5992 replies to this topic

[dasmo]

The problem is too much government interference. More will not help. The BOC is suppressing wage growth. This is the only way we get housing affordability back. We have never had a nominal crash. Wages need to rise up. My first house cost $3000 to build in 1933. We aren't going back there.... 

[dasmo]

We've been doing the same thing for the past 30-40 and that's what got us into the mess. And 4 years is no where enough time to turn the ship around on housing affordability. We're not going to see housing affordable relative to income for the majority of people for at least a decade.

Nope. I bought a house in Vic West 20 years ago for $192,000 at 4.5% interest. I was cheaper than renting. 

[aastra]

 

Maybe if they do more of the same thing we will get different results?

 

Just imagine how severe the situation would be if those noble crusaders for affordability hadn't been nobly busting their rears fighting the good fight 24/7. We should start clanging on pots and pans to indicate our appreciation. Maybe they'll be amused and toss us a few fish.

[dasmo]

We should start clanging on pots and pans to indicate our appreciation. 

Thanks for that. 

[GaryOak]

Yes and also back when you're first hose was built zoning was far more laxed. That's what we have to do once again, relax zoning regulations and get government interference out of the way.

[Nparker]

Adding 1 million new residents to Canada each year is surely guaranteed to bring about cheap housing.

[dasmo]

Vic West was completely transformed in those 20 years. Lots of density added with large condos everywhere and townhomes too. No mandates required. Gentrification didn’t help the affordability though. The opposite. The rail yards used to be a giant homeless camp zone. I saw two rooming houses, one that had 12 rooms rented, convert to regular homes. And the prices there are now what? Oh ya. Unaffordable.

Edited by dasmo, 04 June 2023 - 11:16 PM.

[Mike K.]

Maybe if they do more of the same thing we will get different results?

Asking Oak Bay to build housing is a novel idea, no?

[Mike K.]

Vic West was completely transformed in those 20 years. Lots of density added with large condos everywhere and townhomes too. No mandates required. Gentrification didn’t help the affordability though. The opposite. The rail yards used to be a giant homeless camp zone. I saw two rooming houses, one that had 12 rooms rented, convert to regular homes. And the prices there are now what? Oh ya. Unaffordable.

It was forced on the residents. How many people demanded their street accommodate high density buildings, or have their views blocked by highrise towers? Not many.

But it happened, and now I think you are celebrating it.

So why celebrate the massive changes Vic West has undergone, but argue Oak Bay should be left alone? Is it a wealthy/not as wealthy divide that’s at play here, maybe? Even subconsciously?

[Mike K.]

We've been doing the same thing for the past 30-40 and that's what got us into the mess. And 4 years is no where enough time to turn the ship around on housing affordability. We're not going to see housing affordable relative to income for the majority of people for at least a decade.

We will never see it.

We had our chance when the financial markets imploded in 2008. And even then, the prices remained so high, that the dragon we’ve been chasing since the 50s was never caught.

[Victoria Watcher]

Well, railyards did not occupy land already consisting of high value homes, as most of Oak Bay already does.

[Mike K.]

Well, railyards did not occupy land already consisting of high value homes, as most of Oak Bay already does.

Turkey Head, the former lodge site, the municipal parking lot on Monterey, the parking lot at Oak Bay Rec, the municipal yard at Elgin Street, and much of OB Ave is single-storey aged commercial, ripe for more density. Hundreds of acres are in play here, if we just peel back the veil a little.

I’m not even a proponent of building housing in Oak Bay. I’m playing devil’s advocate here, to dispel misconceptions.

[Victoria Watcher]

Somebody could make a lot of money selling off Turkey Head for housing. But they will not do it. Because they would be $3 million condos at that location.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 05 June 2023 - 06:23 AM.

[Mike K.]

And so they should be. They’d sell out, too.

Turkey Head turning into a bazaar is why the province is stepping in. Council rejecting the 14-unit Quest is why the province is stepping in. Oak Bay saying it has a housing policy, but very little housing gets built, is why the province is stepping in.

And Oak Bay’s MLA, and MP, are both NDP, so it’s all by design and giving the residents what they asked for.

[lanforod]

Turkey Head? isn't that like, the marina parking lot? That doesn't seem like an appropriate area for condos. Maybe for some like SF Pier 39.

[Victoria Watcher]

It’s a great place for condos. That’s what you sell the land for for best return.

[Mike K.]

Oak Bay could sell that land for $50 million, I bet. Maybe more. Just pre-zone it and sell the entire parcel for $200k/unit. I would wager, that the majority of the units would sell to Oak Bay residents wanting to downsize and stay within the muni.

[LJ]

We are never going to attain housing affordability until supply outpaces demand,

 

We need a birth/immigration rate that is maybe 5% greater than the death/outmigration rate.

 

We would be able to keep up with demand at that pace.

 

Trudeau said we were going to build 1.5 million new homes. When a builder was asked the chance of this happening, he said 0%.

 

Even if all the trades people from the entire country descended on Ontario they would not be able to keep up with demand.

[GaryOak]

I wonder if we could build more homes per worker if we built Soviet style apartment blocks instead of SFD housing.

[Nparker]

Perhaps today's new arrivals to Canada should dwell in sod houses in the middle of Saskatchewan as earlier generations did.