Quote:
Originally Posted by whatnext
(bold mine)
Well said.
One thing I would note though, strict building codes and zoning restrictions had been in place for decades with little impact on affordability. It was only after gov'ts lost the plot on properly controlling incoming new residents and their money that prices took off like a rocket.
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Some causes have a bigger effect than others, but they're all related at the same time. The population boom of the past couple years is of course a huge factor, but the market would have had more slack and at least somewhat more ability to adjust to it if housing were less heavily regulated. It's just the little things - that on their own, aren't make or break items - but when taken cumulatively have made building housing here more difficult and more expensive. Stuff like this:
• Video Link
Also worth remembering that things weren't exactly cheap 5-10 years ago either, and we were always eventually going to run into a wall as prices crept upwards, disinvestment in affordable housing mounted, and once certain cities "filled up". We were already slowly bleeding out by a thousand cuts - the current immigration boom was basically just the equivalent of a gun shot to finish the job.
Quote:
Originally Posted by manny_santos
In any event this was a longtime renter who was able to buy. And she's not the only longtime renter I know who has bought a home in the past three years. One couple even bought a condo in downtown Vancouver, and I know a couple that is planning to buy in North Vancouver soon. There are people my age and younger who are buying, or are very close to buying, but sometimes I think these people are overlooked by commentators who think all renters are in dire financial straits. Some Canadian renters make very good money and have been building savings.
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Sure, some people still are (and always will be) able to make that jump from renting to owning, but anecdotes & the existence of those people doesn't refute the larger problem that:
-It's an increasingly narrower pool of renters who are able to do this, representing a progressively smaller share of peak earners.
-Those who do buy are either taking on increasingly large amounts of debt, and/or requiring greater amounts of family or government assistance.
-Their options for buying are fewer and worse than what they would have been in the recent past.
In other words, one's options and the avenues through which to "move up" or to achieve home ownership are shrinking; with less likelihood of being able to find something that suits their need at a price that they can afford. This is true of everyone in the market right now, but doubly so for renters.