Saeed Farahani’s Blog
-
Facing the ‘F’ word in Vancouver’s housing market
Despite rising interest rates and a slowing economy, Canada's residential real estate market remains resilient with a low mortgage default rate. However, in Metro Vancouver, deep price discounts are exposing a rising risk of defaults. The discounts on properties in the final stage of delinquency have increased from 5-15% to 20-34%. This change coincides with…
-
Metro Vancouver Market Trends and Predictions
Some sellers aim to profit by reselling pre-sale units they never intended to occupy. Difficulty in closing pre-sales can lead to discounted assignment sales. More assignments are entering the market than six months ago.
-
Vancouver residents react to new rules for short-term rentals
In October 2023, the BC government announced new regulations targeting short-term rental services such as Airbnb. These regulations include a provincial registry and fines for non-compliance, and have been met with both positive and negative reactions. The goal of the regulations is to open up more housing and combat speculation in the rental market. Continue…
-
‘Vancouver Plan’ aims to accelerate new housing in B.C.’s biggest city
The mayor of Vancouver has proposed a seven-point motion to reduce barriers and streamline regulations to create more homes in the city in order to address the housing crisis. The plan includes increasing housing density around transit hubs, speeding up a plan for 26 villages in the city, and increasing enforcement of short-term rental regulations.…
-
Factors Affecting the Condo Market in Vancouver
High living costs and stagnant earnings strain household budgets. Inflation dampens national condo buying activity. Stress test and higher borrowing costs reduce condo market share in key markets.
-
City of Vancouver’s new tool to build laneway homes, increase housing supply
The City of Vancouver has released a new tool, the Project Requirements Exploration Tool (PRET), to quicken permitting times for laneway houses in an effort to address housing supply gaps. This tool is designed to help single-family residential lot owners apply for permits to build secondary rental suites and is part of the three-year Housing…
-
Vancouver is the worst major Canadian city for housing affordability
House prices in major cities like Vancouver and Toronto have continued to rise despite nominal gains in household incomes and increasing interest rates. Reports from Ratesdotca.com show that Vancouver has the worst affordability differential among Canada’s big cities, with the median household income being only a third of what is needed to buy the average…
-
Fall 2023 Realtor Forecasts for Vancouver Market
Despite rate hikes, Vancouver's avg prices remain stable. Fall market influenced by investors exiting due to rate hikes and rental increase limits, causing a significant market shift.Usual life events, not market frenzy, fuel property transactions in the fall, reflecting a balanced market.
-
Mayor Ken Sim outlines seven “bold” strategies to grow Vancouver’s housing supply
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim has announced a multi-faceted strategy to address the city's housing affordability and supply crisis. The strategy includes implementing 26 new Village Areas, exploring steps to harmonize and align the Vancouver Building Code with the BC Building Code, reviewing building height restrictions, and increasing the maximum floor. Sim hopes this strategy will…
-
Canada invests over $48 million for new rental homes in Vancouver
The Government of Canada has invested $48.5 million for the construction of 104 purpose-built rental homes for residents of Vancouver through the Rental Construction Financing Initiative. This project is fully leased and was completed in June 2021. It is LEED Gold certified and is connected to the False Creek Neighbourhood Energy Utility. The project was…
Got any book recommendations?