Cost of housing in Canada

[Eaglelord17]

Banks are already lending out 70-90 year mortgages.

Some Canadian mortgage holders extending amortization periods by more than double: Expert - BNN Bloomberg

As Canadians continue to deal with higher borrowing costs, one mortgage expert said some homeowners have been extending their amortization periods to more than double the typical 25 years.

www.bnnbloomberg.ca

Many MPs have rental properties in major cities, so I doubt they'll allow a crash. The housing minister just bought another rental property in Ottawa.

Canada’s housing minister quietly buys another rental property

In housing minister Ahmed Hussen’s disclosure statements, he is now listed as the owner of two rental properties in Ottawa: one on Quest Private and another on Kijik Crescent. He appears to have acquired the second property on March 23, 2023, and has two mortgages with CIBC.

tnc.news

The housing ministers job is to provide housing to Canadians, not a very good job he is doing...

That is disgusting, basically going from a asset you will pay down and one day own outright, to a permanent ‘low interest’ credit card.

I know its the big players who don’t want a collapse, they are the ones actively benefiting from the current crisis. Much like how the rich loved the great depression as if you had money you could get people to do so much for so little in that time period.

For the last 200 years in this country we had broken free of the historic serfdom which existed elsewhere in the world, where you (the average person) basically couldn’t own land because it was all owned by a lord. Seems like the goal at the moment is to go back to that state in time where the elites own the land and we all pay to live on it.

 

[RangerRay]

Like this?

View attachment 78645

Looks like Winnipeg.

 

[OldSolduer]

Looks like Winnipeg.

You're not far off. Its somewhere in the former USSR.

The old Soviets used to live in a three room - four maybe - with a husband, wife and two kids. Maybe 600-700 square feet? Just a guess on my part.

 

[RangerRay]

You're not far off. Its somewhere in the former USSR.

The old Soviets used to live in a three room - four maybe - with a husband, wife and two kids. Maybe 600-700 square feet? Just a guess on my part.

I thought just having a separate bedroom was considered luxury?

 

[dimsum]

The old Soviets used to live in a three room - four maybe - with a husband, wife and two kids. Maybe 600-700 square feet? Just a guess on my part.

You're describing HK now, let alone decades ago.

 

[brihard]

Many MPs have rental properties in major cities, so I doubt they'll allow a crash. The housing minister just bought another rental property in Ottawa.

Canada’s housing minister quietly buys another rental property

In housing minister Ahmed Hussen’s disclosure statements, he is now listed as the owner of two rental properties in Ottawa: one on Quest Private and another on Kijik Crescent. He appears to have acquired the second property on March 23, 2023, and has two mortgages with CIBC.

tnc.news

The housing ministers job is to provide housing to Canadians, not a very good job he is doing...

Indeed. Pierre Poilievre and his wife also own income properties… I would bet probably a lot of MPs do. Unless you’re truly ‘corporate rich’, owning multiple properties is what wealth looks like for those in the seven or eight figure net worth class, and I suspect a great deal of our politicians and those who most heavily influence them are to be found there. I have zero optimism that any government will consciously act in a way that reverses housing prices to the extent that it actually makes single family homes in or near major cities truly affordable for early adult working professionals again.

 

[Good2Golf]

That is disgusting, basically going from an asset you will pay down and one day own outright, to a permanent ‘low interest’ credit card.

It fits with the current government’s desire to transfer all citizen comrades to a “life as a service” model, as equity is (perhaps not) slowly eaten away and life transitions fully into income from the post-nation state vs services expenses balance in the numerous 15-minute cities on the rise…

 

[Remius]

Indeed. Pierre Poilievre and his wife also own income properties… I would bet probably a lot of MPs do. Unless you’re truly ‘corporate rich’, owning multiple properties is what wealth looks like for those in the seven or eight figure net worth class, and I suspect a great deal of our politicians and those who most heavily influence them are to be found there. I have zero optimism that any government will consciously act in a way that reverses housing prices to the extent that it actually makes single family homes in or near major cities truly affordable for early adult working professionals again.

