The Hongcouver | Is Vancouver’s condo king calling the shots on the city’s affordability strategy? Really?
Bob Rennie says focus on foreign money is anti-Chinese racism, and housing affordability activists are ‘girls treating issue like a party game’
It’s a simple question. So simple it sounds ridiculous.
Is Bob Rennie – condo-king of Vancouver, whose marketing strategies have revolutionised the real estate industry and helped transform the city – really calling the shots on City Hall’s strategy to combat housing unaffordability?
I asked Braeden Caley, the mayor’s spokesman, if City Hall had discussed a speculation tax with the founder of Rennie Marketing Systems.
The response (in full) was a sidestep that omitted mention of Rennie: “The Mayor indicated his support for a speculation tax to the Premier [Christy Clark] earlier in the week, and has been raising significant concerns about Vancouver's housing market and the ability of people of all backgrounds being able to call this city their home without new policy action from the Province and Federal Government.”