q3 I take into service for them and the dealership experience in terms of purchasing and servicing is literally a scam in my opinion. $300 for an oil change, wtf and then they tried to sell you filters and BS you can buy on Amazon for $10. So boycott Elon to get scammed, no thanks yet again.
Even many non-Tesla EVs have some BS once a year “service.”
Btw, I don’t know what idiots are trading Tesla stock at these levels….in my mind there is a huge plunge in sales coming this year unless they are selling big numbers in markets I am not aware of.
Well that may sound OK from a BC perspective, but both the Feds and the Ontario government have committed billions to the EV industry in Ontario. Plus for economic and political reasons we have to match the Americans on this. This goes back to Biden, it’s not an Orange Ogre issue in itself.
I hope you realize this is due to the weak cdn dollar and not the tariff dispute
Sidekick- You were probably spoon feed when you went to school, do your own research, I’m busy.
How many Canadian players do you think are on the Vancouver Canucks?
Would be game over for the other manufacturers, including the Japanese.
Corporations are adding ‘arbitration’ clauses at the time of purchase (which you have X days to opt out of in writing). It’s anti-consumer. I’ve heard of Tesla suing folks making fake claims against Tesla, but perhaps you have specific examples Frank?
You don’t know Elon Musk. Tesla sues owners who complain about their product if they have any problems. And they usually win. Look it up.
@ Thursty search “why is musk problematic” or read this: *https://prospect.org/politics/2025-02-13-elon-musk-general-secretary-of-doge/
I don’t know what the beef is with Elon musk .
Our government should impose a 100% tariff on all Tesla vehicles. They should also remove the tariff on Chinese EVs. That would not hurt our economy. We could also remove tariffs on all Asian cars. I haven’t checked any stats, but I’d estimate that half the vehicles on the road are Asian. Toyota makes the most reliable vehicles in the world, they seldom breakdown and last for at least 20 years. They also retain a high resale value. Then we could build more housing on the American car lots when they close.
We cancelled our Amazon subscription. In the past two weeks we’ve seen one Amazon delivery van on our daily walk. Before this was minimum two/day. Not sure how this all plays out but consumer behaviours have shifted.
Help is on the way for your existing Teslas. Bumper sticker available from Etsy.
You said it wouldn’t happen Marko.
“ Air Canada has announced plans to cut capacity on routes to Florida, Las Vegas, and Arizona starting in March, citing the ongoing Canada-U.S. tariff dispute and the weakened Canadian dollar.
Meanwhile, WestJet is closely monitoring declining demand for U.S. travel, hinting at potential adjustments to its own transborder operations.
WestJet Faces Slowing Demand for U.S. Routes
WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech stated that interest in U.S. travel has dropped by 25% in recent weeks”
Meanwhile Tesla sales not looking too rosy. It’s gonna get interesting.
Vicre, I’m guessing those folks will miss the boat . Trumps tariffs will have little effect on b. c. We don’t do that much business with the U.S , just be nice to American tourist this summer
Just heard from insider contact that a number of government clients have put in hold their house hunting activities lmao.
Max, not sure councils have it in for anybody , that’s conspiracy stuff.
On the topic of a supply side update. I see Marko’s development on the corner of Sooke Road and Veterans Memorial Parkway hasn’t moved an inch in what must be close to getting on 10 years now. I don’t know if any of you guys remember but he was always throwing shit at Colwood online using his real full name as his handle (especially on VV) . Complaining about how Colwood was making him get all these environmental studies done for the white tailed deer and the turtles.
Anyway, directly across the street on Veterans and Sooke road they opened up the biggest car wash in Canada. From when the property was sold to build out its only been 2 years. I didn’t see any environmental studies going on over there. This is why its a really good idea to keep your online mouth shut while applying for development using your real full name as your handle (and a picture of yourself).
If I were a municipal council member or a municipal mayor, I think I would checkout VV from time to time.
https://victoria.citified.ca/news/high-tech-car-wash-tunnel-auto-oriented-retail-centre-coming-to-colwood/
Public service had it pretty ok with raises the last few years. They shouldn’t whine too much this time around. Still safe to predict there will be whining.
