5833 replies to this topic

[rmpeers]

In Victoria property tax is about $400/month for an average residence. And despite 5,000-units of housing built over the span of the last decade, property taxes continued to rise above inflation year-over-year.

One can perhaps begin to understand why Mayor Helps uses the words catastrophe when she speaks to the slow pace of new housing, and therefore new taxation revenues. Without thousands of units every few years the municipal tax equation will become a potentially catastrophic burden if average homeowners and renters will have to cover $500-$600 a month just for property taxes, and not including municipal services like waste disposal, water and sewage.

Perhaps a reason for downplaying the in-migration of unhoused people here is the knowledge that when new facilities are built to house them, more taxes will follow?

[Victoria Watcher]

it can’t possibly counter the policing costs.

[rjag]

There are 3 ways to approach the cost of taxes. Increase the tax base, increase taxes or take a serious look at how much you waste in pet ego projects

[Nparker]

There are 3 ways to approach the cost of taxes. Increase the tax base, increase taxes or take a serious look at how much you waste in pet ego projects

It's pretty obvious which one the CoV will never choose.

[rmpeers]

There are 3 ways to approach the cost of taxes. Increase the tax base, increase taxes or take a serious look at how much you waste in pet ego projects

If Helps plans to not seek reelection next year, I guess we can expect more unneeded projects like Picnic Point, and as much new housing as possible, just so she can pad her resume.

[Victoria Watcher]

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says home sales and new listings set all-time records across the region last month.

 

The board reports that residential home sales totaled 5,708 in March, up by more than 53 per cent from February and 126 per cent from March 2020.

_________________________

Board Chair Taylor Biggar says the surge has pushed price gains into the double digits for single-family homes and townhomes over the last year.

 

 

https://www.timescol...oard-1.24302664

 

 

 

Calgary housing market sees best monthly sales since 2007, says real estate board

https://www.cbc.ca/n...march-1.5974375

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 02 April 2021 - 04:05 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

It's not just Toronto and Vancouver — Canada's housing bubble has gone national

https://www.cbc.ca/n...towns-1.5973134

[VIResident]

It really makes you wonder why Mayor Helps never speaks to the tax burden when she talks about rising housing costs in Victoria.

A typical older apartment carries a tax burden of $200-$250 per month, and newer properties even more. Is it any wonder 1BR units are renting for $1,600/month, and condo properties for even more?

A home selling for $1 million in the City of Victoria will have a tax burden of approximately $400/month. And now there’s talk of doing away with the homeowner grant and requiring residents in their primary residences to pay the full rate, adding about 20% more to their annual tax bill.

 

As long as there are more 'homeowners' as voters than there are renters as voters would the grant will not stay in place? Further, wouldn't adding more tax burden onto the 'homeowner' ultimately reduce the number of 'rentals'?    

[TFord]

Another sale in Vic West, 1.1 million this time..

 

On Mary street. Beautiful home. 

 

I've been around a while, seen this kind of asset appreciation before. This is money velocity at work. Their are now trillions of dollars swishing around in the economy. It rarely makes it way into the pockets of the middle class let alone working poor. No the rich get rich the rest die trying. 

 

5 years from now a SFH in Victoria will be unobtainable for less than 2 mil. Thats conservative. Prepare for that now.

 

We lost our way a long time ago, there is no recovery from this.. We urgently need banking reform.

 

3% fixed 25 year Mortgage available to all

7% rate on second homes or spec investments 

scrap deposit 

75% tax on all property investment (principle res owned for 3 years or more 100% waived) 

5% saving rate on cash in bank 

 

This alone would instantly re-start the economy and offer hope to first time home owners..

 

simple right?here's the rub, never happen!!!

 

TFord

[Mike K.]

We didn’t lose our way, we backed ourselves into a corner that has calloused over with a political movement that was aligned with a specific land-use theory, but didn’t understand the means will always justify the end.

Backing down now will admit defeat, politically, of over two decades of urban containment boundaries, overly burdensome and costly development approvals processes, the tarnishing of sub-urban development and an intensive concentration of employment in limited geographic areas financially dependent on the growth of that concentration. Those efforts led to one thing: rapid development on the West Shore, but output still insufficient to meet demand for housing.

The answer to this problem is simple, but politically it is extremely difficult if not impossible unless a dramatic shift occurs across the entirety of the CRD.

Consider the latest media attention on Langford. The municipality is building as fast as it can, and it is being demonized for it by the same agents who turn around and raise the lack of housing as a top-five most pressing societal issue of the current generation.

