I realize by writing again about Vancouver’s wacky real estate market that it is not helpful in quelling the hysteria around the topic.
Some of you may have read my previous post in which I prattled on about how tiresome the conversation has become regarding Vancouverites’ obsession with housing prices.
I learned two things from posting my rant: Critics on social media can be nasty and never actually read the full article; and everybody needs to take a deep breath and understand that politicians have argued about this for a long time to no reasonable result.
So why pile on with more words?
Because Mayor Gregor Robertson made me do it. He stepped into the fray again Jan. 5 by issuing a statement on the insanity that is Vancouver’s housing market.
He said nothing that you haven’t already heard — we need a speculation tax to help cool the flipping of houses and we need a luxury tax to penalize buyers purchasing wildly expensive properties.
Oh, and if you could better track data on international ownership and absentee ownership of property, that would be helpful, too, the mayor added.
Robertson said all this back in May 2015 when he conveyed his concerns in a letter to Premier Christy Clark, who in turn threw cold water on the mayor’s demands.
The premier did, however, promise to examine “various options available to the city and the province to make housing more affordable in Vancouver, especially for first-time buyers.”
Unless I missed it, nothing has changed since then, except for Robertson trying to gain some political leverage with his latest finger-pointer of a statement directed at the province and the feds.
The timing of this comes as homeowners are receiving assessments that show property values of the majority of single-family homes across the city climbed between 15 and 25 per cent.
Yep, it’s a mad, mad world.
And despite it all, the mayor, who reminded us in his statement that the average price of a detached home sold in Vancouver has surpassed $2.5 million, says his administration is doing all it possibly can to create so-called affordable housing.
That’s apparently not good enough for prospective home buyers, renters paying way too much rent and people so stretched financially that it’s time to pack up and find a more affordable and liveable city.
Maybe the mayor’s relationship with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has promised movement on the housing front, will see some changes.
But as long as people are willing to pay big dollars for a dilapidated bungalow, and politicians continue to pretend something can actually be done to turn back the clock to a less expensive, less hysterical time in Vancouver, the rich are getting richer and the rest of us are left to complain about the cruel reality of how much it costs to live under a roof.
In my previous post, I suggested people deal with that reality, move out or at least change the topic. I get that not everybody can simply pack up and leave — finding a job, moving kids from their schools and leaving family behind are all factors — but something has got to give.
I know, I know, enough with the depressing news.
But I feel better now -- cleansed, you might say.
Next week, I promise to write about rainbows and kittens.
@Howellings