This time around the NDP can conveniently blame the Diminutive Digited One for the nonexistent raises.
But she said she’d love me long time!
Sure likely better than a new realtor who was bringing you drinks on a tray at cactus club the month prior. That’s why I specifically said a high volume realtor…
Right and probably gave you a number that would get more traction which you and your buyer said nahhh. In that circumstance the buyer is unreasonable and the listing agent was desperate enough to take them on.
Auch, I’ll refrain from commenting so I don’t get in trouble with appraisers 🙂
You must be an industry insider….all of your comments are 100% spot on.
Just like the NINJA in the States (no income, no job, and no assets). Sign here and STFU! It works great until it doesn’t.
A number from an appraiser is just a number from someone who couldn’t make it as a realtor. At least you’re not getting charged by the realtors for having them assess what it is worth, and if you talk to a few high volume realtors you’ll get a much more accurate idea of what the market will be like.
Exactly. A number from a realtor is just a verbal number from a realtor. If you want to leverage an asset to access cash from the bank…You need to hire a professional appraiser. With that said… I still think a professional appraiser holds much more weight in comparison to some verbal number that some 1653 washed up realtors in Victoria will spit out just to get the listing.
Yep it’s shady on the south side of beach along that stretch . I did a drive by when it was listed last March and was not a fan of that location
Just said seller was insulted and wouldn’t counter and my buyer continued looking at other properties….quite commonly.
https://househuntvictoria.ca/2025/02/10/supply-side-update/#comment-125506
I wouldn’t say the sellers were impatient—they were never going to get their asking price. Either they listed it way too high because they were stubborn, or the agent was stretching comps to justify that number in ordwr to get the listing. The house was clearly overpriced. It’s in an okay location in Oak Bay, but the lot is small and not very usable. Personally, I wouldn’t pay a premium for ocean glimpses— either pay for oceanfront with an unobstructed view, or it’s not worth it in my opinion.
The house itself does not have a good layout and is only about 1,700 square feet. The listing tries to make it seem larger by including 460 square feet of unfinished attic space, but it’s really just unfinished storage (the only access is through the primary bedroom so it would be pretty hard to convert this to something else). It does have some renovations but with mostly lower-end finishes. They probably should have listed quite a bit lower and they would have sold faster and may have gotten more money.
I’d second that. I was trying to figure out a rough price last year and I was way off. The realtor ended up being pretty accurate. What I didn’t realize is you can’t get a good idea of a place from mls pictures. I thought a bunch of places looked really good (online), but when discussed with the realtor, they brought up the “deficiencies” of those places.
I’d skip that and just ask a realtor, most appraisers are inferior to a high volume realtor when it comes to market pricing.
So the agent just went radio silence after your offer?
-If I were ever to put my house up for sale, I would hire a professional home inspector to comb through my house, I would explain to him/her that I am more concerned with the bad than the good, and I want lots of pictures.
-I would then hire a professional appraiser to walk through the property, very thoroughly. I would then ask him/her what he/she thinks the property would sell for in today’s current market, not what he/she thinks its worth, and want lots of pictures.
-I expect this would cost me around a grand to have some professional embossed documentation with lots of pictures.
-I would then consult a realtor and ask him/her for his/her personal opinion of what he/she thinks the house would sell for in today’s current SFD market.
-Then I would wrap my head around what I’m going to list the house for, something that is realistic and doesn’t waste anyone’s time…Especially my own!
-Once I have all those numbers, I’ll begin the process of sourcing out a listing agent (there are many). I want one that fits and one that I can see eye to eye with… Then I’ll start negotiating commissions.
If a seller wanted to sell they should list it for market value. When there’s a huge disconnect between original list price and final sold price, it’s never the buyers fault.
The property is very shaded and I consider the lack of sidewalks quite a downside. Still though, I wouldn’t have imagined such a disconnect between list and sold over less than a year. Must have been impatient sellers.
Looked at it a little closer, weird house to price – Oakbay location, old ass house with some renos, shit lot but have some ocean glimpses. Lot of variability to price accurately.
The seller would not have come down that much when listed. I had a situation last year where my buyer offered on a property at what we felt was market value and the “seller was insulted” and didn’t reply. My client ended up buying something else and the seller sold 7 months later for 2% below what our initial offer was (and 15% below their initial asking price).
