3483 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

whatever. the “crisis” won’t be solved in the next 20 or 30 years. in fact over that time more and more people will want to come here.

[Nparker]

And as I have stated numerous times before, how many of the CoV's condos are used exclusively as rental properties by their owners? It's at least 30-35% in my building at any given time. Take these out of the equation and the number of rental units doesn't magically increase.

[Mike K.]

I found the strategy document to read more like opinion rather than a balanced government publication. It is not up to the regional government to tell people what they need or should want/need.

My understanding is the industry is really struggling with what is happening in Victoria and their concerns are not being recognized. They’re the experts, but they’re being positioned by elected officials as money-hungry developers, and that’s below the belt. This should not be happening.

[Nparker]

With ideologues in control of the CoV council I expect things to get worse before they get better. I think the development industry has only seen the start of the rhetoric and ill-advised policies.

[rmpeers]

What I don't grasp is, I get that there's a shortage of rental units in the city; but can't people find a place to rent in Langford etc and just commute in for work? Or is the rental availability just that bad across the region?

For example, if I got a job in downtown Vancouver tomorrow, it would be a given that I'd need to live further out and commute to work.

[Nparker]

I believe we've already determined that the definition of a housing crisis is not being able to find the accommodation one wants, at the price one wants to pay, in a very specific location.

[spanky123]

I believe we've already determined that the definition of a housing crisis is not being able to find the accommodation one wants, at the price one wants to pay, in a very specific location.

 

And without having to stoop to the level of having a roommate or anyone else to help pay the expenses.

Edited by spanky123, 10 July 2019 - 02:26 PM.

[Midnightly]

Is the "average" person a renter?  I think there are more owners in Canada than renters.  Market condos are far more average and normal than government subsidized rentals.  And how does the existence of market condos affect the existence of subsidized rentals?  This council is knowingly "killing some projects" (in Issit's own words) in the hopes of forcing rentals into what ever projects actually end up going ahead.  Talk about cutting your nose off to spite your face

 

 

in Victoria proper the average person may just be a renter, Victoria has an high number of renters vrs owners compared to most the rest of Canada, even if you compare the rest of the CRD Victoria proper has a significantly higher population of renters vrs the rest of the municipalities

[Mike K.]

What I don't grasp is, I get that there's a shortage of rental units in the city; but can't people find a place to rent in Langford etc and just commute in for work? Or is the rental availability just that bad across the region?

For example, if I got a job in downtown Vancouver tomorrow, it would be a given that I'd need to live further out and commute to work.

There is a stigma associated with living outside of the core among certain segments of the population, and that stigma becomes more and more entrenched as life-long urban residents begin to recognize that affordability may need to equate with moving out of the City of Victoria/environs.

Moving out of the urban area can result in ostracization to some degree, including ridicule for things like greater reliance on a vehicle instead of walking/cycling/busing to destinations in the core, the different style of housing getting cast in a negative light, and the perception that you’ve “changed” by moving to a suburb and all that it entails. The Westshore in particular garners a lot of the above sentiment, while the peninsula gets more of a pass.

It’s also socially awkward to be able to afford to buy a home in some circles, and moving to a suburb to live in that home can be perceived as opulence or as a disregard for the plight of others.

These are very real things, much more complicated than what I’ve described but this is a reality for some. People will struggle to afford a $2,500 rental in Victoria in lieu of a $1,750 mortgage in Langford. I see it frequently, and several acquaintances have expressed that conflict to me where they’re stuck between moving away to an affordable (to them) ownership opportunity and continuing to rent in the city centre where they are among their peers and are accustomed to a certain lifestyle.

Gosh, now that I think about it I recently had someone tell me how frustrated his acquaintances were when they found out he was moving to Langford. The obligatory “that highway is full,” “you’ll commute for hours everyday,” “you’ll hate that yard in a year” sort of sentiment was dished out heavy and he found it hard to cope with.

