Newsletter February 25, 2023: The medium is the message, not
This political Cartoon published in Oak Bay’s and a number of Capitol Regional District (CRD) Newspapers (February 8, 9, 2023), provides misleading information.
The reason that it is not possible for the man to reach up and open the door is not because of the cost of the house. The land the house sits on has caused this problem. The land is approximately 80% of the cost of an average priced single-family home in the CRD. The cartoon however, only shows that the land is represented by less than one-seventh of the space allocated to it, although it is the primary cost factor.
Why is this important to point out? For a number of reasons – for example: without acknowledging this information:
Instead, the present strategies are to build a constant supply of, often poorly constructed, housing on expensive land. As-well-as the recent blitz by the Development Industry, Governments, and some members of the media, maligning and targeting single-family homeowners, the majority of which are working now, or have worked the biggest part of their employment years to save their down payment and pay off their mortgage,
Oak Bay Watch Perspective (News & Information)
This is not acceptable on so many levels
For some reason our Federal Government and Revenue Canada have ignored what is and has been a very large elephant in their room. The information represented by the elephant has, for many years now, been provided by reputable and respected journalists media sources, whistle-blowers and insider trader exposes’ (see examples Appendix #1)
On one end of the scale, you have expensive housing and rentals and, on the other end, the very little available affordable housing and rents. It is obvious which end of this balanced scale is the lowest.
News: How many times have we read the real estate “mantra” there is only a very small percentage of foreign housing investment in Canada. Even as recently as a January 2023 Times-Colonist article that quoted the President of the Victoria Real Estate Board as stating, “the Foreign Buyer ban was “disappointing” as “the ban is unlikely to reduce housing costs because there are so few foreign buyers in the market.”
However shortly after, in February 2032, a number of media publications provided a much different picture. They reported that the Canadian Home Builders' Association says the foreign ownership ban (despite its many loopholes) has had “unintended consequences.“
The CEO of the Canadian Home Builders' Association goes even further than this: he is quoted as saying, “That (the ban) has created a massive issue for our industry in home building and land developments because we have lots of companies in this country that have a small or even in some cases, a larger amount of foreign ownership.”
The CEO also said in the large development industry there are a lot of companies that have larger foreign ownership percentages and it takes a lot of capital and equity to buy large tracts of land in Canada and turn it into built environment.
It's too bad no quantitative statistical data was provided. This would have provided the public with some understanding of just how massive foreign company ownership is.
However, it seems to us that it would be safe for a reasonable person to assume that based the information, the amount of foreign ownership in development companies in Canada, must be substantial to have caused this housing supply “massive issue”. Also that the substantial number of foreign non-resident, company part-owners would be interested in getting the most out of their investments. They certainly are in a favourable position to influence a maximum profit return.
All this makes us wonder which one of the above conflicting accounts is providing the public with misleading Information.
Additionally, the foreign ownership ban was enacted, at this late stage. because of the Federal Government’s recognition and concern about corporations controlled by non-Canadians, influencing Canada’s housing market. And the big part that this has played in driving up housing prices. According to the Canadian Home Builders' Association’s CAO then, the ban is having some success in its intended purpose.
Information: The recent media blitz is to try to shut down any opposition to, as Barbra Yaffee (Vancouver Sun Journalist) reported over seven years ago, “Densification has not resulted in Affordable Housing.” As indicated single-family homeowners should not be anyone’s target when the real causes (see Appendix #1) have repeatedly been identified.
If this was not bad enough, the Federal and Provincial Governments have spent and are going to spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars buying expensive, investment-inflated land to build affordable housing. While all levels of government are: promoting the supply of more and more expensive housing; enacting densification legislation; and blaming municipalities, as well as their residents, for the affordable housing crisis.
A reminder to Oak Bay Residents: In July 2022 Councillor Zhelka in Council pointed out that Oak Bay did not have secondary suite zoning legislation in place or planned to prohibit short-term rentals. On his second attempt he was able to have his resolution for a short-term rental prohibition included in the Zoning Bylaw amendment.
The District and the Oak Bay News have publicized that secondary suites are now allowed on any lot in Oak Bay. This includes in, as Council has described them, “overly large houses on small lots”. However, for some reason, the short-term rental secondary suite prohibition in any part of the house, has not been announced. Given that short-term rentals have proven to be problematic for residents in many BC municipalities, one would have thought this information would have been made public by now.
We only mention this as updating the 2018 version Oak Bay Zoning Bylaw on the website to the current version (that includes Secondary Suites and the short-term rental prohibition) has not been a priority for Staff or Council.
------------------------------------------------
“Nothing is inevitable if you are paying attention” Oak Bay Watch
Oak Bay Watch is a volunteer community association and its members have a variety of professional backgrounds in both the public and private sector.