Your best chances are to hit listings on market a long time with unconditional offers with a very quick completion if warranted (vacant property, etc.) but even that is no guarantee. I’ve been making unconditional offers on missing middle properties the last two years willing to complete in 10 days and take on tenants and still no success.
Essentially if a seller is asking $1.1 million, for example, the odds of them taking 900k are close to zero. Most sellers will drop to $999,900 and then $949,900 before finally accepting $900k even if the market value all along has been 900k.
When you do see a property sell for >10% of EXISTING asking usually there is a story or its a teardown or it was on market 555 days without a price adjustment.
Well if a buyer liked a house then they should offer market value for it. The question is what was the market value last march and would they have taken that? One look suggest that was not a 2.2M house last march and the 2.2 was just a hail marry given a price adjustment was done within 2 weeks when they heard crickets. Market price was probably somewhere around 1.8 last March and I bet if they received an offer in that range it would have opened the door for negotiations.
195 Sunny Lane just sold for 1.65m. Originally listed for 2.2m last March – dropped by 550k. That’s wild. I’ve always wondered how buyers are supposed to know that sellers would be willing to come down that much. If I look at a listing over $2m I would assume it’s out of my budget. The 2024 assessment seems to have been spot on though – off by just $10k. Maybe there should be a search by assessed value feature.
Canadian dollar trading at 71 cents , lots of room for interest rate cuts . We really should be at 65 cents , that would be the sweet spot .
the last freeze had some leeway for hiring
As does this one:
…must be core to government programs and services…The only exceptions are internships that promote reconciliation and diversity, Salter wrote.
-Rob Shaw https://cheknews.ca/author/rob-shaw/
Good luck with raises this year is the real LOL
From my relative: the last freeze had some leeway for hiring. Under this one, every hire requires specific approval by—I believe—the head of the public service.
that little 3.8 magnitude shaker 10 minutes ago, perfect conclusion to the discussion on earthquake insurance.
Foreshock or nothingburger?
Apparently the last “freeze” wasn’t frozen enough, LOL.
Looks like there was some type of hiring freeze communicated again to bc government employees
I hope nobody was really expecting that $1,000. Anybody who looked at the fiscal situation in BC pre-election could have guessed that promise had a very short shelf life
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-cancels-grocery-rebate-pauses-hiring-1.7458799
Hilarious, they were going to be canceling the rebate and freezing hiring even without Trump, but hey, why not use a convenient boogyman to cover up your own incompetence and poor management?
More trump bluster today , I don’t know what he’s gaining from all the tariff threats . It seems markets are starting to ignore him
I don’t think there’s a big risk of the modular housing becoming permanent family home replacements. That happens more with schools where there’s always new crops of people using the buildings and no one is there long enough to care that much. Here it’s peoples’ homes so probably not as big of a concern.
I can see them using the modular housing for more staff accommodations in the future (once people move into permanent homes. To me that would be fine. The population balloons in jasper in summer. Mostly young people who might be fine with modular for short term.
Good to see the temporary housing in Jasper arriving before the tourist season. Much needed housing for essential services and workers for the tourist trade.
While I don’t want to come across negatively as this is a good thing, it’s just that temporary housing sometimes becomes permanent. Providing purpose built rental buildings should be a priority by the government.
Out of all the costs associated with a house the insurance is the least costly one.
I was expecting more of an increase, what with all the news articles about record high insurance payouts.
Maybe next year…
7 months after wildfire, temporary housing arrives in Jasper
https://globalnews.ca/news/11016881/jasper-temporary-housing/
Just comes with owning a house!
Speak of the devil…Insurance renewal came in the mail today, from Wawanesa.
Premium up 9.4%
Building cost up 6%
Leo. can you give me the contact info for that tall realtor agent? or anyone, I am selling 1138 Oxford within 2 months. If a realtor wants business please contact me. gregar.saxby@gmail.com
For decades I had them when I ran a business, and still have them on one house.
They offer a broad range of policies and are price competitive; it is no wonder they are successful.
Intact financial, owners of Intact insurance, stock is skyrocketing, they are making incredible profits.
