In case you missed it- some fun images from others that made me chuckle: ^Homage to WestBank, of course. And then this.. : (Filed under: Happy rant, Marxist rant Tagged: […]
Continue readingTag: real estate
Melissa Fong: Who’s buying condos in Vancouver’s Chinatown?
For your comment : ) Meet Sebastian, a Sommelier, & Linnie & Nicolas (Author & “Customer Engagement specialist” who have already bought at Keefer Block Condos (Keefer & Main). Solterra […]
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Rental Housing in Yellowknife
Yesterday I blogged about rental housing in Yellowknife, over at the Northern Public Affairs web site. Specifically, I blogged about a recent announcement by the city’s largest for-profit landlord that it plans to “tighten” its policies vis-a-vis renting to recipients of “income assistance” (which, in most parts of Canada, is
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Pointing fingers at Vancouver’s unaffordability problem: Answers & more questions…
Ever since my last post I have received a lot of questions as to why I found it so entertaining- the debate. I was also contacted by dozens- yes, dozens- […]
Continue readingPolitical Eh-conomy: Forget global superstar, Vancouver’s housing troubles start at home
Vancouver was the star of a recent New Yorker article that shone a light on the city’s lack of housing affordability and linked this lack to an inflow of foreign buyers. Unfortunately, this link is extremely tenuous, as most of the support is anecdotal or based on very limited data.
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Vancouver “Foreign Buyers”- driving speculation & unaffordability?
I think I discovered the most amazing conversation on Facebook and YOU have to contribute to this debate. I have thought about this for a long time (thanks to AY […]
Continue readingMelissa Fong: DTES Local Area Plan- Speaker #5, on Amendments
We need to respect the experiential knowledge of DTES residents that understand how the plan violates their security. Not fundamentally opposed to Vision- but you have to realize reality. If you insist on the ideology of “social mix” you also have to set up the circumstances for dignity of all
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Downtown Eastside Local Area Plan- Summary
Like last time, I did some LiveTweeting of the evening- My strategy is to summarize the main point of all the voices; add in my OWN commentary (I can be […]
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Vancouver developers- Gillespie, DTES & other thoughts on financial reform, Vision Vancouver
…. They WILL earn a profit because it is Vancouver. Gillespie knows that encroaching on DTES is best odds at this point in Vancouver’s real estate. Largest “rent-gap”/ current to potential price in the city- and he’s always known that so he’s more bold, perhaps than others, to make that
Continue readingMelissa Fong: #25KLunch WINNERS Announced! Who said there’s no free lunch?
Other than the fact that I should win the best prize for dragging out a meme that would have otherwise had the life-span of a fruit fly… I’ve got some […]
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Top 25 of #25KLunch Meme Finalists Announced!
Okay, folks! The moment has come to see your Top 25 Finalists for the #25KLunch meme competition! I can’t even tell you how many messages I’ve received telling me […]
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Financial reform: Taking responsibility as public servants and otherwise…
Facts: I don’t hate Vision Vancouver. I’m indifferent to the overall career of Gregor Robertson. I actually like Andrea Reimer, from what I know of her. (Confession: I really like […]
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Admitting to not knowing until it was too late: The DTES Local Area Plan implications
…I admit that I didn’t know how REAL it was until the 3 days came to an end and even after it passed…. After that the reality sunk in, I got more and more angry as I realized the implications of the plan. The fact is that poor people LIVE
Continue readingMelissa Fong: #25kLunch Meme Competition Update #1
The #25KLunch meme has received more press than I would have ever imagined! Amazing what a group of really dedicated “mockticians” can do to bring the issues out there. #25KLunch […]
Continue readingPolitical Eh-conomy: A Canadian housing bubble? Evidence from capital inflows
Warning: A wonky, but thankfully short, post follows. Yesterday, the Naked Capitalism blog reposted some recent research by OECD economist Eduardo Olaberria that looks at the effect of capital inflows on bubbles in assets, particularly housing. With so many other signs of a housing bubble forming in Canada, I decided
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Glass-House Mortgages
A letter appears in today’s Globe and Mail in response to recent direction given by Minister Flaherty to private mortgage lenders over mortgage rates. The letter was written by Steve Pomeroy, one of Canada’s leading housing policy experts. Here is the full text of the letter: – Glass-house mortgages Twice
Continue readingcmkl: And the farm is sold
Quite a pleasant surprise, really. I was expecting it to take a lot longer, but we were able to ride the new listing wave of interest all the way to a sale. I would like to thank our real estate agents Barb McLeod and Peter Kennedy for their great advice
Continue readingcmkl: For sale: 1870s farm house near Alton, Ontario
It’s official. We’re selling the farm. It’s a beautiful four bedroom home on 38 acres of rural property in Caledon, Ontario. The front lot is full of forty year old pine, spruce and tamarack. You arrive via a 300m lane way, lined with stately, 100 year old maple trees.
Continue readingeaves.ca: Real Estate as Platform: Canadian Real Estate Industry looking for developers
As some readers know, I’ve been asked from time to time by members of the real estate industry to comment on the future of their industry, how technology might impact it and how open data (both the government variety, and the trend by regulators to make the industry’s data more
Continue readingeaves.ca: When Industries Get Disrupted: Toronto Real Estate Boards Sad Campaign
As some of my readers know I’ve been engaged by the real estate industry at various points over the last year to share thoughts about how they might be impacted in a world where listings data might be more open. So I was saddened to read the other day about
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