Inflation/Gas Prices/Rising Prices in General

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by opendoor

Japan had a catastrophic asset crash in the early '90s that they still haven't really recovered from because of stagnant growth (both economic and population). Look at the Nikkei; it's still ~30% below its 1989 peak.


If supply of housing units was the primary culprit, then rents would have increased in concert with housing prices, but they haven't in Canada. Based on OECD data, Canada has seen one of the lowest increases in rental prices in the OECD. Since 2010 we're 30th of 38 OECD nations in rental price increases.

That points to something other than supply being behind the rise which sets Canada apart from peer nations. The most obvious factors to me are: a) monetary/government policy which has created an asset bubble, and b) an outsized influence from property investors, as that would tend to drive up purchase prices relative to rental prices (since it's constricting purchase supply but bolstering rental supply).

Now I'm not saying for a second that more supply wouldn't make housing more affordable; it would and we should increase it. But the supply relative to our population has remained static for the last couple of decades, so the idea that there's some shortage now that didn't exist before, and that that's driving house price increases isn't really supported by the evidence.

Has monetary policy in Canada been markedly looser than other G7 countries? And why has the Canadian market been more attractive to property investors?

[blankall]

Originally Posted by opendoor

If it's a lack of housing units, then why has Canada's rental price growth lagged virtually the entire OECD over the last 20 years? Look at the gap between 2005 and 2020 in Canada vs. the rest of the OECD:





Basically the only countries with less growth over that period are ones with stagnant or declining populations (Japan, Germany, Italy, etc.)

You're likely a bit sheltered from it living in Calgary, that saw a post-oil crash glut of rentals, but the majority of the country has been suffering an affordable rental crisis for quite some time, that dramatically worsened this year:

https://rentals.ca/national-rent-report

[Reggie28]

Originally Posted by 81MC

Million times over. The shortage of tradesman isn’t a lack of able bodied persons with a desire to make a good living. It’s the absolute absurdity of the trades pay scales, and there is no doubt in my mind that suppressing wages is a tactic to force governments hand at increasing access to foreign workers. For substantially less money out of the employers pocket.

Trades should be the most vocal opponent to foreign worker programs that are actioned before wages are brought up. $30-$40/hr for journeyperson Red Seal skilled trades. Yeah, that’s wages pushing people away from trades into comfortable office jobs for similar money, not a lack of labour.

Foreign workers is (largely) bull#### corporate tactic to hold staff wages down.

I’ve seen this first hand. Advertise jobs at $10 to $15 dollars less than the going rate. When they go unfilled, petition the government to allow you to bring in workers from Asia because there isn’t enough local skilled workers.

With the trades, they should have to offer the union pay and benefit scales before they can declare there is a skilled labour shortage. This idea would never fly here because union is a four letter word.

[Harry Lime]

Originally Posted by blankall

You're likely a bit sheltered from it living in Calgary, that saw a post-oil crash glut of rentals, but the majority of the country has been suffering an affordable rental crisis for quite some time, that dramatically worsened this year:

https://rentals.ca/national-rent-report

Just checking rentfaster in the Calgary and surrounding area, rents have increased 30+% in the last year. Basement suites are going for 1200+ on the low end. We are right in the middle of the spike, and there's no guarantee of reduction if housing stabilizes.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Harry Lime

Just checking rentfaster in the Calgary and surrounding area, rents have increased 30+% in the last year. Basement suites are going for 1200+ on the low end. We are right in the middle of the spike, and there's no guarantee of reduction if housing stabilizes.

Doesn't surprise me. Calgary was likely delayed due to stagnation caused by decreased oil prices. Now with the combo of overflow from other cities and oil prices rising, lack of rental affordability could hit Calgary hard.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Reggie28

I’ve seen this first hand. Advertise jobs at $10 to $15 dollars less than the going rate. When they go unfilled, petition the government to allow you to bring in workers from Asia because there isn’t enough local skilled workers.

With the trades, they should have to offer the union pay and benefit scales before they can declare there is a skilled labour shortage. This idea would never fly here because union is a four letter word.

In my experience I have also seen a few cases where an Apprentice accrues all their hours and passes their tests for their Journeyman ticket and then are suddenly laid off due to 'lack of work.'

And then that job is duly refilled with someone being paid Apprentice wages.