Let us know if you find anything cheaper/better.
SquareOne quoted me about the same price as I’m paying with TD. Haven’t looked further than that.
.
Impact of tariffs on the rental market?
Generally speaking, economic uncertainty, potential job losses, and weakening consumer confidence are not good for any market be it home sales or the rental market. That would imply that rental rates will decline.
Although Lisa Hannam, editor-in-chief at Money Senses is non-committal and is riding the fence on this issue saying that tariffs can impact rent and make it more expensive or even cheaper. Always nice to keep your option open – Lisa.
Mike Heddle, broker and team leader at Royal LePage isn’t too sure about rent prices decreasing as landlord costs have been increasing.
My opinion is that Mike Heddle has made the classic mistake of mixing landlord costs to what the market will bear. A tenant doesn’t care what the landlord’s cost are. They just want the best rental rate.
Same experience for us. Our house is actually mortgage free but they still won’t allow cancellation of the earthquake portion.I am actively looking for other insurance now.
Just got off the phone with TD and I wasn’t quite right. They will not allow cancellation of just the earthquake rider as Victoria is classified as ‘high risk’. It is not related to having a mortgage.
I guess I’ll do a little shopping around (again).
yeah taxes at Mount Washington took a good jump a few years ago when we got fire service voted in. On the other hand insurance is pretty expensive up there and I am sure that would be worse without fire service
Vicre, yep fun times, U.S inflation came in hot so no interest rate relief for our friends to the south
5 year yield is back up and threatening to go to 3% again…. Lol sorry thursty.
Pleased to read there has been no real reduction in immigration . This is the kinda juice our economy needs , and will be good for a robust real estate market . Now let’s get a 50 point cut in march
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-tariff-vulnerability-1.7456561
cc: caveat emptor
Comox Valley Regional District to build fire truck bays on Mount Washington
https://www.timescolonist.com/local-news/comox-valley-regional-district-to-build-fire-truck-bays-on-mount-washington-10221276
Plan to expand walking, cycling networks in Saanich will cost more, take longer
https://www.timescolonist.com/local-news/plan-to-expand-walking-cycling-networks-in-saanich-will-cost-more-take-longer-10219857
Our earthquake insurance skyrocketed and deductible was insane and made no sense. It was like they were saying no without saying no. Also I worked with a big contractor on a project (a very good ethical one) and I just imagined his phone if the big one hit. I’d be lucky to be on his list at all and if I was I’d be far down it. Who cares about the insurance then? The deductible made it only for total / catastrophic loss. Anyway I’m flexible and resilient and would be fine living in a trailer if the rubble could be cleared some how lol. Or just go move in with my in laws up island or my friends who have many acres on an island north gulf island who said i can live there any time. Or move to Portugal!! Lol of course if I’m dead I wouldn’t care at all.
If your house was destroyed in an earthquake, what would it take to stabilize the land it was built on? Again, restoring the services to an area would take years. Even what might appear to be minor damage could fail an engineering inspection and the house would have to be demolished. The best insurance would be to move to the prairies.
I am dropping $78 per/mo on some form of earthquake insurance that seems legit. Is it a waste of money? Yes…It is highly likely that it is a complete waste of money. I am a reasonably insured individual. I have house insurance, work/play insurance, disability insurance, life insurance x 2, vehicle insurance x 2, extra liability insurance. I am paying over $600 per/mo just in insurance. I get a bundle deal with West Coast (loyalty rate) so I really don’t care about the earthquake insurance.
I’m just an average dude. It costs me over $7200 per/year just to be “peace of mind” insured.
Dee.. i like you but
i’m paying $500/ month earthquake insurance, i would rather die in an earthquake…but my kids, my dog i have a medical background so in an earthquake i will save 10’s if to 1000’s of people
I could drop it too, but they told me if I did I wouldn’t be able to get it again. I just renewed the policy and was having a bit of a battle with them over my woodstove. I had to prove the municipal permit approval, installation, and fire marshal inspected ULC/CSA woodstove for the first time ever. I’ve had the same woodstove since 2012…Never a problem. That’s why its always a good idea to draw permits on your house, they were on record and just needed to be forwarded to my insurer.
