Quote:
Originally Posted by Fire
Yup, the government really should leave the house market alone and let it correct. Prices were dropping which of course would help new home buyers.
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I think it's more than just that. Homes by default are for living. Because they've done so well as investments over the past 20 years, the living aspect has fallen to greed taking over. So with high prices, rents have increased and so affordable housing has gone out the window. Then land transfer taxes are high, so supply has been restrained where if you want to sell your house, you want to recoup those fees as part of the appreciation, so sellers have held on until it appreciates enough, along with a healthy profit for ones self. Getting back to basics though, housing should be used as a dwelling, more than an investment. We've gotten away from that. In Canada culturally home ownership is what we strive for and though prices have increased so much because of investing, there is still a push for owning at any cost. That I don't think most people would argue, has created a bubble. People like myself still want in, not for investment purposes necessarily, but because we need a dwelling. Personally I don't care if it stagnates once I get in, but it's better to own than rent. I still strongly believe foreign investors, whatever percentage of them make up the market, should be taxed much higher for ownership as they're not using it for a dwelling.