Subjunctive posted:

Dinosaurtrain posted:

I don't even know what the loving point to this graph is. Ft Lauderdale the most expensive place in North America to live lol

etalian posted:

It's more a matter of local income vs things like rent.

Homes are much cheaper in Florida but rent is fairly high compared to income.

Dinosaurtrain posted:

I don't even know what the loving point to this graph is. Ft Lauderdale the most expensive place in North America to live lol

jens von bergman is one of those developer shills who happens to know how to use github and creates all these loving graphs that prove housing is affordable in vancouver as the entire economy melts away because teachers, doctors, librarians somehow can't find the moxy to make life work in the best place on earth. what a bunch of losers. why can't they all be like that 5 kids 1 condo shithead

Dinosaurtrain posted:

I don't even know what the loving point to this graph is. Ft Lauderdale the most expensive place in North America to live lol

jens von bergman is one of those developer shills who happens to know how to use github and creates all these loving graphs that prove housing is affordable in vancouver as the entire economy melts away because teachers, doctors, librarians somehow can't find the moxy to make life work in the best place on earth. what a bunch of losers. why can't they all be like that 5 kids 1 condo shithead

Lead out in cuffs posted:

He's actually a math prof at UBC. I've no idea how he feels about housing affordability, but he's never really struck me as a shill for developers or anyone else.

I know him in passing through bike advocacy circles, and he seems to have his heart in the right place (though he can be pretty abrasive.)

Lead out in cuffs posted:

He's actually a math prof at UBC. I've no idea how he feels about housing affordability, but he's never really struck me as a shill for developers or anyone else.

I know him in passing through bike advocacy circles, and he seems to have his heart in the right place (though he can be pretty abrasive.)

Femtosecond posted:

A lot of the Abundant Housing set seems to have narrowed their arguments recently to just talking about four floor purpose built rental buildings and/or "gentle density." Years ago when that group formed I swear they were much more closer to just being vaguely pro condos everywhere (am I right on that?). I don't know if individuals have actually changed their opinions on things or if they've just limited their arguments so they aren't trolled for being developer shills so hard.

So at the moment the biggest thing much of the twitter supply siders possibly shill for is if anything the coach home building industry. Big developers like Onni and Westbank wouldn't even really benefit from the sort of "missing middle" type duplex-fourplex development that seems to be a major focus at the moment.

The real unabashed developer shills are guys like Bob Ransford and Jon Stovell.

Majuju posted:

their website contains nothing but the most vague, milquetoast statement about "we support housing of all kinds" but they've been humping the "upzone everything everywhere" train for a while now. as you know, it's impossible to have thoughtful, affordable housing without also allowing free reign to land speculators and building colossal empty luxury towers everywhere and turning SROs into chic microlofts, and it's up to each of us to elect a city council that will make it easier for this to happen.

PT6A posted:

Who are these parents with a decently-sized inheritance (that they've decided will go to their children), such that it's actually possible to give an advance on it, who are being complete tightwads with it while alive? That makes no sense, unless your kid is a complete fuckup who you hate -- wouldn't you want to see them enjoy some of the money while you're still alive, and help them out to do whatever it is they want to do?

Subjunctive posted:

UnfortunateSexFart posted:

*points at my family* My side of the family is wealthy, my wife's family is extremely wealthy, but they're such tightwads that my 35 year old brother in law missed out on buying real estate within 45 minutes of downtown Vancouver. Rich people love to hoard money - we've been told straight up we have to wait for the will.

It can't be just that I'm an rear end in a top hat since they're treating three other millennial kids the same way.

Part of the reason we're leaving the country is because there's no support for us in Vancouver, despite all of our parents living here. Turn out rich people are jerkasses, who knew.

quote:

Shares in Countrywide have plunged by more than 60% after the struggling estate agent asked investors for �140m of emergency funds to save it from collapsing under the weight of its debt.

Countrywide, which has nearly 10,700 staff and operates under about 50 brand names including Hamptons International and Bairstow Eves, launched the rescue plan after downgrading profit forecasts four times in eight months.

It will raise cash by offering new shares to existing investors but at an 80% discount to their previous value, a markdown that sent the company�s stock market value tumbling as much as 70% in early trading.

The fall meant that at one point the UK�s largest property services company was valued at less than the �35m average house price on Britain�s most expensive street, Kensington Palace Gardens in London. Shares closed down nearly 63% at 18.5p.

Like rivals such as Foxtons, which announced that it had sunk to a �2.5m half-year loss earlier this week, Countrywide has suffered from malaise in the property market, particularly in the south-east.

