This Week’s Top Stories: The World’s Most Expensive Cities, Chinese Buyers Have Hit Peak, and Canadians Are Making Less

This Week’s Top Stories - The World’s Most Expensive Cities, Chinese Buyers Have Hit Peak, and Canadians Are Making Less

We know you’re busy, but want the latest on global real estate. So here’s the TL;DR version of the most important insights in real estate this week.

Global

These Are The World’s Most Expensive Cities In 2017

Canadians finally got some good-ish news, as no Canadian city made the list of the world’s most expensive cities. Topping the lists were Asian cities, with Singapore and Hong Kong taking the top spots. European cities like Zurich, and Paris were also in the top 10. Only one North American city, New York City, was amongst the most expensive in the world. As expensive as property has become, the cost of living could apparently get worse.

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Founders Of China’s Largest International Real Estate Portal Leave The Game

The founders of China’s largest international real estate website Juwai, are selling their equity. They formally announced the sale 3 weeks after China’s new capital controls further restricted buying of international property. At the time of sale, the company was valued at just $50 million, less than a week’s worth of detached sales in Vancouver. The relatively conservative valuation leaves a number of questions about the optimism of Chinese buyers in the future.

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Canada

Canadian Weekly Wages Grow At Slowest Pace In 20 Years

Not great news coming from Statistics Canada last week. According to the latest Labour Force Survey, Canadian weekly wages grew to $946.27 in March. This is a 1.07% increase from the same time last year, and the slowest increase in their 20 years of published weekly data. Since it’s far below inflation, Canadians are finding themselves with a 0.96% decrease in buying power when adjusted for inflation.

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Canada Is Building Homes At A Rapid Pace, But Is Population Keeping Up?

Housing starts are the highest since 2007, as builders scramble to meet demand for housing. 235,674 starts were made in March, a 28% increase from the same month last year. This is 52% above average, but there was a reason. Canada had the largest population boom since 1989. The question is, can Canada continue to add this many people, or are we building optimistically?

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Vancouver

Vancouver Real Estate Prices Rise 12.8% In March

What bubble? Vancouver real estate prices surged in March, despite more inventory and less sales. Listings increased to 7,586 – an increase of 3% from the same time last year. Sales on the other hand fell to 3,579, a 30% decline from the same time last year. It appears the expectation that prices should be higher is stronger than the basics of supply, and demand, but hasn’t that always been the case in Vancouver?

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Vancouver Sees Construction Hit A 45 Year High For March

Canada saw record building in March, and Vancouver was no exception. Construction starts hit a 45 year high in March, as 2,486 new starts were recorded by the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CMHC). Unfortunately for young people, construction of new rentals fell 34% from the same time last year. That’s cool, because it’s totally realistic to plan for almost everyone moving to the city to buy a home, right?

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  • Toronto too Expensive 7 years ago

    Torontonian economics are as absurd as the metal state of the inhabitants there.

    If Canadian wages are on the decline, eroding due to the 2% Bank of Canada inflation (yet the Governor of BoC refuses to increase the Bank Rate to encourage and protect savings), then why are there listings for Toronto Area housing in the $Million range, increasing by over 30% compared to last year?

    Are people who purchase houses not declaring their income for statistical purposes? I know there are a few female professionals like Doctors who work as doctors in the daytime, but work as escorts off-hours to very wealthy clientele who are known figures in some of the Top 5 banks in Canada.

    The only thing I could think of is that Torontonians are engaged in working under the table, gambling, prostitution, Dating website Sugar Baby Income,etc. etc. to purchase those overpriced houses while being able to qualify for a mortgage.

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