Short, Interesting Real Estate Briefs

Volume 12 - June 19th, 2017

Canadian Real Estate Weekly

Featuring weekly real estate news briefs, events and stories that impact your clients and your business.

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"The Have-Nots of Housing Are Watching, Mad as Hell, as Homeowners Glory in Their Paper Fortunes." - Maclean's

As prices in Canada's cities have skyrocketed and affordability has eroded, many Canadians fear they will be permanently shut out from buying a home.

Paying for all of the costs associated with a detached home in the Vancouver area requires 121 percent of median household income; for a condo, it’s 46 percent of income, making it Canada’s least affordable city.

Toronto isn’t far behind. Aggregate housing costs are 64.6 percent of income, the worst level since 1990 when interest rates spiked.

For smaller markets, Victoria was deemed as one of the "least affordable" smaller housing markets in Canada. January this year saw Victorians required 8.1 times the median income of $67,300 required to buy a house with a median cost of $542,400. (Times Colonist Article).

Soaring prices have for months stoked resentment between the haves and have-nots of housing, as young, educated Canadians who in the past could be assured a shot at purchasing a home and achieving financial stability feel their opportunity slipping away. With every price spike, their antipathy has deepened. (Maclean's Article)

Foreign Investors Spurning Calgary & Montreal

Globe & Mail - June 18th

Real estate watchers have spent months on the lookout for a ripple effect in other parts of Canada from recent attempts to cool overheated real estate price growth in Vancouver and Toronto. Their gaze has often turned to Canada’s other top markets by size, Montreal and Calgary.

Those cities have their attractions: less expensive, direct flights to China and post-secondary schools hospitable to foreign students.

But they have relatively small Asian communities and they are not the lucrative speculative investments Vancouver and Toronto have been. Montreal has the added hurdle of requiring two languages for full engagement in economic and civic life.

Read Full Article

Realtor® Turned Film Maker - David Stasser's Story

Could This Be Your Next Career After Real Estate?

David Strasser says he discovered similarities between filmmaking and real estate.

“The cornerstone of filmmaking is that it’s a collaborative process,” said the Bolivia-born filmmaker. The micro-budget film, initially crowd-funded, was produced by students he met at Vancouver Film School, which also provided production resources such as camera equipment.

“In any business enterprise, to be successful takes a very collaborative mindset. You cannot do any of this alone, except writing the first draft, and I’ve learned about the importance of gratitude.”

Mathieu Powell | Writing Impacts | 250-516-6287 | mathieu.powell@gmail.com | writingimpacts.com