No! I'm not dead!

[SenatorCollector]

Greetings fellow Pucknuts! Just wanted to stop in, update the PC a little bit, and let everyone know, I'm still around! As I've said before, I'm on a trading hiatus for a bit, while I try to find a new home! Sadly, I live in an area of Canada that is going through a major affordable housing shortage right now. Currently, local rental vacancy rates sit at LESS than .2%. I'm holding out hope that I'll be relocating to Abbotsford by February next year. Sadly, since my house is basically in storage right now, I have limited access to my cards, so no trades until then!
Thanks guys! Enjoy your trading, and I'll be back soon!

[piper1]

Good luck Ron, I hope it all works out for you in the New Year.

[steelers6]

Good to hear from you Ron. All will be well soon hopefully.

[SenatorCollector]

Thanks guys! Yeah, it's been a stress filled 4 months or so! Part of the problem is affordability. Because of the low vacancy rate, rents are stupidly high! A one bedroom apartment in Abbotsford, in a semi decent location, STARTS at about $900 per month! Add in a pet, and just to move in is about $1600. That doesn't include hooking up cable, hydro, internet. So the budget is tight to start with, since I'm working part time. HOWEVER, there is a bright side. Launched my own business about 3 weeks ago! Hoping for some bookings over the Holidays to help the finances!

[adamslogik]

Not just rentals that are hard to find right now, Canada is definitely going through a housing boom.

I'm being relocated to Belleville, Ontario for work purposes and finding a house has been a nightmare.

The other day I looked at a house that had been on the market for 8 hours, the wife and I loved it but it already had 2 offers (Seller was not looking at offers until 8pm the following evening). Figuring that with 2 offers we had to come in strong, we offered $12,500 over their ask. I didn't get it

My agent works for the same brokerage as the sellers' agent and she told me that although she could not tell me how much it sold for, she could tell me that there were ELEVEN offers total (remember the timeline, under 36 hours listed) and that I would have had to have offered at least ANOTHER 15K to even be in the conversation. In case you haven't been following, that's almost 28 THOUSAND DOLLARS over their asking price, in just over a day!!! In BELLEVILLE!!!

Whether you're buying or renting, there is a definite shortage.

[SenatorCollector]

@adamslogik, it's getting a bad in the GVRD, Vancouver City Council has approved development of 8000 rental units in the city, set to be habitable next Summer. According to the numbers, that puts the vacancy rate at 1.1% next June. Doesn't help us in the Fraser Valley though! I can get a 1 bedroom apartment in Abbotsford's worst neighbourhood for $850 a month, but why?

[adamslogik]

@SenatorCollector, I have to assume that in your area it comes down to too much immigration. People moving into the province faster than housing can be built.

[SenatorCollector]

@adamslogik, that's part of it, but the biggest issue recently has been offshore investors. You mentioned the house you were looking at eventually selling for 28k over asking price. Here, houses are typically selling for about 20-25% over list price, and lists are averaging between 475 and 700k in the Valley! Gotten so bad, the BC Government is actually passing legislation limiting the number of housing properties owned by off shore investors, and Vancouver recently passed a new taxation bylaw forcing absentee owners to pay a 1% tax on the value of any currently unoccupied housing properties they own. So, if you owned a house here, valued at $700k, and it was not occupied, you'd pay an extra $7000 on top of your property taxes!

[Maggot]

Congrats on starting your own business, that's really exciting. When you're settled in you know who to PM first for a trade ;)

[Goose97]

Ron I was wondering where you went. Glad you're still around!

I took my Summer hiatus, and just recently came back. I though something was missing. Now I know what it was.

That is a sad state you are having to deal with out there. Makes you wonder how anyone can get by, and it forces you to settle for less. I hope your business helps you out with suplimenting your income, and you can have peace of mind with a sense of stability.