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by blankall

You're likely a bit sheltered from it living in Calgary, that saw a post-oil crash glut of rentals, but the majority of the country has been suffering an affordable rental crisis for quite some time, that dramatically worsened this year:

https://rentals.ca/national-rent-report

Look at the first line chart though. The YoY increase is high because prices dropped in the first year of the pandemic. The current level is still 3% lower than 3 years ago, whereas purchase prices have gone up by about 60% in that same span:

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Locke

In my experience I have also seen a few cases where an Apprentice accrues all their hours and passes their tests for their Journeyman ticket and then are suddenly laid off due to 'lack of work.'

And then that job is duly refilled with someone being paid Apprentice wages.

From someone entering the fun world of construction litigation, I've noticed two things:

1. A lot of developers are complete POS. They purposely don't pay their subcontractors and tradesmen and just expect most to not sue, and the treat the ones that do as a business expense. It's pretty easy as a developer/contractor to have someone removed from a worksite.

2. We need to encourage more tradesmen to do work on their own outside of contractors. They can get paid the full amount, without a middle man taking a major portion.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by blankall

From someone entering the fun world of construction litigation, I've noticed two things:

1. A lot of developers are complete POS. They purposely don't pay their subcontractors and tradesmen and just expect most to not sue, and the treat the ones that do as a business expense. It's pretty easy as a developer/contractor to have someone removed from a worksite.

2. We need to encourage more tradesmen to do work on their own outside of contractors. They can get paid the full amount, without a middle man taking a major portion.

Ooohh....I can just tell that you're gonna be popular 'round here.

That is a very nebulous and intertwined world. Tradesmen and contractors are like a marriage where both spouses hate each other but are so co-dependent they cant live without each other.

Are you going to have the bailiff make sure everyone surrenders their weapons prior to each round of negotiations?

[Locke]

An abusive, co-dependent symbiotic relationship.

Its wonderful.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Locke

Ooohh....I can just tell that you're gonna be popular 'round here.

That is a very nebulous and intertwined world. Tradesmen and contractors are like a marriage where both spouses hate each other but are so co-dependent they cant live without each other.

Are you going to have the bailiff make sure everyone surrenders their weapons prior to each round of negotiations?

In Vancouver anyways, the system seems to be dominated by a few very large developers. These guys control so much work, that they can consistently stiff the workers and they'll come back for more.

I would describe it more as an abusive/power imbalance type relationship.

[81MC]

Nearly 20 years it’s taken for a B.C. government to fix the system that was destroyed by that top notch ######bag Gordon Campbell. Removing certification requirements for trades, with the sole purpose of allowing corporations to hack salaries of skilled tradesmen down to whatever you could hire anyone off the street for.

God I hate that guy and everything his party did to ruin a good province.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by Locke

Ooohh....I can just tell that you're gonna be popular 'round here.

That is a very nebulous and intertwined world. Tradesmen and contractors are like a marriage where both spouses hate each other but are so co-dependent they cant live without each other.

Are you going to have the bailiff make sure everyone surrenders their weapons prior to each round of negotiations?

If they forced developers to have only one company so that they could be sued by homeowners and tradesmen alike for the next 30 or 40 years it would be a start instead of their habit of opening up limited companies for each development, there may only be a few actual developers but legally not one of them has ever built a thing, its always hidden through smaller PLC's

[Azure]

Originally Posted by blankall

In Vancouver anyways, the system seems to be dominated by a few very large developers. These guys control so much work, that they can consistently stiff the workers and they'll come back for more.

I would describe it more as an abusive/power imbalance type relationship.

This is common almost everywhere. I know small towns where there is a literal monopoly on the entire construction industry, and one developer controls everything.

[Mathgod]

Originally Posted by Azure

Shortage of labor
Shortage of materials
NIMBYism
Zoning Stupidity
Higher Immigration than other G7 countries (we are growing MUCH faster than most other G7 countries)

And then you can even add to that foreign investment, speculation, money laundering, etc.

And the elephant in the room, decades of horrible city planning leading to rampant sprawl and low density housing in lieu of high density buildings and communities.

[FlamesAddiction]

It doesn't help when people running for office, for a party that claims the housing crisis is a problem, also participate in practices that are part of the problem.

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2021/0...d-real-estate/