This week we learned properties listed for more than $5 million in West Vancouver aren’t selling like the hotcakes they were six months ago.
Bring out the smelling salts.
That’s an extreme example, but the chill in the once overheated real estate market is a real one. Most agree it’s long overdue.
It’s difficult to say how much cooling was in the offing anyway and what was due to tighter regulations. But the change clearly coincided with public anger on the issue reaching a boiling point.
If statistics on foreign buyers are figured in, it’s hard to imagine the dramatic shift this summer – especially on the North Shore – wasn’t a response to regulatory change.
Not surprisingly, leaving the fox to guard the henhouse made for some well-fed foxes, but not a lot of happy hens.
That government didn’t move sooner speaks loudly about the role of real estate in propping up B.C.’s economy.
The feds have also been late to the party. This week Ottawa got around to what it described as closing a loophole – or what could more accurately be described as enforcing its own laws – on capital gains exemptions on housing.
Up to now, Ottawa largely relied on the honour system to police that law. Not so shockingly when large amounts of money are involved, that hasn’t worked out so well.
Whether our political leaders willingly turned a blind eye to these issues we may never know for sure. But as the October cool begins to creep in we can’t help feeling better late than never.
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