Thinking and study behind BC's new taxation policies on real estate

[Thomas Beyer]

One of the core thoughts & thinkers, Richard Wozny, behind the new BC taxation policies upon BCers. http://siteeconomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/High-House-Prices-and-Low-Incomes-April-2017.pdf

Richard noticed that the hospital staff were not able to live well in Vancouver despite their stable incomes. The linked report outlines that a giant amount of international money is being transformed into real estate in Metro Vancouver, making houses speculative instead of much-needed shelter accessible to local citizens. House prices are way above incomes, and a good income in Metro Vancouver does not mean you afford a house. How is this happening? It is by tax avoidance and evasion, giving those speculators “an unfair advantage over average taxpaying citizens.” Richard Wozny perceives the "emergence of a middle class of people as one of the greatest achievements of the past century. And taxes are what makes it possible. Taxes are the price we pay for civilization.”

Vancouver lives with “radical inequality” as there is no ability for the city’s average wage earner to purchase a house at the current prices. But Richard argues that if all residents “shared the burden of paying for public infrastructure” prices would regulate to where they would be more affordable. In a market of “unequal rights and obligations” government is needed to enforce proper regulation and taxation in a situation where that capital is “unaccounted for, untaxed and unregulated.” Of course one of the challenges of the foreign capital is that new construction requires infrastructure to be built. Richard sees the resultant congestion and the fact that equal access to public services has declined as indicators that government should collect more from real estate speculators and expand public services with those funds.Noting that “residential real estate is not an investment vehicle” Richard states that “allowing real estate prices to escalate to absurd levels, governments are allowing the middle class to be turned into mortgage slaves”.

“It means governments are supposed to protect our freedom to strive for our own personal goals. By allowing real estate prices to escalate to absurd levels, governments are allowing the middle class to be turned into ‘mortgage slaves,’” Wozny said. In summation, Richard believes that the burden for paying for roads, services and schools falls to everyone that owns real estate His conclusions are similar to SFU’s public policy specialist Josh Gordon who would like to introduce a hefty annual property surtax that would be offset by income taxes paid, with provisions for seniors. But is it too little too late? And how can the federal, provincial and municipal governments act together to quickly develop policy and enact regulation so that “mortgage slaves” can afford to live in Metro Vancouver?

He passed in early Feb 2018 but his thoughts will live on the next few years in new taxation policies in BC, and perhaps in other parts of Canada like GTA.

 

[Matt Crowley]

There are a couple sides to this one...

On a global scale, I think Vancouver has one of the worst value propositions and street life for the cost of living there. For the cost of living, the streets are pretty much dead with limited amenities and podiums empty. A pretty boring city. There are two really cool spots in the city, Gastown being one of them. At a cost of San Francisco, the amenties need to be San Francisco, not... big Edmonton.

The other side, is it is obviously quite a beautiful city. The skytrain and grid layout should enable an interesting city to develop. That, and they are the only Canadian city with a real definable ambition - become the greenest city in Canada. That is awesome and unfortunately Alberta cities are far too stupid to realize this is critical to attract tech companies. Promoting the dirtiest oil on earth and pretending to be eco-friendly is not a winning strategy. So, we see Facebook and Amazon opening major presence in Vancouver. This should drive a movement away from cars, more towards sharing, and much stronger towards biking which actually works in Vancouver with ebikes. (Shaw bikes are a joke).

Pricing is out of control. But the city has more land to develop than it looks like. The streets are way to wide, and it is time to retire the highways. Start allowing cars on the roads only every other day (determined by licence plate numbers), widen sidewalks and buildings, narrow the roads, get rid on unnecessary urban greenspace sprawl. Canada is very far behind when it comes to smart urban development, which got screwed up due to the time we developed alongside the automobile. Vancouver will see a price correction of some kind, rent controls may make sense. But a larger-scale disruption in this is really just waiting to happen.

 

[Thomas Beyer]

Major correction? Hardly. We will see more rentals, forced onto each new development and with public $s, yes. Street life is fine where there is density. Not everyone loves density. Some discussion on this, and a Vancouver centric city life / urban space blog to follow here https://pricetags.ca/tag/speculation-tax/


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[housingrental]

What is the second really cool spot?

