3492 replies to this topic

[Nparker]

 

many hundreds (if not thousands?) of rental homes within condominium buildings [were created] at a time when purpose-built rentals were not being constructed...

Why does this never get mentioned when talking about the so-called rental housing crisis? Private property owners were the only ones supplying rental accommodation when no public body wanted to get involved, but now these same folks are the enemy?

Edited by Nparker, 13 July 2019 - 08:59 AM.

[Mike K.]

And today the federal stress test has undermined the pre-sale industry that relied on private investors to purchase purchase units targeted for rentals. Now council wants to mandate 20% of purpose-built rentals to be below-market, stressing the ability of developers to finance rentals projects.

We’re sliding backwards at an alarming rate.

[Victoria Watcher]

i'm not sure it's "alarming".  if there is no room for anybody then they just can't move here.  problem solved.  

 

seriously does anyone on this board know a single person that is seriously impacted by our "crisis"?   i sure don't.  

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 13 July 2019 - 09:24 AM.

[Cassidy]

The COV's affordable housing document will require 442 units be constructed for purchase by folks making less than $19,999.00 per year.

I may be mistaken, and I certainly haven't lived everywhere in Canada ... but I'm pretty sure you can't buy anything, anywhere in Canada pulling in only 20 grand a year?

 

Mind you, when you're the COV and giving away prime downtown condos to folks making $0.00 per year, I guess everything is on the table.

[Midnightly]

i'm not sure it's "alarming".  if there is no room for anybody then they just can't move here.  problem solved.  

 

seriously does anyone on this board know a single person that is seriously impacted by our "crisis"?   i sure don't.  

 

 

i have had friends that had to move away because after months in a hotel they could not find a place to rent for an affordable price point, i also know a few people who are under housed but cannot move up to a different location due to costs, and a family that had to move out of their school catchment (and into a different school district) because the place they moved into (which the landlord assured them they would not sell) was sold out from under them after they had been there less then a year and they were unable to find a place remotely near where they were currently.. my daughter has lost a fair few friends due to them having to move out of catchment and out of district due to housing costs rising

Edited by Midnightly, 13 July 2019 - 02:04 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

i have had friends that had to move away because after months in a hotel they could not find a place to rent for an affordable price point, i also know a few people who are under housed but cannot move up to a different location due to costs, and a family that had to move out of their school catchment (and into a different school district) because the place they moved into (which the landlord assured them they would not sell) was sold out from under them after they had been there less then a year and they were unable to find a place remotely near where they were currently

 

so nothing "crisis" level right? 

 

they all just lived their lives.  

 

i'm still unclear why victoria has chosen to be the destination of people living on less than $20k.  they are very undesirable.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 13 July 2019 - 02:08 PM.

[Midnightly]

so nothing "crisis" level right? 

 

they all just lived their lives.  

 

i'm still unclear why victoria has chosen to be the destination of people living on less than $20k.  they are very undesirable.

 

 

a few were a crisis situation they had to leave town, one had to move into her parents place (whole family) until they were able to get stable again(after living months in a hotel), another had to put everything in storage and moved to alberta (in a kinda mad dash in the middle of the night), and another had to move in with family.. imagine 5+ people living in a 1-2 bedroom apartment while they try desperately to find a place at a reasonable price point...

 

it is hard on kids to be bounced around, and hard on them to lose their friends (my daughter will be losing half her friends in her transition to middle school this fall due to all the kids who have had to move out of district in the last few years)

 

i don't think Victoria should become a destination for those making under 20K a year.. most the people who i mention have at least 1 parent working full time and another possibly part time... but there have been people impacted by this crisis (lack of places to rent, lack of affordable places-not low income/subsidized housing just affordable places) what is missing is the middle ground.. the city wants to push low income subsidized housing, people can find the high end.. but what lacks is a middle area that is not subsidized but not luxury condo prices

Edited by Midnightly, 13 July 2019 - 03:18 PM.

[Nparker]

...what lacks is a middle area that is not subsidized but not luxury condo prices...

If I were to put my 2 bedroom, 1 bath, wood-frame, 25 year old, downtown-adjacent condo on the market today I wouldn't accept a penny under $450,000 for it. Does this make it luxury?

[Greg]

And today the federal stress test has undermined the pre-sale industry that relied on private investors to purchase purchase units targeted for rentals. Now council wants to mandate 20% of purpose-built rentals to be below-market, stressing the ability of developers to finance rentals projects.

We’re sliding backwards at an alarming rate.

 

Not to mention the foreign purchaser and empty condo taxes. When you lose the pre-sale on a couple of penthouse units, then the result may be the developer doesn't get the financing to go forward with the build, and a bunch of less expensive units on lower floors aren't built and don't become part of the housing pool.

