Even with interest rates due to ease up later this year, people have still been extremely hesitant to purchase real estate in Toronto — especially …
Even with interest rates due to ease up later this year, people have still been extremely hesitant to purchase real estate in Toronto — especially …
During my “capitalism is the best and everything else is evil” education, we went over supply and demand.
Now, if the things everyone who recieved that education are true, this means that “condo supply high” should mean “prices start lowering to be competitive”
But we don’t see that. We see stagnant prices, or even, on defying all reason, an increase.
As for “Yay capitalism, supply and demand answers all”…
The wealthy have convinced government that they should never lose, only gain, and as such we’ve not seen them assume the “risk” part of “risk and reward” for a while.
It’s the same with investment: we, and by “we” I mean society in general, is expected to invest more and more to enable the wealthy to make money, but we’re also supposed to take less and less of the reward, while only are Galtian ubermenschen are entitled to profit.
The oil industry is a great example of this: it’s wildly profitable, and deserves not one red cent of subsidy or support, but we spend billions on it all while lowering royalty and taxation rates for…reasons. Real estate is similar: we’re practically bribe developers to build, but we won’t to anything in the way of restrictions.
Government should just build directly. It’d be more efficient than the bribes we’re paying now.
If you look at the actual dollar amounts that have been “gifted” to politicians in the weeks surrounding key votes that they flipped from their public stance on, it’s… Depressingly low.
Like “this politician sold out 11 million of their voters for less than the cost of a used car.”
Honestly if they decided “nah fuck that, I’m gonna take small kickbacks here and there for the next 50 years as I enrich my own constituents lives and they choose to reelect me year after year because I delivered them everything they need to thrive instead of taking one pathetic lump sum” they would not only make more money (most of them, we can’t all be supreme court members accepting millions in bribes while turning a blind eye to the would-be-dictator our spouses tried to help overthrow the government we work for)
But nah. Like corporate stooges, they are too short sighted and weak to see that long term profits are better than short term gains.
Regardless of your thoughts on capitalism, supply and demand works. The issue is that both supply and demand are high but there is a disagreement on pricing. So, transactions decrease until both sides accept what the demand curve looks like. There is high demand but only at lower prices. There is high supply but ( for the moment ) only at higher prices. Real estate is not like a factory. Sellers do not HAVE to sell, at least not at first. It is a game of chicken.
What we need to worry about is that supply and demand works. Builders are responding to the situation by cutting supply ( building less ).
So, we will probably see the price start to fall at some point. We may not get to enjoy it long though if demand continues ( likely ) and supply is being reduced ( reported ). Low building starts and high immigration means higher prices.
TL:DR - expect a short term pricing stalemate, medium term price drops, and long term price escalation.