MPs get a yearly housing allowance that many of them use to get into the rental game…even renting out to each other.

 

[OldSolduer]

I thought just having a separate bedroom was considered luxury?

Cardboard box is luxury, comrade.....separate bedroom means "I am the King" or more correctly "Czar"

 

[lenaitch]

That’s another thing too, yeah. A few years ago after a financial windfall we looked at buying a condo as an income property. After running the numbers a few times, even before interest rates jumped, there just wasn’t enough spread between rental income versus all expenses. From a strict investment standpoint the opportunity cost of tying up capital that way just didn’t make much sense. Big picture, that’s not a bad thing for those who need housing. Income properties are properties not available as starter owns. Hopefully investors shifting out of income properties opens up more supply for first time owners, or downsizers.

In some areas of some cities the income property market has been geared towards short-term rentals (AirBNB, etc. aka 'ghosts hotels). For a long time it was pretty much unregulated but condo boards and municipal bylaws have slowly been tightening and it is becoming less of an attractive option.

One problem with urban housing is the dearth of purpose-built rental properties; aka apartment buildings. Depending on landlord-tenant legislation and zoning, hardly anybody is building them outside of so-called community housing.

Cities like Toronto have ramped-up secondary (basement apartment) and tertiary housing (separate building on the same lot) which I suppose can help but in many cases the infrastructure, such a parking, schools, etc. often isn't there to support it.

 

[Brad Sallows]

Secondary/tertiary housing is going to underwhelm expectations if stories of people who try to be good landlords and get f*cked over keep popping up in the news.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Cities like Toronto have ramped-up secondary (basement apartment) and tertiary housing (separate building on the same lot) which I suppose can help but in many cases the infrastructure, such a parking, schools, etc. often isn't there to support it.

Actually the Provincial Govt is making every municipality. https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-43/session-1/bill-23

I like the present Ontario Govt but they have screwed up royally with this bill. Without development fees some places have said they wont approve any growth as they don't have the money to upgrade the infrastructure required for the new builds.

 

[brihard]

Actually the Provincial Govt is making every municipality. https://www.ola.org/en/legislative-business/bills/parliament-43/session-1/bill-23

I like the present Ontario Govt but they have screwed up royally with this bill. Without development fees some places have said they wont approve any growth as they don't have the money to upgrade the infrastructure required for the new builds.

Oh man, no kidding. I’d probably get yelled at if I described this one as Doug Ford fellating the developers, so I won’t. I’ll just say that our current provincial government is very… solicitousness of the various developers’ needs and wants.

Those development fees are essential to let municipalities put in infrastructure like sewers and drainage, multi-use trails and parks, recreational facilities, community centers, etc. the developers make an assload of money building up swaths of suburbia, but they only care about what they’re legally required to. Developers build houses, now communities, and only by levying those charges and putting in restrictions on land use can the municipalities make sure that what gets built is actually livable. My neighbourhood is about half built, and I bet in five years’ time we’ll be able to look at various streets and see when the zoning and development policies changed.

 

[MJP]

In some areas of some cities the income property market has been geared towards short-term rentals (AirBNB, etc. aka 'ghosts hotels). For a long time it was pretty much unregulated but condo boards and municipal bylaws have slowly been tightening and it is becoming less of an attractive option.

Some condos are fighting back against short term rental and winning but it often means going to court which as you point means it goes slowly.

’Equivalent of a hotel stay’: Judge backs condo board in banning online rentals

A condo board in Edmonton has won a court battle preventing owners from engaging in short-term rentals through web-based platforms.

calgaryherald.com

 

[Rifleman62]

As housing goes up, so do real estate agents commissions which are out of line in BC with AZ. Also Land Transfer Tax in BC.

In B.C., buyer and seller real estate agents charge a graduated commission based on the transaction value that usually ranges between 3% to 4% for the first $100,000 of a property's price and between 1% to 2% for the remaining total.