But then all of that is anecdotal. To some affording a home in the suburbs isn’t worth it, and they would rather remain renters in the core and spend 20 minutes walking to work rather than 35 minutes driving. I get that, for sure, but if you’re having trouble paying the rent some things may need to change and the location of your home is a big factor to consider.

[Sparky]

^ I think you hit the nail on the head Mike.

There is a mindset evolving from the university liberalized progressive millennials that the boomers have a hard time digesting.

There was a time when the downtown Charlie Browns were less fortunate socially as well as financially. That’s why they lived there. That has changed.

The shift towards urbanization and centrification (my term according to spellcheck) has consequences...cost being one of them, social superiority another.

Oh and another indisputable fact is until we can figure out how to close the airport and demolish the ferry terminals .....it ain’t gonna get any better anytime soon.

The old farts in the burbs and rural areas are going to start whining next.

[Redd42]

I believe we've already determined that the definition of a housing crisis is not being able to find the accommodation one wants, at the price one wants to pay, in a very specific location.

 

As one who has a suite for rent at the moment but not downtown, I can definitely say there is not currently a rental housing crisis. 

[Citified.ca]

An artist's rendering of 2762 Spencer Road, one of two affordable housing projects to recently launch on the Westshore.

 

Construction launches on 178 affordable homes on the Westshore in addition to 162 already underway and 365 newly completed

https://victoria.cit...ewly-completed/

[Victoria Watcher]

why can't they be both carole james?  an investment plus a place for people to live?   win/win.

 

 

homes have been a solid investment for generations.  what makes the ndp think that's got to end?

 

[Sparky]

^ Because the "New Democratic Party" is based on socialist ideals...that's why.

 

The NDP moniker (rebranded because it appears to be based on democracy...often mistaken for freedom) used to be known as CCF which stood for the Co-Operative Commonwealth Federation. (the word "commonwealth" means that the public shares everything with everybody and any single person shouldn't be allowed to accumulate wealth)

 

"The CCF aimed to alleviate the suffering that workers and farmers, the ill and the old endure under capitalism, seen most starkly during the Great Depression, through the creation of a Co-operative Commonwealth, which would entail economic co-operation, public ownership of the economy, and political reform."

 

https://en.wikipedia...alth_Federation

[Victoria Watcher]

the 99.8% figure is disingenuous too.  stats came out this week indicating 20% of the texed are bc residents.   so she should be saying 80% of bc residents with investment property are not affected.

[Mike K.]

Carole James has an investment home/vacation home on one of the Gulf Islands, an area which was removed as a speculation tax zone by her government. Andrew Weaver has an investment home/vacation home in the Parkaville area, which also is in an area removed from the speculation tax zone.

[Nparker]

There should be an actual word for the special brand of hypocrisy practiced by politicians.

 

Edit: I am going to try and make "polipocrisy" catch on.

Edited by Nparker, 13 July 2019 - 11:13 AM.

[DustMagnet]

But it's not special, just visible due to public scrutiny.

[VIResident]

This.  

 

“I suggest that if we had adopted exactly the opposite policy, saying you must prohibit rentals in your building, we would actually have done more for providing affordable housing in the city than we did,” Young said. “We would have created more owned housing than we did and the effect of our policy was to create a whole bunch of Airbnbs.” - Coun. Geoff Young

 

*BOOM*

 

https://www.timescol...oung-1.23884442

[Mike K.]

No, Mr. Young, I respectfully disagree. What the city created through its stance on rentals led to many hundreds (if not thousands?) of rental homes within condominium buildings at a time when purpose-built rentals were not being constructed. Between 1980 and 2010 it was rentals in condominiums, in other words, that provided desperately needed rental housing.

 

AirBnB is a tiny sliver of the rental stock and legislating it has created virtually no impact on the housing market as a whole. It is also a new industry, having only been in vogue over the last handful of years and at a time when purpose-built rentals blossomed once again.