Coast Capital doesn’t require me to have Earthquake insurance. I live near the Star Light Stadium, so the tidal wave would have to be pretty big.
Weird. I have mortgage with RBC and we dropped earthquake last year.
It takes over a year just to get services up and running in places like California. Can’t get anything built without power.
Yup, I’d be shocked if anything in Victoria got rebuilt within five years after the Big One hits. Just look at places like Lytton, Jasper, and Maui — where only three homes out of 2,000 have been rebuilt 18 months after the wildfire.
Post-Big One, I’m thinking most everybody will have to move to other parts of the province, or beyond, for quite a while.
Are we talking principle residence house insurance here?
I pay a $750 premium with a deductible of 86k for Earthquake 600k dwelling building and a 60k private structure. $188 premium for Earthquake 145k for personal property. My total annual house insurance after my loyalty discount is $2225 all in.
Western Coast Insurance, My mortgage is with Coast Capital.
Hm, I’m insured by TD and my earthquake deductible is $50K and earthquake premium is $2K.
My overall premium jumped 52% from last year!
These costs will make affordable housing impossible.
Never had earthquake on my SFH and I set all my other deductibles to 10k to keep the insurance premiums low. Never had any sort of condo insurance on my personal condo for years and no one ever asked when I mortgaged it. On our building FB page I see other owners always obsessing about buying condo insurance that covers that strata earthquake deductible and other non-sense. If our 2019 built condo triggers a 15+ million dollar deductible due to an earthquake so be it, I’ll sell some TSFA and pay the 125k deductible for my specific unit.
Question I have is if there is 15+ million dollars worth of damage in a new overengineering building built on blasted rock where is the labor coming from for repairs – half of Victoria flattened. It would takes years just to get the permits for repairs 🙂
Reason I’ve never been a fan of earthquake insurance is the deductibles are insane.
It does not (at least not for me). Required as I have a mortgage (also with TD).
You ain’t seen nothing yet…”The summer of 2024 shattered records and was crowned the costliest year for insured severe-weather losses totalling over $7 billion. According to the Insurance Bureau Canada, since 2019, Canada has experienced a 115 per cent increase in the number of claims for personal property damage and a 485 per cent increase in the costs for repairing and replacing personal property.
From wildfires and floods to hailstorms and hurricanes, these natural disasters have left a trail of destruction, costing billions in insurance claims and driving up premiums for homeowners nationwide.”
I’m not sure if TD Insurance allows you to drop earthquake coverage. Other insurers give you the option. FWIW, RBC (Aviva) insurance appears to be the cheapest on the market these days.
I also insure with TD and had the same experience this past year as did Sidekick, though I don’t think mine is required. The earthquake portion is almost double the cost of the non-earthquake related items.
Ya where is your house? I don’t have a mandatory earthquake insurance for my mortgage (lender is TD)
Sidekick, the required earthquake premium? Can’t you just forego that coverage and keep the rest?
It’s getting impossible to invest in real estate. Skyrocketing insurance rates, property taxes, maintenance costs, it just is becoming too risky. I’m bailing this year or next.
Great post
Yes, although lot’s still up in the air.
Sidekick, weren’t u thinking of doing a multi plex
Completely off topic, but I recently received my automatic home insurance renewal (was temporarily lost during the mail strike). TD cranked the required earthquake premium way up and made the terms way worse. It now costs over 4k for the earthquake premium, which has a 500k deductible.
At those terms, I’m re-evaluating if I should pay off my mortgage just so I can get rid of that coverage. I can probably rebuild the structure myself for a little over the deductible (and I don’t own any fancy belongings).
It makes me think that base-isolation for new builds will pay off fairly quickly if earthquake insurance continues its trajectory.
now that westshore is over 3% vacancy, does that mean airbnb is back on the table?
We need to elect Pierre Poilievre!
VERB the NOUN!!
All in all not too bad , I think there is going to be a real shortage of new builds if projects don’t get moving . So much for all those targets the province and feds have been yammering on about
Residents gear up for a fight as Saanich feels the growing pains of density
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/real-estate/vancouver/article-residents-gear-up-for-a-fight-as-saanich-feels-the-growing-pains-of/
No paywall: https://archive.ph/xKWAo