Category Archives: Housing
City of Surrey ignoring illegal Airbnb complaints
By Lisa Tanh The City of Surrey isn’t enforcing bylaws against illegal Airbnbs while not publicly announcing that such short-term rentals are unlawful despite years of complaints. Bruce, a Surrey resident who asked to not use his legal name for
UBC prof behind Speculation Tax says it doesn’t actually target speculation
By Drew Penner Ask University of British Columbia professor Tom Davidoff where the provincial NDP’s new housing tax came from, and he’s quick to take credit. Just don’t try to pin the “speculation” angle on him. “I was like the
Metro Vancouver housing sales slump 30% in March
By ThinkPol Staff Home sales slumped 30 percent last month in Metro Vancouver as BC budget measures aimed at making housing affordable began to cool down the region’s once red hot real estate market. Residential home sales in the region
Most Vancouver houses sold below assessment in March
By ThinkPol Staff Well over half of all Vancouver detached houses sold below assessment in March, with some going as low as 22% below, making it the second month in row that a majority of Vancouver single family homes sold
Speculation tax doesn’t go far enough, Burnaby councillor says
By Drew Penner Burnaby councillor Nick Volkow is newly single. His life changed forever when his wife passed away a year-and-a-half ago. In recent days he’s been pondering the next steps in his own life. But the 22-year Council veteran
Corruption watchdog calls for public beneficial ownership registry
By ThinkPol Staff The world’s leading corruption watchdog is urging Canada to create a publicly accessible beneficial ownership registry to fight money laundering and terrorist financing. Transparency International Canada Senior Advisor Denis Meunier made the call during his testimony to
Hope on the horizon for Vancouverites trying to get into the housing market?
By ThinkPol Staff There may be hope on the horizon for prospective condo buyers in Metro Vancouver trying to get a foothold in the region’s runaway housing market, a Vancouver realtor says. Even as the single family home market enters
BC exempts vacation homes from speculation tax
By Drew Penner The bureaucrats have done their tinkering and the new-and-improved levy on people taking advantage of hot West Coast real estate has been unfurled. BC Finance Minister Carole James said despite revising speculation tax rules to exclude a
Unable to afford rent, some Vancouver seniors choosing to take their own lives rather than become homeless, advocate says
By Lisa Tanh More seniors are being pushed into homelessness because they can’t afford the city’s high cost of living or find a safe shelter, says the head of a seniors’ non-profit organization. Anthony Kupferschmidt, executive director of the West
Vancouver father battles Airbnb, questions city’s plan to pour $46 million into building affordable housing while doing little to crack down on short term rentals
By Drew Penner Brette Mullins is a father who’s had to look at switching jobs in order to provide better housing for his family. And then there are the menacing attacks. “I get threatening emails once and awhile,” he said,