 

[angelapeng]

From global scale not just in North America, Vancouver is really not very expensive. I have university classmates from Beijing, China, currently working, living and investing in Australia and New Zealand. Their real estate price is at par with Vancouver if not higher, but the market in NZ and Australia is way smaller than that of Canada. I also have two groups (private funds) approaching me asking whether there are opportunities in Canada for real estate investing and private mortgage investing. The global interests are very high. Whistler outpaced Vancouver, being the most pricy place in Canada. Because C$ is cheaper than US$, than Euros, than Pounds, thus, we see many funds flow here.

In terms of street life, many people choose to live in Vancouver not for external busy street life. If they want to have it, they can choose to stay at home or travel to places with busy street life. A balanced lifestyle in Vancouver is much appreciated here, close to nature, lots of parks and greens, easy access to mountains, oceans, urban centres are all elements of quality living. We sold our car in 2009 when I went back to China for a year, then came back to Vancouver, joined Modo, a car sharing company. Vancouver has 4 car-sharing companies, all my rental apartments in downtown come with parking spots, yet the tenants don't need the parking spot, therefore, I rent them to other tenants who work downtown and live outside downtown. However, the trend is less and less people need to drive due to the high cost of parking, fuel etc. I recently participated in a survey by City of Vancouver asking for the opinions of future urban planning. I expect the design of the housing layout, amenities etc will go through transformation.

Will the market have a huge correction? Not really, the growth may slow down a bit for a couple of years, but it will stabilize over the medium term, and will certainly grow in the long term. Hence, once needs to have a longer term vision and plan to adapt to these waves of changes.

 

[Thomas Beyer]

From global scale not just in North America, Vancouver is really not very expensive. I have university classmates from Beijing, China, currently working, living and investing in Australia and New Zealand. Their real estate price is at par with Vancouver if not higher, but the market in NZ and Australia is way smaller than that of Canada. I also have two groups (private funds) approaching me asking whether there are opportunities in Canada for real estate investing and private mortgage investing. The global interests are very high. Whistler outpaced Vancouver, being the most pricy place in Canada. Because C$ is cheaper than US$, than Euros, than Pounds, thus, we see many funds flow here.

In terms of street life, many people choose to live in Vancouver not for external busy street life. If they want to have it, they can choose to stay at home or travel to places with busy street life. A balanced lifestyle in Vancouver is much appreciated here, close to nature, lots of parks and greens, easy access to mountains, oceans, urban centres are all elements of quality living. We sold our car in 2009 when I went back to China for a year, then came back to Vancouver, joined Modo, a car sharing company. Vancouver has 4 car-sharing companies, all my rental apartments in downtown come with parking spots, yet the tenants don't need the parking spot, therefore, I rent them to other tenants who work downtown and live outside downtown. However, the trend is less and less people need to drive due to the high cost of parking, fuel etc. I recently participated in a survey by City of Vancouver asking for the opinions of future urban planning. I expect the design of the housing layout, amenities etc will go through transformation.

Will the market have a huge correction? Not really, the growth may slow down a bit for a couple of years, but it will stabilize over the medium term, and will certainly grow in the long term. Hence, once needs to have a longer term vision and plan to adapt to these waves of changes.

Well said.

With all the new rules, fees, regulations and taxes I’d expect less supply in 2019 and 2020 and as such no drop in prices. BC will survive socialists wealth raid but will suffer GDP growth drop soon. Massive budget deficit too soon from reduced employment and far weaker growth.

BC could learn from booming US states TX or WA and raise property taxes for all but eliminate provincial income taxes, but that is highly unlikely. It would be the correct strategy though to monetize foreign $s parked in RE here, the many affluent immigrants and prairie seniors moving here, into Canada’s only warm weather province !


Thomas Beyer, Asset Manager, Investor, Community Improver, Author, Father, Mentor www.prestprop.com

 

[Thomas Beyer]

Former BC Premier Harcourt and even BC Green Party leader Dr. Weaver weigh is as “ tax on wealth for re-distribution ( and not affordable housing or schools ) “ !! http://vancouversun.com/opinion/col...ousing-taxes-more-cash-cow-than-crisis-solver


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[Matt Crowley]

@ThomasBeyer I'm not sure where you got major correction from.... I said pricing is out of control. Because it is. In terms of cost for value, if you look at a city in terms of a global / North American scale instead of Canada scale where the choices are A or B.

Comparing Vancouver to Beijing is not really reasonable comparable frankly. Same with Hong Kong. Talking about the 'Australian market' as being smaller....not really, all the same global players buying the larger real estate are in Sydney and Melbourne. That basically is the market. Vancouver is not at the level yet of offering same global status or job opportunities as those cities. Where is the financial centre?

