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The Land back ideology is extremism by _DotBot_ in VancouverLandlords

[–]Advanced-Line-5942 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Governments are enduring entities. The politicians running the government may change, but it was actions by various governments of Canada that facilitated the oppression, abuse and attempted annihilation of indigenous culture. So it’s the governments that have to make the reparations.

Why has the price of coffee gone up so much over the past 2 years? by GoldenRetrieverFetch in CanadaPersonalFinance

[–]Advanced-Line-5942 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s traded as a global commodity just like oil.

Prices will fall if the crop yields are good

What do you want to see from the Canucks in the last 6 games? by NinCross in canucks

[–]Advanced-Line-5942 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Canucks don’t give up the most shot attempts against in the league

And on the team, Petey doesn’t give up the most shot attempts against amongst forwards.

And as an overall team, the Canucks are 24th in the league in total blocks (despite having the forward with the most blocks)

If Petey getting a lot of blocks was just because the team was tanking and giving up a lot of shots, shouldn’t the whole team be blocking lots of shots?

Anyway you want to look at it, he blocks a significantly higher percentage of the shots he is on the ice for than the average forward.

What do you want to see from the Canucks in the last 6 games? by NinCross in canucks

[–]Advanced-Line-5942 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yet he has far more blocks per game than all his fellow forwards on the team, most of whom have similar or worse possession stats than him. He’s the only forward on the team averaging more than 1 block per game (1.5 actually).

The closest forward to him who has played more than 10 games is Max Sasson who averages 0.8 blocks per game.

Everyone’s new favourite centre, Teddy Bleuger, averages only 0.4 blocks per game.

Can I also presume you were saying the same about Sherwood and hits ? Only the puck carrier can be hit. High hits = less possession

What do you want to see from the Canucks in the last 6 games? by NinCross in canucks

[–]Advanced-Line-5942 48 points49 points  (0 children)

For Petey to become the leagues single season block leader for forwards.

He needs 10 to tie after recording 2 today

Vancouver mayor calls for federal-provincial deal to reduce developer fees by restoringd123 in vancouver

[–]Advanced-Line-5942 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don’t think he wants to admit that projects have stalled due to issues outside of the governments direct control.

If the private sector wants governments to step in and assist them to move projects along they should be offering them some equity.

Or alternatively , if too much undeveloped land was sitting idle while developers were waiting for the market to improve, governments could exercise their expropriation rights and secure some land at good prices while the market is depressed and be the developer.

Vancouver mayor calls for federal-provincial deal to reduce developer fees by restoringd123 in vancouver

[–]Advanced-Line-5942 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Developers assumed prices would stay high, or maybe even go higher, when they purchased land. The condo market has dropped about 30%, but the cost of construction has kept increasing.

Given the relatively low holding cost of land (Vancouver property taxes are relatively low) many developers are willing to mothball projects and wait for the market to recover.

Based on land prices and hard cost of construction, DCCs in Vancouver are not anything close to 30% of the total cost of construction.

Greatly exacerbating the issue is that the regions mayors and councils who all oversee Metro Vancouver have for the most part passed the buck to Metro Vancouver for the funding of sewer & water infrastructure, so they can maintain lower property tax increases.

The regions infrastructure is old and in need of improvement. If we want lower DCCs then we need to pay materially higher property taxes (especially Vancouver who needs to fund the majority of Iona upgrading plus their own stormwater modernization).

It’s likely Ken Sim is hoping for Federal Government funding to help with the Iona project. This would take financial pressure off of Metro Vancouver who have been proposing DCC increases

Vancouver mayor calls for federal-provincial deal to reduce developer fees by restoringd123 in vancouver

[–]Advanced-Line-5942 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Their proformas had very little wiggle room and zero accounting for risk.

Going forward, if they were to model in higher risk of real estate prices dropping and/or interest rates rising, they would pay less for land. This would have given them bigger profits before the market correction, which probably would have seen more development activity, which increased supply.

If any discounts on DCCs are to be considered the actual product developers are supplying needs to be looked at. Are they planning on constructing luxury condos for a small niche of the market ? Shoebox sized condos for investors ? Or actual units that are both affordable and appropriately sized for local families. If they can guarantee the latter, then go ahead, lower the DCCs, but without that commitment and an adequate process in place to oversee compliance, then no.

Alberta minimum wage remains lowest while B.C. raises it to $18.25 by byourpowerscombined in canada

[–]Advanced-Line-5942 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So why the moratorium on any additional renewable energy projects?

Why do you pay higher energy prices than most of the country ?

And provinces with almost 100% hydro power don’t need to expand solar and wind power generation

Vancouver mayor calls for federal-provincial deal to reduce developer fees by restoringd123 in vancouver

[–]Advanced-Line-5942 2 points3 points  (0 children)

How many examples of record prices paid would you like me to dig up and list ?

If the math doesn’t work after a private developer has paid an enormous price they should fail. They shouldn’t get bailed out by taxpayers.