Estate agents have said Brexit-related uncertainty � coupled with stamp duty rises on properties above �1m and second homes � has brought the housing market in London to a near standstill.

While the number of housing transactions has been in decline, traditional estate agents have also come under mounting pressure from no-frills online agencies.

Alongside its fundraising plan, which will be used to whittle down its �212m debt pile, Countrywide revealed it had fallen �206m into the red during the most recent six-month period. The scale of the loss was largely due to a �211m charge from slashing the value of its assets and brand.

The executive chairman, Peter Long, blamed the company�s woes on the �completely wrong� strategy pursued by the former chief executive Alison Platt, who resigned in January.

Platt sought to run the estate agent like a retailer, bringing its sales and lettings businesses together and concentrating expertise centrally with local branches functioning like shops, a plan that triggered an exodus of middle management.

�It completely destroys the business model by saying it�s a retailer and saying we don�t need management expertise locally,� said Long. �You disempower people, demotivate them and lose key expertise.�

He said high debt, racked up during an acquisition spree in 2014 and 2015, was �compounded by the perfect storm of a chief executive getting the strategy completely wrong�.

Long doubled his salary to �360,000 when he took over day-to-day running of the business from Platt, adding the role to his vice-chairman�s seat at travel group Tui and the chairmanship of Royal Mail.

But he insisted he was not overburdened, despite also dealing with the fallout from last month�s pay revolt at Royal Mail, one of the largest shareholder rebellions in corporate history.

He said Countrywide�s performance was improving, vowing that a turnaround plan could result in the company making an �80m underlying profit within three years.

In a statement to the stock market, Countrywide said its problems had been exacerbated by a flagging housing market, particularly in London.

�The prime central London housing market continues to experience low levels of activity owing to political and economic uncertainty, particularly in relation to stamp duty and Brexit, which is felt more acutely in the capital,� it said.

Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at investment adviser Hargreaves Lansdown, said Countrywide had been �damaged by its attempt to bring the sales and lettings businesses together under one roof, and by its centralisation programme, which took decisions out of the hands of local managers�.

Khalaf added: �Meanwhile the entire sector has been going through an existential crisis thanks to digital disruption.

�On top of that, Brexit and changes to stamp duty prompted a 22% fall in London property transactions last year, ensuring Countrywide didn�t get away with its wayward strategy.

�Investors now need to decide if they are throwing good money after bad, though even the best-case scenario is a long road to recovery.�

While investors still have to vote on the fundraising plan, it has been underwritten by Barclays and stockbroker Jefferies, which will buy the shares if shareholders decide not to.

James Baud posted:

Lol, the millennial entitlement is coming from inside the thread!

UnfortunateSexFart posted:

Neither a millennial nor entitled, I bought Vancouver property without help and sold my garbage condo for a 200% profit at the peak of the market this spring.

Millennials literally do need parents help to live here though. To call those who do need help entitled is victim blaming imo. Vancouver is a hosed up place.

Subjunctive posted:

NL credit union looking out for the best interests of its customers

UnfortunateSexFart posted:

And no, renting is not cheap. My mortgage was $750 per month in an area that now rents for three times that. Airbnb destroyed the renting alternative.

UnfortunateSexFart posted:

Letting your kid struggle to get by while you have literally tens of millions of dollars in assets makes you a tightwad, yes. Asking your millionaire parents for help in Vancouver - the ones who have more money than they could ever spend for the same reason that you are struggling, based solely on date of birth - does not make you entitled. Boomer parents helping their kids in Vancouver is almost mandatory, and the ones who don't do it are assholes.

And no, renting is not cheap. My mortgage was $750 per month in an area that now rents for three times that. Airbnb destroyed the renting alternative.

Evis posted:

You can rent a $3M house for 5500/mo, which is way way cheaper than the mortgage on such a place. At least in some cases renting is still way cheaper than owning.

the talent deficit posted:

i just rented a place in olympic village for way less than what an interest only loan would cost me on the place. i dunno who's buying these places

Dinosaurtrain posted:

i just want you to know that some enormous whale woman bought a place in your old building, directly in my view line and she sits around naked at night watching netflix and eating (of course)

Claes Oldenburger posted:

Also it's hard to feel sympathy when you yourself won out over everyone younger than you. Your mortgage was peanuts, so to both have a mortgage so low, sell a condo for 200% AND complain you're not getting help from loaded relatives isn't painting a great picture.