Global real estate markets are breaking a sweat, and Vancouver should be no exception. Those same foreign buyers that sent property values soaring around the world are now a little short on foreign currency.
More than 10,500 new condo units are slated to hit the Greater Vancouver housing market this year, according to MLA Canada's 2017 Market Intel report -- opening up plenty of more-affordable housing options for prospective homebuyers who have been priced out of the single-detached segment.
I left my home in Manitoba on a Greyhound bus for Victoria to start afresh. For the past 20 years, I've moved around, working here and there. I've been a cook, construction worker, stable hand and done a variety of odd jobs. But I'm always drawn back to the wilderness, where I feel most at home.
What would change if we spent as much time glorifying start lines as we do finish lines? What if we cheered as wildly for people the moment they assumed their position in the starting blocks as we do when they run through the tape at the end of the race?
The most basic economic principle is, when there is a rise in demand, the invisible force of supply will kick in, and this is how economic growth is generated. For those who want to blame the housing crisis on immigrants, let's think about how our economy would look like if B.C. or Canada did not have the intake and growth brought by immigrants.
Prospective homebuyers face a growing list of challenges -- from skyrocketing prices in Vancouver and Toronto, to soft conditions in Alberta, to another round of mortgage rule changes. But there are some good reasons 2017 is still a good year to buy a home in Canada.
Not everyone will get the opportunity to pack their bags and escape in the new year. Those with slightly less nomadic lifestyles can still experience new cultures, taste exotic foods, and fill their Instagram pages with comment-worthy travel photos by visiting these four worldly cities right here in Canada.
On the 26th of November, the announcement became public: the government of Mr. Justin Trudeau had decided to approve Kinder Morgan's TransMountain pip...
Quite simply, the values espoused by Donald Trump and his supporters do not align with the values that are held by the majority of Canadians -- and they certainly do not align with the values that are held by the vast majority of Vancouverites. Bottom line: there is no room for Trump in our city.
Unable to pinpoint a specific cause for the deaths of their last two remaining belugas, the Vancouver Aquarium was left to speculate. And speculate they did, deftly pointing their finger at the critics of whale captivity that have been an ever-present thorn in their side. Ask yourself: Are these the actions one expects from a world-class science-based conservation charity? Or are they the public relations tactics more typical of people with something to hide?
The plaintiffs' constitutional challenge is straightforward: if the government does not provide timely medical treatment, then it cannot at the same time legally prohibit patients who are suffering on long wait lists from taking control of their own health care and arranging treatment privately.
Is Vancouver a city without duende? For those unfamiliar with the term, a creative force evoked in the art of flamenco, I defer to Garcia Lorca -- the poet killed by right-wing Spanish civil war era assassins whose work seems ever more resonant in our time of vulgar demagogues and neo-liberal pretenders.
Recognizing housing as a fundamental human right could be viewed as a dangerous proposition for many who treat housing as a business. It opens the door for lawsuits against both businesses and governments who fail to take the issue seriously.
The establishment of a net-zero energy ready code target for new buildings by 2032 and the development of an energy "step code" for local governments are positive steps toward a sustainable future for B.C.'s buildings.
Prospective homebuyers in Toronto -- get used to one thing: ever-increasing prices. Either that or move further out in the GTA. Or rent. These are the limited options -- and unfortunate unintended consequences -- caused by government policy and market forces in the Toronto area.
Nationally, real estate markets remain healthy, with home values showing modest to strong price appreciation in almost every Canadian city. New measures introduced by the federal finance ministry on October 3, designed to cool the housing market, have led to a decline in sales in Vancouver.