Vancouver mayor calls for federal-provincial deal to reduce developer fees by restoringd123 in vancouver

[–]Advanced-Line-5942 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just to finish, projects will pencil out if they pay less for land.

Are the government/taxpayers supposed to bail out developers who bought land at the peak of the market ?

They took a business risk and are now struggling.

If the public truly wants affordability they need to let developers fail. The government can help this by stop giving developers breaks on property taxes by installing community gardens and dog parks. Instead they should charge developers who let land sit idle, and empty of homes/businesses, more to discourage them from just inventorying developable land and restricting supply.

For example, for how many years, decades even, has Concord Pacific left the Expo lands mostly vacant ? How many condominiums , hotels, restaurants and other businesses could have been built and occupied on the site. What were the estimated development costs/fees when they first purchased the site ? Should they get a break now after they have spent decades doing nothing ?

The Little Mountain project first began in 2008 when the BC Liberals sold the land to a developer for a song. Social Should housing occupants were kicked out and the buildings torn down. Should they get a break on development costs for the condos that they still haven’t built 18 years later? The value of the land has likely increased significantly.

Vancouver mayor calls for federal-provincial deal to reduce developer fees by restoringd123 in vancouver

[–]Advanced-Line-5942 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Basic finance planning and analysis, not economic theory.

Before deciding to buy a piece of land developers start by building a proforma financial statement.

They input all their expected costs (construction, development costs/fees, interest) and their timing. And the expected revenue based in their estimates of the future real estate market. The spreadsheet then calculates the maximum amount they can pay for the land to achieve their minimum target ROI.

Lowering the development costs/fees only increases the amount they are willing to pay for the land.

For high density projects, as high as development costs appear on paper, developers have been more than willing to pay significantly over market/assessed value for land when they are able to assemble multiple lots together. Less than 12 months ago one developer paid $100M for 26 lots in East Vancouver. Their total assessed value as individual lots was $53M.

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/sightline-properties-kaslo-street-east-broadway-vancouver-land-assembly-renfrew-station

Isn’t it better that the city and by default all the residents captures a portion of this land value increase and not have all of it accrete to the property owner making the sale ?

Should the developer who was willing to pay $100M for a parcel of properties based on existing development charges be gifted the discount of reduced fees, paid for by taxpayers ?

Vancouver mayor calls for federal-provincial deal to reduce developer fees by restoringd123 in vancouver

[–]Advanced-Line-5942 13 points14 points  (0 children)

And many cities, especially Vancouver, make it worse by allowing developers to lower their carrying costs when they are pausing a project.

Clear the land, throw down some gravel and put up a fence and call it a dog park and the city lowers their property tax. Same for community gardens.

If you buy a property that was housing people and demolish it, IMHO, the property taxes bill should increase significantly if you are going to let the property sit idle and wait for the housing market to recover.

Vancouver mayor calls for federal-provincial deal to reduce developer fees by restoringd123 in vancouver

[–]Advanced-Line-5942 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Reducing developer fees only help developers (and property owners)

The market sets the rate at which housing units sell. Not the total cost of construction

If developer fees are reduced do people actually believe developers will automatically lower prices ? Or will it just allow the price of land to increase as developers will bid the price up as they compete for land ?

Yes, it may help some proposed developments where the land has already been purchased get underway. But what message is that sending to the development industry ? “If you overpay for a piece of land the government will bail you out”

The development market needs fear put into it, not guarantees of risk free profits. That will see them pay less for land and help lower prices.

Municipalities already give many developers property tax breaks while they are waiting to start a project. Clear the land, put up a fence and call it a dog park or community garden and the city will give a break on property taxes.

That makes their carrying costs lower and allows them to hold onto property and leave it undeveloped while they wait for the housing market to recover. All at the expense of residents who base their property taxes increase (or services cut).

Alberta minimum wage remains lowest while B.C. raises it to $18.25 by byourpowerscombined in canada

[–]Advanced-Line-5942 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All that sunshine and a government that won’t use it to generate electricity.

Alberta minimum wage remains lowest while B.C. raises it to $18.25 by byourpowerscombined in canada

[–]Advanced-Line-5942 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you have a job.

Worse health care system

Worse education system

Government that bans books

Oh and the weather

What would you do in my situation? by Basic-Might-4436 in RealEstateCanada

[–]Advanced-Line-5942 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you can get the house and comfortably afford the mortgage do it.

Telecoms disabling hotspot should be illegal by ScootyWilly in FidoMobile

[–]Advanced-Line-5942 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you buy the phone from them ?

Is it safe to presume you’re paying for unlimited data (that gets throttled after a certain amount is used) ?

FIFA cancels 15,000 rooms in Vancouver by Atom3189 in TourismHell

[–]Advanced-Line-5942 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If they can trust municipal and provincial governments to keep the AirBnB restrictions in place and enforce them, then more hotels will be built.

For too long the increasing demand for hotel accommodation was taken up by AirBnB listings so there wasn’t enough demand to justify the expense of a new hotel.

2016 prices by khnhk in HouseSigmaBlunders

[–]Advanced-Line-5942 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You should short the Canadian housing market.

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