*******Please help us continue to provide you with information about Community concerns and Council decisions and actions. Oak Bay Watch members also help community groups with their specific development concerns. Donate to Oak Bay Watch - even $5 or $10 dollars provides expenses for door- to- door handouts and helps us maintain our website.
Oak Bay Watch is committed to ensuring the Community gets the full range of information on budget, governance and all key development issues – a well-informed opinion cannot be made without this.
(Please use Donate Link at top of oakbaywatch.com Home Page)
Keep informed and sign up for our newsletter – bottom of Newsletter Menu Item.
-----------------------------------------------
Appendix #1
The following are just some of the articles residents should be aware of. They are by reputable, respected journalists and sources that provide information that explains why Canada’s housing and rental prices have increased so disproportionately to incomes. The information also explains why providing more of the expensive supply that has been built, and is under construction, will not solve our housing and rental problem.
Note: Please place the Link or the Title of the Article in your browser (all worth a read)
Article: Vancouver Sun - Death, taxes and the terrible injustice of Metro Vancouver's housing crisis. Note: Considering this article’s information is based on a dying declaration it should carry more weight.
Link: https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/douglas-todd-death-taxes-and-the-terrible-injustice-of-metro-vancouvers-housing-crisis/
Article: Canadian Cities Have Seen Up To 90% Of New Real Estate Supply Scooped By Investors.
Link: Link https://betterdwelling.com/canadian-cities-have-seen-up-to-90-of-new-real-estate-supply-scooped-by-investors/,
Article: Vancouver Sun - Canadian real-estate market better for foreign investors than locals, admits housing secretary
Link: https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/douglas-todd-canadian-real-estate-market-better-for-foreign-investors-than-locals-admits-housing-secretary
Article: Canada’s housing crisis will not be solved by building more of the same.
Link: https://theconversation.com/canadas-housing-crisis-will-not-be-solved-by-building-more-of-the-same-175221
Article: The rise of financial landlords has turned rental apartments into a vehicle for profit.
Link: https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/june-2021/the-rise-of-financial-landlords-has-turned-rental-apartments-into-a-vehicle-for-profit/#:
Note: Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) have been buying up apartment blocks for some years now in Canada. Vancouver Sun Article: Vancouver real estate: REITs announce $292 million purchase of 15 rental apartment buildings.
Note: Although purpose-built rental vacancy rates have increased, rents at unaffordable pricing levels have not decreased.
This political Cartoon published in Oak Bay’s and a number of Capitol Regional District (CRD) Newspapers (February 8, 9, 2023), provides misleading information.
The reason that it is not possible for the man to reach up and open the door is not because of the cost of the house. The land the house sits on has caused this problem. The land is approximately 80% of the cost of an average priced single-family home in the CRD. The cartoon however, only shows that the land is represented by less than one-seventh of the space allocated to it, although it is the primary cost factor.
Why is this important to point out? For a number of reasons – for example: without acknowledging this information:
- It will not be possible to address alleviating Canada‘s Affordable Housing Crisis;
- It will not be possible to enact the appropriate corrective legislation and policy required to stop the real causes of the affordable housing and rental crises (see information and links Appendix #1).
Instead, the present strategies are to build a constant supply of, often poorly constructed, housing on expensive land. As-well-as the recent blitz by the Development Industry, Governments, and some members of the media, maligning and targeting single-family homeowners, the majority of which are working now, or have worked the biggest part of their employment years to save their down payment and pay off their mortgage,
Oak Bay Watch Perspective (News & Information)
This is not acceptable on so many levels
For some reason our Federal Government and Revenue Canada have ignored what is and has been a very large elephant in their room. The information represented by the elephant has, for many years now, been provided by reputable and respected journalists media sources, whistle-blowers and insider trader exposes’ (see examples Appendix #1)
On one end of the scale, you have expensive housing and rentals and, on the other end, the very little available affordable housing and rents. It is obvious which end of this balanced scale is the lowest.
News: How many times have we read the real estate “mantra” there is only a very small percentage of foreign housing investment in Canada. Even as recently as a January 2023 Times-Colonist article that quoted the President of the Victoria Real Estate Board as stating, “the Foreign Buyer ban was “disappointing” as “the ban is unlikely to reduce housing costs because there are so few foreign buyers in the market.”
However shortly after, in February 2032, a number of media publications provided a much different picture. They reported that the Canadian Home Builders' Association says the foreign ownership ban (despite its many loopholes) has had “unintended consequences.“
The CEO of the Canadian Home Builders' Association goes even further than this: he is quoted as saying, “That (the ban) has created a massive issue for our industry in home building and land developments because we have lots of companies in this country that have a small or even in some cases, a larger amount of foreign ownership.”
The CEO also said in the large development industry there are a lot of companies that have larger foreign ownership percentages and it takes a lot of capital and equity to buy large tracts of land in Canada and turn it into built environment.
