5993 replies to this topic

[dasmo]

I think we get a lot more from regular tourists vs the cruise ships. They only drop people for a few hours. It would be a lot better if they stayed overnight. Am I wrong?

[Mike K.]

They're all American operators, or mostly, aren't they? Carnival, Disney, Norwegian, etc, all American.

 

They could exempt cruises to Alaska but would one exemption open the doors to others, like Hawaiian cruises?

[Victoria Watcher]

They are US companies but the rules are about US built ships, and staffing. Not where the company is located.

The ships plying the Alaska route are not built in the US and the crews are all international, earning less than 1/2 of the US minimum wage.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 25 February 2025 - 09:04 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

They're all American operators, or mostly, aren't they? Carnival, Disney, Norwegian, etc, all American.

They could exempt cruises to Alaska but would one exemption open the doors to others, like Hawaiian cruises?

Not if they say Alaska only, like the proposed bills have.

[lanforod]

Because we have three currencies, probably. To work collectively we'd need to adopt the USD in Canada and Mexico.

 

I'd be ok with adopting the USD, though I hate the look and feel of their money.

[Mike K.]

I think we get a lot more from regular tourists vs the cruise ships. They only drop people for a few hours. It would be a lot better if they stayed overnight. Am I wrong?

 

The big money might not even be the tourists, but in servicing the ships.

 

I've often wondered where the money actual goes, when we talk about the economic impact of cruise. Is it $300,000 supply runs while they're in port that make the real money, or is it the tourist dollars being spent locally?

 

For a while (and it may still be happening) cruise ships dumped their garbage here.

[LJ]

I'd be ok with adopting the USD, though I hate the look and feel of their money.

Who actually looks and feels money anymore? I never carry cash.

[Citified.ca]

Victoria's western suburb of Sooke, situated along the shores of Sooke Harbour and the Salish Sea, represents a significant cost savings among south Island real-estate offerings, in a regon with some of Canada's most expensive home prices.

 

Our very own Ryan Cook sheds some light into Sooke's housing market, which saw a 25% lower single-family-home price average compared to the regional average, in 2024. That's a huge savings, and appears to suggest Sooke is the next Esquimalt in terms of value jump.

 

Victoria's coastal suburb of Sooke a must-see value proposition in Capital's high-cost housing market

https://victoria.cit...housing-market/

 

 

“Having spent so much time in the Metro Vancouver real-estate market, I can see Sooke as on the precipice of a real-estate renaissance as local attitudes towards sub-markets do not necessarily jive with how newcomers perceive real-estate in Victoria. Take for example the popularity of Esquimalt. It is one of the most sought out real-estate markets on the south Island today, but even 10 years ago, it was viewed by locals as less desirable. It took newcomers to the region to do away with that mindset, and set a new tone for a community that saw suppressed housing prices for several decades because of local attitudes. And before that, there were neighbourhoods even within the City of Victoria like Fernwood, James Bay, Burnside Gorge and Vic West, that had a considerable value gap that has since been bridged,” Cook notes, continuing:

 

“Today, we have a similar scenario with Sooke, where local perceptions differ from those of a newcomer. And I emphasize to all of my first-time homebuyer clients to focus on value when determining their criteria. If a longer commute, or if working from home perhaps with no commute at all but some distance to the city centre, can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars, that may be a smart tradeoff if it means you can buy a house and land compared to only being able to afford a condo in the city.”

 

Cook adds that of particular importance to first-time buyers are money-saving considerations like avoiding property transfer tax. This tax, equal to 1% of the fair market value of a home up to and including $200,000, plus 2% of the fair market value greater than $200,000, can be fully avoided by first-time buyers if a purchase is priced at $830,000 or below, and partially avoided for a purchase price of up to $859,999.

 

“When you’ve worked so hard to secure a down payment, and when every dollar really counts as you near a first-time home purchase, avoiding property transfer tax is a meaningful savings, and what gives Sooke such an edge with this one factor alone, is you can still buy a lot of house and a lot of land for around that price point, whereas only condominiums and a limited supply of townhomes fit that price criteria elsewhere in Greater Victoria. Buyers can also purchase newer homes in Sooke, on average, whereas in the city centre, single-family homes in the sub-$1 million price bracket often require substantial renovations and can date to the early 1900s, making upgrades a logistical and financial challenge.”

 

First-time buyers can also leverage a new opportunity as of mid-December of 2024, that allows for the option of a 30-year mortgage amortization on a new-build. This option was introduced by the federal government to allow first-time buyers more financial maneuverability, and nowhere in the Capital Region does a dollar for new-build single-family homes stretch as far as it does in Sooke. Plenty of new-build options are also available for buyers searching for a duplex or a townhome.

 

 

[Citified.ca]

This is shaping up to be quite the spring. Will tariffs put a damper on the market? We shall see, but so far, it's getting busy out there and prices are rising.

 

Victoria's February home prices reached highs second only to 2022 peak, as property sales rose 12%

https://victoria.cit...-sales-rose-12/

[Mike K.]

2.75% rate expected tomorrow, a drop from 3.0%. 2025 started at 3.25%.

Economists expect 2.0% by July.

[Mike K.]

Whoops. The rate announcement comes next week.

[Mike K.]

The premier was in Victoria yesterday talking to real-estate investors about the importance of real-estate investors.

Not long ago, the same NDP government mostly killed off real-estate investment in the pre-sale sector when it introduced punitive measures like flipping and vacancy taxes, and introduced rental tenancy reforms, that made investing in real-estate an overly risky form of investment, effectively hogtying the pre-sale sector that relied on investors taking a risk on their project, thereby making it viable enough to proceed to construction and make the remainder of homes available to owner-occupiers.

Today the premier says a plan is in the works that hopes to bring back investor dollars and revive the pre-sale industry, because BC needs real-estate investors.

[LJ]

^And just like that the housing crisis has ended.

[Victoria Watcher]

$3,999,900

 

 

 

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Edited by Victoria Watcher, 26 March 2025 - 03:56 AM.