We just converted our conference room into a viewing party of the Great Canadian Real Estate Conference held last week in Toronto.
On the left you have Adrian and on the right that’s me — Vince.
Thanks to technology, we were able to live stream the entire event from the comfort of our office here in Windsor.
Although it would have been nice to be there in-person, having this option is super convenient!
Some of the smartest and most experienced real estate minds in Canada spoke at the event. I’ll make a point to attend in person next year.
Now I’ve always loved the idea of learning…
…especially when I feel like it’s providing me with an information advantage.
Being a very Canadian real estate focused event, the value that we got was priceless.
The consistent message and sentiment from the majority that spoke at the event was — “Canadian real estate affordability, is screwed”
I’m glad we were all able to agree on that… unfortunately, nobody was able to agree on the solution to this mess.
Here’s the Canadian real estate dilemma in a nutshell…
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Demand for houses exceeds supply.
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Record number of people are immigrating to Canada every year but new construction is below average.
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Inflation is sticking around, and interest rates need to remain high, therefore developers and builders cannot justify building housing, because they can’t build them cheap enough for anybody to be able to afford them at these interest rates.
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General approach by the various levels of government has been the BANANA strategy — Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anybody.
There are so many competing forces at play here, that I guess it makes sense that even the smartest real estate folks can’t agree on the best way out of this mess.
With that said, a view that most speakers were consistent with…
…is that they can’t see any scenario where Canadian real estate prices don’t continue to increase in the long term.
We share this view. ?
And what that means is that it is going to continue to get increasingly more difficult to own a piece of Canadian real estate.
I know it might sound crazy, but think about it…
…years from now, could trying to own a single-family home in Southwestern Ontario be as out of reach for most folks as it is in places like New York or London, England?
Sounds nuts, but I am not so sure it is that far fetched…
…something to think about for sure.
We love geeking out about this stuff.
So, if you ever want to chat about real estate, business, money etc… don’t hesitate to reach out.
We don’t have all the answers, but we are always seeking that “information advantage,” and are more than happy to share that information with anybody that’s interested.
All the best,
Vince Castagna