It's too bad no quantitative statistical data was provided. This would have provided the public with some understanding of just how massive foreign company ownership is.
However, it seems to us that it would be safe for a reasonable person to assume that based the information, the amount of foreign ownership in development companies in Canada, must be substantial to have caused this housing supply “massive issue”. Also that the substantial number of foreign non-resident, company part-owners would be interested in getting the most out of their investments. They certainly are in a favourable position to influence a maximum profit return.
All this makes us wonder which one of the above conflicting accounts is providing the public with misleading Information.
Additionally, the foreign ownership ban was enacted, at this late stage. because of the Federal Government’s recognition and concern about corporations controlled by non-Canadians, influencing Canada’s housing market. And the big part that this has played in driving up housing prices. According to the Canadian Home Builders' Association’s CAO then, the ban is having some success in its intended purpose.
Information: The recent media blitz is to try to shut down any opposition to, as Barbra Yaffee (Vancouver Sun Journalist) reported over seven years ago, “Densification has not resulted in Affordable Housing.” As indicated single-family homeowners should not be anyone’s target when the real causes (see Appendix #1) have repeatedly been identified.
If this was not bad enough, the Federal and Provincial Governments have spent and are going to spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars buying expensive, investment-inflated land to build affordable housing. While all levels of government are: promoting the supply of more and more expensive housing; enacting densification legislation; and blaming municipalities, as well as their residents, for the affordable housing crisis.
A reminder to Oak Bay Residents: In July 2022 Councillor Zhelka in Council pointed out that Oak Bay did not have secondary suite zoning legislation in place or planned to prohibit short-term rentals. On his second attempt he was able to have his resolution for a short-term rental prohibition included in the Zoning Bylaw amendment.
The District and the Oak Bay News have publicized that secondary suites are now allowed on any lot in Oak Bay. This includes in, as Council has described them, “overly large houses on small lots”. However, for some reason, the short-term rental secondary suite prohibition in any part of the house, has not been announced. Given that short-term rentals have proven to be problematic for residents in many BC municipalities, one would have thought this information would have been made public by now.
We only mention this as updating the 2018 version Oak Bay Zoning Bylaw on the website to the current version (that includes Secondary Suites and the short-term rental prohibition) has not been a priority for Staff or Council.
------------------------------------------------
“Nothing is inevitable if you are paying attention” Oak Bay Watch
Oak Bay Watch is a volunteer community association and its members have a variety of professional backgrounds in both the public and private sector.
*******Please help us continue to provide you with information about Community concerns and Council decisions and actions. Oak Bay Watch members also help community groups with their specific development concerns. Donate to Oak Bay Watch - even $5 or $10 dollars provides expenses for door- to- door handouts and helps us maintain our website.
Oak Bay Watch is committed to ensuring the Community gets the full range of information on budget, governance and all key development issues – a well-informed opinion cannot be made without this.
(Please use Donate Link at top of oakbaywatch.com Home Page)
Keep informed and sign up for our newsletter – bottom of Newsletter Menu Item.
-----------------------------------------------
Appendix #1
The following are just some of the articles residents should be aware of. They are by reputable, respected journalists and sources that provide information that explains why Canada’s housing and rental prices have increased so disproportionately to incomes. The information also explains why providing more of the expensive supply that has been built, and is under construction, will not solve our housing and rental problem.
Note: Please place the Link or the Title of the Article in your browser (all worth a read)
Article: Vancouver Sun - Death, taxes and the terrible injustice of Metro Vancouver's housing crisis. Note: Considering this article’s information is based on a dying declaration it should carry more weight.
Link: https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/douglas-todd-death-taxes-and-the-terrible-injustice-of-metro-vancouvers-housing-crisis/
Article: Canadian Cities Have Seen Up To 90% Of New Real Estate Supply Scooped By Investors.
Link: Link https://betterdwelling.com/canadian-cities-have-seen-up-to-90-of-new-real-estate-supply-scooped-by-investors/,
Article: Vancouver Sun - Canadian real-estate market better for foreign investors than locals, admits housing secretary
Link: https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/douglas-todd-canadian-real-estate-market-better-for-foreign-investors-than-locals-admits-housing-secretary
Article: Canada’s housing crisis will not be solved by building more of the same.
Link: https://theconversation.com/canadas-housing-crisis-will-not-be-solved-by-building-more-of-the-same-175221
Article: The rise of financial landlords has turned rental apartments into a vehicle for profit.
Link: https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/june-2021/the-rise-of-financial-landlords-has-turned-rental-apartments-into-a-vehicle-for-profit/#:
Note: Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) have been buying up apartment blocks for some years now in Canada. Vancouver Sun Article: Vancouver real estate: REITs announce $292 million purchase of 15 rental apartment buildings.
Note: Although purpose-built rental vacancy rates have increased, rents at unaffordable pricing levels have not decreased.