 

It's almost like when people tinker in a space they know nothing about, there are occasionally unintended consequences. 

[Midnightly]

If I were to put my 2 bedroom, 1 bath, wood-frame, 25 year old, downtown-adjacent condo on the market today I wouldn't accept a penny under $450,000 for it. Does this make it luxury?

 

 

i'm not talking about sale.. i'm more talking about rental.. there is a lack of the middle ground market for rentals there is low income housing for those who are lucky enough to qualify and get in (there is a wait list a mile long for those) and people can find higher end rentals it's the middle ground that's lacking and that could probably be in part just due to lack of rental builds for many years

[Nparker]

I am just getting tired of the "luxury condo" strawman being used as an excuse for decades of letting the purpose-built rental market flounder.

[aastra]

Focus Magazine seems to have gone off the deep end.

 

 

It’s not hard for City council to justify removing an “iconic” mature tree, especially if it obstructs the flow of people, vehicles and bikes around the Customs House waterfront property whose units range in price from $900,000 to more than $10 million. Council’s role seems to be to facilitate more upscale real estate investment. Every decision they make must ensure maximization of profit for investors at the expense of maintaining a healthy environment and ensuring the well-being of the majority of the City’s households, who are tenants.

If the City is concerned about mitigating the negative impact of climate change, why are they approving the construction of the largest consumers of energy and emitters of greenhouse gas emissions—high-density, amenity-rich condo towers, concentrated in Downtown?

Truth-telling requires everyone to observe what’s going on around them...

https://www.focusonv...the-editor-r13/
 

 

Seriously, if there's even one real person in Victoria who thinks city council has ever done anything to facilitate upscale real estate investment in any meaningful way, then I don't know what to tell you. You couldn't possibly be more out of touch with post-1945 Victoria. Downtown revitalization via new residential development has been a painful slog, redevelopment of surface parking lots has been a painful slog, redevelopment of former industrial sites has been a painful slog... heck, the construction of the new marina was a painful slog... and the CoV itself has been the major impediment to all of these good things.

 

Since the early 1990s there have been ongoing calls for increased density from people who actually care about the environment. Increased density is all about minimizing urban footprints, decreasing reliance on automobiles, and shifting the focus away from auto-centric developments. Meanwhile, the self-proclaimed environmentalists have been right there at the forefront of the opposition to increased density. How many times have we observed this glaring contradiction?

 

Sometimes I feel like all of this is just one big intellectual/emotional/spiritual integrity test. If you brand yourself a peacenik while calling for war then you're a fraud. Truth-telling, indeed. I'm really becoming fed up with modern Victorian hypocrisy on so many fronts.

[Nparker]

 

..the self-proclaimed environmentalists have been right there at the forefront of the opposition to increased density...

This. It really seems like we live in Bizarro world sometimes.

[DavidL]

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

 

screenshot-twitter.com-2019.07.13-07_54_53.png

 

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

 

$115M in POTENTIAL speculation tax - certainly will be adjusted downward as laggards register for exemptions etc - and a far cry from the $200M+ it was supposed to produce.  Meanwhile in other news $400M less in property transfer tax produced and $89 Billion wiped out of owners equity.  But math is hard so the NDP calls this a win.  For whom I wonder?  

[Nparker]

... But math is hard so the NDP calls this a win.  For whom I wonder?  

Presumably for the NDP come the fall of 2021. I am sure that's what they're counting on.

[Sparky]

I wonder how much this program costs to build and operate?

[DustMagnet]

This. It really seems like we live in Bizarro world sometimes.

 

At a glance it certainly seems so, but you have to remember that environmentalists don't want sprawl or density  - so how do you achieve that?  Reduce or eliminate the need for either by reducing or eliminating the people.  The first step to doing this is to instil the idea that humans aren't part of nature, so nothing that humans do is natural, so nothing humans do is acceptable.  By this time people should be feeling guilty for merely existing*.

* Note this applies to all humans, not just cisgender white heterosexual males - but they have a head start.

[Nparker]

...you have to remember that environmentalists don't want sprawl or density  - so how do you achieve that?  Reduce or eliminate the need for either by reducing or eliminating the people...

Logically then, should not the most devout environmentalists eliminate themselves in order to do no further harm to nature?

[DustMagnet]

Logically then, should not the most devout environmentalists eliminate themselves in order to do no further harm to nature?

 

Nice try, but as Stewards Of The Earth their responsibility is to eliminate everyone else first.  Only then are they free to make their own noble sacrifice.

[Nparker]

The best leaders lead by example.