The difference is wages are very low in Vancouver. That is what skews the economics and provides a pretty poor offering, one of the worst for an expensive city in North America. Toronto has better opportunities at a similar cost. At least in San Francisco the wages for tech are a lot higher.

Also, need to keep in mind the rate and term of mortgages available and amount of inflation. Can't compare Canada to a deflating economy with 40-70 year mortgages at 1.5% interest where developers will hold 90% of the loan. Just not really relevant comparison.

Vancouver has some of the worst commuting times in N.A. - so that is a problem.

Doesn't mean that Vancouver won't continue to see investment or price increases necessarily...but the city has problems that have to do with it becoming global. The problem with being a global city is that you will be compared on a global standard. It is falling short in a number of areas, due to some outspoken attitudes about the "the invisible hand".

 

[Thomas Beyer]

@ThomasBeyer I'm not sure where you got major correction from.... I said pricing is out of control. Because it is. In terms of cost for value, if you look at a city in terms of a global / North American scale instead of Canada scale where the choices are A or B.

Comparing Vancouver to Beijing is not really reasonable comparable frankly. Same with Hong Kong. Talking about the 'Australian market' as being smaller....not really, all the same global players buying the larger real estate are in Sydney and Melbourne. That basically is the market. Vancouver is not at the level yet of offering same global status or job opportunities as those cities. Where is the financial centre?

The difference is wages are very low in Vancouver. That is what skews the economics and provides a pretty poor offering, one of the worst for an expensive city in North America. Toronto has better opportunities at a similar cost. At least in San Francisco the wages for tech are a lot higher.

Also, need to keep in mind the rate and term of mortgages available and amount of inflation. Can't compare Canada to a deflating economy with 40-70 year mortgages at 1.5% interest where developers will hold 90% of the loan. Just not really relevant comparison.

Vancouver has some of the worst commuting times in N.A. - so that is a problem.

Doesn't mean that Vancouver won't continue to see investment or price increases necessarily...but the city has problems that have to do with it becoming global. The problem with being a global city is that you will be compared on a global standard. It is falling short in a number of areas, due to some outspoken attitudes about the "the invisible hand".

I deduce: you are not from Vancouver and have no idea what really drives this market.

It's the most Asian city outside of North America: http://vancouversun.com/life/vancouver-is-most-asian-city-outside-asia-what-are-the-ramifications .. of course there is China and Hongkong but what about:

Iran ? Its that regime in the Middle East that meddles in Lebanon and Syria, with a proud people subjugated by narrowminded mullahs, a population of over 100M, and one meddling with nuclear ambition, and as such may get more sanctions. Several TENS of thousands, likely well over HUNDRED THOUSAND folks are of Iranian descent, mainly in N and W Van .. and do you think with the newest likely round of sanctions more, or less money, will end up in Vancouver, or will people now rather invest & stay in Teheran?

India? Many neighborhoods are very Punjabi, mainly Surrey, but also others like in Abbotsford. You honestly believe 1B+ people with a high work ethic and faster growing than even China will stop coming & investing here, with an established network of contacts, banks, realtors, lawyers in place ?

Vancouver and area will be 7M+ people by 2100 assuming 40-50,000 per year will continue to move here. Allegedly, just allegedly there are even folks from SK or AB who move here to retire. Just anedoctal evidence though !

The alleged bubble will implode, eh ? Why ?

 

[Matt Crowley]

An interesting source for this discussion is CBRE’s global living report: https://www.cbre.com/research-and-reports/Global-Living---a-City-by-City-Guide-2017

If you check out the map on page 3, note that Vancouver has the highest average home price in North America. That means higher than New York, Toronto, Los Angeles, Toronto. Globally, average home prices in Vancouver are higher than London, Paris, Sydney, and Melbourne.

Average home prices that are higher than Vancouver $814,314, are Shanghai $880,251 and Hong Kong $1,157,114. Note that Vancouver is higher than Beijing at $738,856. What is interesting is that Shanghai home prices have risen 14.8% over the past decade and consequently the government introduced 35% minimum down payment measures and 50% for second home purchasers. In Hong Kong, the government implemented a 15% stamp duty and a 40% minimum down payment was introduced in 2014. Developers in Hong Kong are offering a 80-90% LTV mortgages for buyers unable to qualify. Hong Kong prices have increased 12.5% over the past decade.

