Canadian Politics Today

I just looked on kijiji.  In Toronto it looks like apartments have gone up around -$400-500 a month over the last 5 years. Even basement apartments. That's crazy.

I suspect this is related to general housing price increases.

As far as I know rent controls only apply to annual increases for tenants in the same unit. A landlord can set whatever price they want for new tenants?

Sounds right.  With both inflation and interest rates on the rise I won't be surprised if more places become available, especially from retired homeowners with mortgages on fixed incomes.  It'll be a toss up between how many go STR vs LTR.  For what it's worth I'll soon have a foot in both sides as zoning changes allowing for greater density start kicking in. I'll be taking on a rescue tenant from Tofino who's been given the boot for a you know what.

He's decided to buy an RV I can plug services into. $750 a month for a very private rainforested setting with a shop and deck. The closest neighbour is me so there is that but I'm at least 150' out of sight up the driveway.

I'm thinking maybe a 2nd hand prefab house of some sort or a container conversion later perhaps.  Anything to avoid the $300 - $400 a sq ft it costs to build around here these days.  Nobody in their right mind would construct a new building only to rent out long-term when they can make 4 or 5 times as much with a BNB.

You think $25 /hr is way too much to pay someone to look after a pile of children?

No i'm saying only a stupid person would complain about general inflation and cost of daycare and then artificially increase its cost based on a forced wage increase that was pulled out of a politician's butt.

NDP just promised voters during an election campaign:  "hey we're going to make daycare more expensive!".  They are so stupid.  At best they promised, in a province hemorrhaging in debt, "hey we're going to make daycare more expensive...and then we're going to pay for it!".  Also so stupid.

NEWS for Graham:

There are a lot of people underpaid and a lot of people overpaid in this economy. 

ECE and Real Estate Agents should keep this in mind.

If there's anything the populists are right about, it's the fact that an 'elite' benefit excessively from the changes of the past decades.  Pushing down wages for working people is a direct result of that.

NEWS for Graham:

There are a lot of people underpaid and a lot of people overpaid in this economy. 

ECE and Real Estate Agents should keep this in mind.

If there's anything the populists are right about, it's the fact that an 'elite' benefit excessively from the changes of the past decades.  Pushing down wages for working people is a direct result of that.

I agree real estate developers make too much, but that's the fault of people who hire them and agree to their ridiculous commissions.   Canadians are an agreeable bunch.

Ok - so it's up to the people to hire people to deal with their salary, I can accept that as part of the equation.

Well I suppose they could regulate the commissions, put a cap, or standard rate maybe.  I wouldn't be opposed.

But when you hire an agent you negotiate and agree to their commissions they will charge you.   Like many services the client doesn't have to agree to anything they don't want to and can negotiate.  But a lot of real estate agents will just say "I charge X commission" and many home owners will say "ok sure" without trying to negotiate.

Why are you happy with the free market for childcare providers, but not with realtors?   
 

Nothing to do with a Free Market, it's got to do with paying for value provided.  The market isn't always a good way to figure that out.

Daycare workers shouldn’t get a living wage? 

How about we leave the realtors to the free market, but tax their exorbitant income to help pay others a living wage?

Why are daycare workers entitled to $25/hr wage but nobody  else below 25/hr is?  Singling out daycare workers is entirely random, as is deciding on a $25/hr wage.  It makes no sense.

The best thing to do is likely to tackle inflation and cost of living.  Raising minimum wages (which the ndp also wanted - $20/hr) sounds good but also causes inflation... so what is it really doing?

Real estate in this country is broken, something needs to be done, including regulation of different kinds almost certainly, including speculation. 

I'd rather leave their commissions up to the market but realize working people are getting squeezed while the real estate industry is laughing to the bank.  I don't see how regulating their commissions would cause inflation or any other real negative, but maybe I'm missing something.  They survived just fine when housing costs and their total commissions were much lower not long ago.