Here are a couple of recent headlines:

Langford is nearly 30 years old and has only had one mayor: Residents are now raising concerns about rapid development and the future of council - Capital Daily

More Langford citizens are expressing resentment over City Hall’s modus operandi - Focus Magazine

These were referenced from the latest Grumpy Taxpayers newsletter, which has been covering Langford intensely since mid-2020.

The pattern is well established now, and political goals clear: take down the Langford establishment that is not aligned politically with the inner city.

[TFord]

Well said Mike 

 

TFord

[sebberry]

All the people complaining about Langford sprawl from their Gordon Head or Tillicum homes not realizing the land they live on also used to be farmland or otherwise undeveloped at some point.

[spanky123]

Consider the latest media attention on Langford. The municipality is building as fast as it can, and it is being demonized for it by the same agents who turn around and raise the lack of housing as a top-five most pressing societal issue of the current generation.

 

True but have housing prices in Langford appreciated any less than the rest of Victoria? They are rising faster are they not?

 

The problem is that since 2007 the Feds have flooded the market with trillions of dollars in cheap cash, opened our doors wide to immigration and kept interest rates moored at artificially low rates all without any plan for housing. They then keep trying to introduce new measures to bandaid the old ones that have failed. 

 

The only thing that is going to address the financial impact is when bond purchasers and investors stop supporting the dollar and the Fed. Unfortunately though it won't only be housing prices that collapse so you still won't be able to afford one!

[spanky123]

All the people complaining about Langford sprawl from their Gordon Head or Tillicum homes not realizing the land they live on also used to be farmland or otherwise undeveloped at some point.

 

I don't know if it is sprawl or the 30 minutes it takes you to get from one end of 'town' to another in Langford now.

Edited by spanky123, 08 April 2021 - 11:03 AM.

[Mike K.]

Homeownership is a tricky thing, because we have a divergence of the simple definition of that word.

To most of the population, homeownership = owning a home. But there is a significant and growing segment of the population, who view homeownership as = where I want it, for how much I want to pay for it.

Even under communism homeownership was based on allocation, and you’d need to be connected to get the allocation you wanted, or Lady Luck paid you a visit. Even then, it wasn’t free, and it wasn’t necessarily cheap.

Ironically, how homeownership was achieved in the Eastern Bloc was through mass development of “Commie Boxes/Commie Blocks.” Much maligned, at least they were homes. Today, our society tends to ridicule lower-end, attainable development despite the challenges with homeownership and rental vacancy rates.

Where I’m going with this is Langford is firing on all cylinders to build housing, and the generation that is struggling the most to afford housing has been conditioned to malign communities like Langford because homeownership in Langford = the latter definition for what feels like a never-ending list of variables counter to common sense and the desire to own a home.

I’m in the business of real-estate. I see this played out day in, day out. But you know what brings me the most satisfaction? When a young family takes the leap, and follows their gut instinct only to discover that community isn’t where you “are,” it’s where “you’re” at.

Ok, rant over.

[Mike K.]

I don't know if it is sprawl or the 30 minutes it takes you to get from one end of 'town' to another in Langford now.

By Langford, you mean from the centre of The Highlands, to the centre of Metchosin, all the way through Langford, all the way through Colwood, in 29 minutes?

[Mike K.]

That’s a 20km stretch, btw.

[TFord]

I lived in the US for several years, politics aside its a wonderful country. Two hours South from here on the same land mass you can buy the home of your dreams for $250,000. Similar home in Victoria $1 million.

 

Isn't it time we just admitted we lost our way, got greedy maybe even selfish? Human nature. Those we vote into power to monitor and control such things said "let them at it" they can fight for the crumbs of our table as we amass incredible wealth at the their expense. Fools that they are, far from worthy are they of good governance. 

 

I feel sorry for the kids actually, they will inherit this mess. That's right readers, thats you're children and grandchildren I speak off.

 

 

TFord

[Szeven]

I was out in Royal Bay recently and I was very impressed with it. But like Mike said, I just can't help my NIMBY asshole Victorian roots from thinking "huh, so this is fancy Westhills for the slightly higher earners."  

[Greg]

I lived in the US for several years, politics aside its a wonderful country. Two hours South from here on the same land mass you can buy the home of your dreams for $250,000. Similar home in Victoria $1 million.

 

 

But aren't there also lots of places in BC and on Vancouver Island where you can buy an amazing home for $250k? It still seems to me like the main issue is that Victoria is seen by a lot of people as a really nice place to live, and housing is always more expensive in such a place. That's true in downtown Seattle as well for example. It's obviously true in Manhattan. No one bemoans the lack of affordable real estate in Monaco.

 

I'm not saying we shouldn't care, or that there aren't issues when the labor force can't find housing within a reasonable distance of their employment. But I don't think you can ignore the "housing is more expensive in the most desirable locations" as a major factor in real estate pricing.