Jumping back to Vancouver, prices have increased by 9.1% over the past decade and prices are closely resembling the Asian markets, and not North American. Looking closer at the price to rent ratios between even the sky-high riced Hong Kong and Shanghai, Vancouver pricing is astronomical. Prices are 70x rents in Vancouver compared to 54x in Shanghai and 38x in Hong Kong.

Saying Vancouver is not expensive… it is very expensive for North America… and expensive on a global basis as well. The lighter regulation rules foreign and domestic have created mad pricing competition from Asian buyers and foreign who see the city as a landing spot for Asian market. My question has more to do with whether Vancouver has enough economic offerings to demarcate a clear North American advantage to its extraordinarily high pricing. Beautiful city, no doubt. But this market is out of touch with the rest of North America when it comes to relative pricing compared to wages and compared to opportunities. All those vacant windows with drawn curtains I see when I look back from the seaport seem to answer my question fairly well.

 

[Thomas Beyer]

No doubt we will not see the vast price increases from the past, perhaps even a short term correction until these new taxes are absorbed and new supply throttled, however, with 40-50,000 immigrants annually to MetroVan, and unabated demand from unstable regions, and there are many MANY in the world, i.e. Iran, India, China, Russia, Middle East, Eastern Europe, S-America .. and I have no doubt our socialist governments will find ways to get their pound of flesh .. for example a CAC of over $90M, or close to $300,000 PER UNIT in the latest downtown development, the Butterfly http://urbanyvr.com/butterfly-westbank-first-baptist .. plus GST, CPP. EI and income taxes for employees and contractors, building permit fees, development permit fees, land transfer taxes, $3M+ surcharge wealth tax (aka "school tax" of 0.2% to $4M plus 0.4% over $4M)), foreign buyer tax of a mere 20%, evil Albertan second home owner tax (a mere 1% annually) and non-resident tax (2% annually), tax enforcement on condo flippers .. Better ways exist to stimulate construction .. with further expert (and lay) discussion here https://pricetags.ca/tag/speculation-tax/

 

[Matt Crowley]

Thanks for sharing the article Thomas.

I'm a bit skeptical about "time is money" argument these days, as interest rates are so low the interest carry is fairly inconsequential to the actual decision. The real variable in my mind is that uncertainty and politicizing zoning process that raises home prices. Probably the easiest strategy in real estate is buying a piece of land, buying some renders, up-zoning, and selling. You see that in Kelowna right now. I personally think public consultation should be dropped completely. I've been to dozens of public consultations and they are all the same sun-paranoia concerns.

I'm generally in favour of CAC's... I think developers actually need to generally do more to enhance transportation infrastructure. Too much development is still done in a silo, and blocks are developed like mini-resorts with all in-suite, closed from the public amenities. It is dumb. I mean, a render with 10 people doing yoga on a private amenity balcony. Uhh...stupid. Rent that space as commercial, use the revenue to decrease condo fees, and if condo owners want to use the space, rent the space at market price.

The example you gave of CAC's is clearly outrageous however. In a project we are working on in Mexico City, the CAC-equivalent (TAC Tacubaya) amounts to about 20% of total project costs but is earmarked for neighbourhood-level infrastructure. This is a pretty good tradeoff in my opinion where more development in the neighbourhood starts to make the neighbourhood better for everyone.

I hear your arguments though, and definitely appreciate the regulation struggle. Generally as Canadians, we have over-hoarded our possessions, over-consumed land, and as our cities want to grow up, our low density SFH concept is posing a major struggle to build transportation infrastructure. In Vancouver, I see the garden-city idea proliferated to a great extent around towers (park inside of a couple of towers around a TOD). This is a 1930s idea and is a lot more space than is necessary. We should be building much greater density.

I would like to transportation connections contemplated to a much higher degree in opportunistic developments. Back in the early 1900's, developers would pull tracks for streetcars to initiate their development. There are a myriad of transportation options that could help fit the system here. They don't all need to have tracks but that could be part of it (Zipcar, Car2Go, EcoBici, streetcars, pull the LRT closer, urban gondolas ect)

 

[Thomas Beyer]

Thanks for sharing the article Thomas.

I'm a bit skeptical about "time is money" argument these days, as interest rates are so low the interest carry is fairly inconsequential to the actual decision. The real variable in my mind is that uncertainty and politicizing zoning process that raises home prices. Probably the easiest strategy in real estate is buying a piece of land, buying some renders, up-zoning, and selling. You see that in Kelowna right now. I personally think public consultation should be dropped completely. I've been to dozens of public consultations and they are all the same sun-paranoia concerns.

