Full-scale housing crisis

"Vancouver, BC is a town built on real estate. And for seven years running, it has also been ranked as the least affordable city in North America. While some cities boast lively arts or hip-hop scenes, Vancouver is home to one of the most insane property markets in the world—a place where decades of global capital, lax regulations, and government indifference have transformed it into a city of displaced renters, empty condos, and multimillion-dollar teardowns."


Part One:

http://www.vice.com/en_ca/video/surreal-estate-part-one

Part Two:




Update to part two:

"Vancouver’s mayor says the city will impose a tax on property owners who don’t live in their residences as part of an effort to make housing more affordable, but Gregor Robertson acknowledges his council will have to figure out a way to work around a provincial government that has rejected previous efforts to tax empty houses. After months of demanding action from the provincial and federal governments on the affordability crisis, Mr. Robertson said Tuesday he has no faith that the province in particular will intervene. He said city staff are looking at all options, even if it means navigating around the province, which has jurisdiction over such a tax. The mayor said the city wants access to an estimated 10,000 empty houses in Vancouver, a figure based on data that city staff released in March. But he didn’t say how high he thinks the tax would have to be to persuade those owners to rent out their houses."

from: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/vancouver-plans-to-impose-tax-on-non-resident-property-owners/article30462327/


Part Three: