The Hongcouver | Scared of falling home equity and the war on money laundering in Vancouver? Tough luck, and get a grip on reality
- In a city ranked one of the most unaffordable in the world, some people are actually freaking out about price declines
- Meanwhile, others say a crackdown on money laundering and Chinese cash would be ‘catastrophic’
Remember the olden times, Vancouver, when dinosaurs and Pokemon Go ruled the Earth?
Cast your mind back to mid-2016.
That was the last time that pretty much everybody agreed that housing unaffordability was a Very Bad Thing – in principle, at least.
Over the preceding two years, there had been a mix of awe and confusion as the average price of a detached house in Greater Vancouver soared 40 to 50 per cent, thanks to the rocket fuel of Chinese capital outflows. Real estate prices across the board were spiralling through the clouds.
Would-be buyers looked on in horror. Owners tut-tutted in sympathy: I mean, it wasn’t right, was it?
But how many humble-bragged at dinner parties about this terrible phenomenon that was also enriching them beyond all deserving? How many sneaked downstairs to repeatedly check their address on the BC Assessment website, drooling at the improbably pneumatic number spread-eagled before them?