I'm generally in favour of CAC's... I think developers actually need to generally do more to enhance transportation infrastructure. Too much development is still done in a silo, and blocks are developed like mini-resorts with all in-suite, closed from the public amenities. It is dumb. I mean, a render with 10 people doing yoga on a private amenity balcony. Uhh...stupid. Rent that space as commercial, use the revenue to decrease condo fees, and if condo owners want to use the space, rent the space at market price.

The example you gave of CAC's is clearly outrageous however. In a project we are working on in Mexico City, the CAC-equivalent (TAC Tacubaya) amounts to about 20% of total project costs but is earmarked for neighbourhood-level infrastructure. This is a pretty good tradeoff in my opinion where more development in the neighbourhood starts to make the neighbourhood better for everyone.

I hear your arguments though, and definitely appreciate the regulation struggle. Generally as Canadians, we have over-hoarded our possessions, over-consumed land, and as our cities want to grow up, our low density SFH concept is posing a major struggle to build transportation infrastructure. In Vancouver, I see the garden-city idea proliferated to a great extent around towers (park inside of a couple of towers around a TOD). This is a 1930s idea and is a lot more space than is necessary. We should be building much greater density.

I would like to transportation connections contemplated to a much higher degree in opportunistic developments. Back in the early 1900's, developers would pull tracks for streetcars to initiate their development. There are a myriad of transportation options that could help fit the system here. They don't all need to have tracks but that could be part of it (Zipcar, Car2Go, EcoBici, streetcars, pull the LRT closer, urban gondolas ect)

Time is money because buying land, or assembling land and then getting permits incl rezoning is a multi-year process in Vancouver - perhaps a bit less in other cities - and the loans for it are NOT that cheap anymore. Likely loads of tied up cash ie equity ( with a 15-25% ROI target due to risk) or 7%+ loans for essentially raw land awaiting development, 50% LTV at best for that.

Yes density has to increase and the lack of $s contributed by developers to cities for transit is concerning, as is the lack of mandated rental housing. I think it ought to be at least 33% by law for any three unit property or bigger, and perhaps half of that for subsidized well below market housing.

Lacking also in Canada is cheap and ample construction financing for rentals. A major disconnect to the lofty words of far too many politicians decrying the lack of affordable housing. Far more and cheaper $s available for market rentals or subsidized rentals in the allegedly capitalist red state of Texas, for example, than in allegedly socialist Canada.

Civil servants also have their hand out with very high salaries & benefits and that beast has to be fed by the development industry, ie the end user eventually. Vancouver, for example, has over 1300 employees making over $100,000 https://globalnews.ca/news/4158835/vancouver-city-staff-salaries/

 

[Matt Crowley]

Some good points for sure.

I'd like to see a return to the LD (limited dividend) program Canada ran years ago. This would provide an excellent investment product and stream of income, get operators engaged to operate and build, then get the residual building value afterwards. Costs nothing, but leverages the governments' credit reputation.

What I've seen on land plays tends to be phased deposits / options so yes if you bought the land outright day one sure there are capital costs but often you can go through the rezoning process and have a interest in the land. Yes, 50% LTV on land but in Vancouver you may have existing income (albeit small), or if assembling, you can pay a great price for the land from existing owners contingent on rezoning.

 

[angelapeng]

We recently experienced the Strata Wind up process in downtown Vancouver. The whole process started at the end of 2015 when Westend in downtown launched its new 20 years community plan. The Strata in the building proposed to engage an agent for a market research to see the saleability of our building. After two years of numerous meetings, we are currently at the final phase of the process, waiting for the closing date in August. What I have learned from the processes are:

1)Land purchase for the developer is a very lengthy process, regardless whether it is a strata wind up or units assembly. We actually had developers approach each unit, trying to assemble all units together, but finally failed the process due to multiple diverse reasons.

2)Most developers will try to up zone the land. This particular building has a rezoning in plan already with the maximum height no more than 15 floors due to the reason that extra height will create shade on the "World Famous Robson" Street. However, looking around the neighbourhood, no building is under 30 floors, I expect the new buyer will work with the city to at least double the height. In addition, who says Robson street will stay put for the next 20 years, what if Robson street will build new and modern high rises, which is happening now.