Commission scales in B.C. vary from region to region. For example, seller or listing agents in the Greater Vancouver Area usually charge 3.875% on the first $100,000 of a transaction's value while seller agents in the Greater Victoria Region usually charge 3%. However, there is no standard commission rate and agents may offer different commissions. In almost all cases, the home seller pays the commissions of both the seller and buyer real estate agents.

BC General property transfer tax​

The general property transfer tax applies for all taxable transactions. The general property transfer tax rate is:

1% of the fair market value up to and including $200,000
2% of the fair market value greater than $200,000 and up to and including $2,000,000
3% of the fair market value greater than $2,000,000

Further 2% on residential property over $3,000,000​

If the property has residential property worth over $3,000,000, a further 2% tax will be applied to the residential property value greater than $3,000,000.

 

[lenaitch]

As housing goes up, so do real estate agents commissions which are out of line in BC with AZ. Also Land Transfer Tax in BC.

In B.C., buyer and seller real estate agents charge a graduated commission based on the transaction value that usually ranges between 3% to 4% for the first $100,000 of a property's price and between 1% to 2% for the remaining total.

Commission scales in B.C. vary from region to region. For example, seller or listing agents in the Greater Vancouver Area usually charge 3.875% on the first $100,000 of a transaction's value while seller agents in the Greater Victoria Region usually charge 3%. However, there is no standard commission rate and agents may offer different commissions. In almost all cases, the home seller pays the commissions of both the seller and buyer real estate agents.

BC General property transfer tax​

The general property transfer tax applies for all taxable transactions. The general property transfer tax rate is:

1% of the fair market value up to and including $200,000
2% of the fair market value greater than $200,000 and up to and including $2,000,000
3% of the fair market value greater than $2,000,000

Further 2% on residential property over $3,000,000​

If the property has residential property worth over $3,000,000, a further 2% tax will be applied to the residential property value greater than $3,000,000.

No kidding. We are just closing on a deal (packers are here as we speak). $50K+ in commissions. Granted, it is a tougher market now and when we down to the short strokes he did earn his keep. When things were super hot a year and a bit ago, often, the first time you new a house was on the market around here was when the sign went up with 'sold' already on it.. That's not bad coin when the agent doesn't have to pay for advertising, photos, videos, etc. They were making out like bandits.

But don't even suggest a low commission; it's like you insulted their mother. Many agents will privately tell you that they shun discount agents and selling services such as Property Guys.

 

[Quirky]

Using a realtor is completely voluntary. It's like only buying vehicles from a dealer, your choice.

Selling a house privately isn't hard and should be done more frequently to kill off the useless practice of middle-men.

 

[Brad Sallows]

I expect realtors clinging stubbornly to their commission-based sales regardless of the huge run-up in sale prices will eventually be victims of a government looking for ways to put money back in owner's pockets and woo voters, unless they take steps to reform themselves. Certainly the government of BC earned itself a lot of goodwill by changing how ICBC does personal injury claims.

 

[IKnowNothing]

Another procedural aspect to trim some fat would be to finally nut up and ban blind bidding. The whole process could use an overhaul.

 

[lenaitch]

Using a realtor is completely voluntary. It's like only buying vehicles from a dealer, your choice.

Selling a house privately isn't hard and should be done more frequently to kill off the useless practice of middle-men.

It's easier in a hot market. A neighbour of where we are heading has had her house on Kijiji for over a year. It might be easier for local sales but it's hard to get any kind of reach by yourself. I realize the courts finally opened up the Realtor website but I don't know what hoops a private seller would have to jump through to use it.

It is absolutely do-able. We didn't use an agent at the far end - just a lawyer, but we were focused on just the one house (mainly because there was nothing else around that we liked).

Some people have the touch. My wife can stage a house with the best of them, but I'm not sure everyone is willing, or able, to invest the time and resources required.

Another procedural aspect to trim some fat would be to finally nut up and ban blind bidding. The whole process could use an overhaul.

I agree. All bids should be open. I also dislike the game that some sellers and owners play by saying they will open all offers on the same day, knowing damned well that somebody will come in with a 'bully bid'.