Some thoughts and observations:
-Are the big upgrader projects-yes the story behind this boom-getting serious second thoughts from Big Oil? And this is occurring when prices are still north of $60.
-One can actually feel the massive rise in inventory in Edmonton as you move around the city. The number of private sale signs and the realtor signs have gone up quite a bit. And just based on anecdotes, a few flippers who bought 2 downtown condos for around $250k last year have been so far unsuccessful in selling them for more than $300k.
-Looks like rent controls just might be required. There have been just too many cases of 80 year old grannies seeing $1000 rent increases. After all, during the last oil boom, there were rent controls in place. Notwithstanding the long term impact of rent controls, I just find it amusing that in a country where there's healthcare access is considered a fundamental right, a basic necessity such as shelter can be left to 'market forces'. My problem is not with market forces, in which I firmly believe, but the selective usage of 'market forces'.
We don't have very much of competition in Banking, Telecom, Dairy Industry, Chicken Farming, Book Retailing and a number of other industries. I'm almost tired of hearing 'market forces' at work in the case of rental market, but no 'market forces' are apparently needed for any of the above industries.
I guess the reality is that people hardly matter. Those with the biggest and most powerful lobbies can sway things their way. Such is the nature of modern democracy. Sorry for this slightly off topic rant.
Have a great weekend everyone.
Showing posts with label alberta rent control. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alberta rent control. Show all posts
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Some Thoughts for Sunday
Thanks to everyone for a wonderful week of discussion. You guys have been providing some valuable insights and interesting links related to Alberta real estate and related things.
A few thoughts:
-The possibility of rent control in Alberta. The industry claims that there's shortage of affordable housing here because....it's too expensive to build stuff here. No surprises here. I wonder how do they actually manage to provide housing in rest of Canada where they don't allow more than 2 to 4% rent increase per year. This in itself is a complex topic and those with a deeper background on the subject are welcome to comment.
-Looks like that the possibility of a slow down is being recognized in our neighbouring province. While theoretically there still could be some 'equity locusts' moving from the rainiest parts of Canada to the coldest parts of Canada, with the recent increase in Alberta prices, their motivation to do must have reduced a bit. If there is indeed a slow down in BC, would it have any impact on Alberta? Of course, there are no oil sands in BC and we are different.
-Anecdotal observations- Just looking around in Edmonton and Calgary, everyone seems to have a new car. When I first came to Alberta, I was actually shocked by the number of 'beat ups' all around me. And now, it's almost like NYC here.
Although I have no numbers to prove this, but it looks like good old house ATM is funding the automotive dreams of Albertans. Nothing wrong with it, so long as they recognize that they'll still have to pay it back. After all, not everyone is getting rich in this province based on the resource wealth. At least directly. The housing boom is perhaps the 'democratic' way of spreading wealth amongst Albertans!
A few thoughts:
-The possibility of rent control in Alberta. The industry claims that there's shortage of affordable housing here because....it's too expensive to build stuff here. No surprises here. I wonder how do they actually manage to provide housing in rest of Canada where they don't allow more than 2 to 4% rent increase per year. This in itself is a complex topic and those with a deeper background on the subject are welcome to comment.
-Looks like that the possibility of a slow down is being recognized in our neighbouring province. While theoretically there still could be some 'equity locusts' moving from the rainiest parts of Canada to the coldest parts of Canada, with the recent increase in Alberta prices, their motivation to do must have reduced a bit. If there is indeed a slow down in BC, would it have any impact on Alberta? Of course, there are no oil sands in BC and we are different.
-Anecdotal observations- Just looking around in Edmonton and Calgary, everyone seems to have a new car. When I first came to Alberta, I was actually shocked by the number of 'beat ups' all around me. And now, it's almost like NYC here.
Although I have no numbers to prove this, but it looks like good old house ATM is funding the automotive dreams of Albertans. Nothing wrong with it, so long as they recognize that they'll still have to pay it back. After all, not everyone is getting rich in this province based on the resource wealth. At least directly. The housing boom is perhaps the 'democratic' way of spreading wealth amongst Albertans!
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