3)Since the process of rezoning and obtaining permit is long waiting process, the buyer after closing will keep renting out their apartments. Actually, in our purchase agreement, it includes a clause of 6 months of free rent and 6 months of market rent, so that at least they can have some continuous income streams. I expect that will last at least for 3 years before they can start to tear down the building. A friend of mine sold their building across the street in downtown 2 years ago to Bosa, their building is still standing there waiting for the permit to build.

In today's market, the average unit cost of any apartment in downtown is about $1000 per square foot, if newer with more amenities, it will be easily at $1200 per square foot. Even though the developer has to wait out a few years to get all the ducks in the row before building the new one, by the time they are ready to sell the new units, the market price will go steadily up, they will be doing just fine.

 

[Thomas Beyer]

We recently experienced the Strata Wind up process in downtown Vancouver. The whole process started at the end of 2015 when Westend in downtown launched its new 20 years community plan. The Strata in the building proposed to engage an agent for a market research to see the saleability of our building. After two years of numerous meetings, we are currently at the final phase of the process, waiting for the closing date in August. What I have learned from the processes are:

1)Land purchase for the developer is a very lengthy process, regardless whether it is a strata wind up or units assembly. We actually had developers approach each unit, trying to assemble all units together, but finally failed the process due to multiple diverse reasons.

2)Most developers will try to up zone the land. This particular building has a rezoning in plan already with the maximum height no more than 15 floors due to the reason that extra height will create shade on the "World Famous Robson" Street. However, looking around the neighbourhood, no building is under 30 floors, I expect the new buyer will work with the city to at least double the height. In addition, who says Robson street will stay put for the next 20 years, what if Robson street will build new and modern high rises, which is happening now.

3)Since the process of rezoning and obtaining permit is long waiting process, the buyer after closing will keep renting out their apartments. Actually, in our purchase agreement, it includes a clause of 6 months of free rent and 6 months of market rent, so that at least they can have some continuous income streams. I expect that will last at least for 3 years before they can start to tear down the building. A friend of mine sold their building across the street in downtown 2 years ago to Bosa, their building is still standing there waiting for the permit to build.

In today's market, the average unit cost of any apartment in downtown is about $1000 per square foot, if newer with more amenities, it will be easily at $1200 per square foot. Even though the developer has to wait out a few years to get all the ducks in the row before building the new one, by the time they are ready to sell the new units, the market price will go steadily up, they will be doing just fine.

Indeed a lengthy process AND huge fees tacked onto it by cities .. one wonders: we will get more affordable housing with MORE TAXES ? Between 2008 and 2018 development fees for an average 900-square-foot downtown Vancouver unit have increased from $43,000 to $343,000, according to UDI figures. The latest: a modest transit levy. http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/translink-gets-green-light-to-charge-new-development-fee

 

[Matt Crowley]

@ThomasBeyer do you have the UDI source for that increase in development costs?

 

[Thomas Beyer]

@ThomasBeyer do you have the UDI source for that increase in development costs?

The chart by UDI about the eight fold increase from 2008 to 2018 in development fees, permits and CACs was here

https://twitter.com/x/status/994338764607643655

 

[Matt Crowley]

@ThomasBeyer those numbers are a bit sensationalist...usually UDI puts out more objective, reasonable data than this. The cost is closer to $76,000 / unit on average.

https://twitter.com/x/status/994587975294963712

Even at $76,000 per unit - that is a lot. Depends on what the money is going towards to determine if that is good value, but it definitely is high.

That $343k data is based on the three tallest, most luxurious, inbuilt units. Honestly, a bit embarrassing they would publish something that broad.... shows a pretty serious lack of journalistic credibility they chose to report a data point that qualified.

 

[Thomas Beyer]

@ThomasBeyer those numbers are a bit sensationalist...usually UDI puts out more objective, reasonable data than this. The cost is closer to $76,000 / unit on average.

https://twitter.com/x/status/994587975294963712

Even at $76,000 per unit - that is a lot. Depends on what the money is going towards to determine if that is good value, but it definitely is high.

That $343k data is based on the three tallest, most luxurious, inbuilt units. Honestly, a bit embarrassing they would publish something that broad.... shows a pretty serious lack of journalistic credibility they chose to report a data point that qualified.

CACs seem a little excessive indeed. Cambie corridor condos, for example, have about $68/sq ft CACs. But there are other costs, in lieu. How much on average ? More here http://vancouver.ca/files/cov/community-amenity-contributions-through-rezonings.pdf


Thomas Beyer, Asset Manager, Investor, Community Improver, Author, Father, Mentor www.prestprop.com