Students live like kings in Vancouver's empty mansions

Isaiah Boodhoo, 22, thought it was a "complete disappointment" when he saw a rental announcement on Facebook from a room in a Vancouver Manor for only $ 1,100 CAD (825 USD) per month.

It turned out that the crystal chandeliers, the luxurious blue curtains, the steam bath and the pool table were very real. The nine bedroom room, called "The castle" for the 14 students who share the property, it would have been rented by an Afghan pop artist, according to Boodhoo.

"Honestly I'll stay here as long as I can, " He said, sitting on a white couch drinking a cup of Slurpee. "1000 USD for all this?"

Others soon had the same luck when more and more owners of the city rented their mansions avoid a new tax on empty houses. In the new world of Vancouver's housing market, where Chinese investors have disappeared and the lowest offers are the norm, students live in luxury conditions.

Far was the frenzy of a few years ago when the city was the center of the global real estate boom. Until 2016, prices have doubled current valuesAnd surpbaded profits in New York and London. But government policies to dominate the market – new taxes on the most stringent mortgage regulations – led to lower sales, which are the lowest since global financial crisis. Prices fell 8.5% from their peak in June, according to the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board.

The city has a thriving technological and tourism scene and is located in the province with the lowest unemployment rate in the country. But the feeling of turmoil on the real estate market It's palpable.

Here we leave some stories of a turbulent real estate market:

Lucky tenants

According to real estate agents, taxes on an empty house in Vancouver may add up to 3% more at annual ratesthen the owners rush to rent their houses. This leads to unique opportunities in a market where the availability was close to zero percent.

"You have houses whose Revenues are valued at C $ 4 million ($ 3,000,000) and are leased at C $ 4,500 "($ 3,358)said Steve Sretsky, a real estate agent in Vancouver, whose popular blog has already pointed to market failures, even when prices peaked last year.

Potential tenants are starting to become bold, said Kevin Wang, who leads a real estate sales and leasing team with his twin brother Jerry. They received calls from people offering help for gardening or maintenance in exchange for a free rental in a luxury house.

The owner of "El Castillo" and the rental agency have not responded to an interview request.

For its part, Boodhoo has not only achieved luxury accommodation, but has also reduced the transfer time in the music production clbad from 18 minutes to 2 hours.

"Everyday, I come home from school and I see the towers of" The Castle "and I'm like, that's my house," said Boodhoo, who is eager to enjoy the swimming pool in the back garden. It should be June.

Lisa Sun crosses the Vancouver mansion wealthy Sino-Canadian owner who ordered him to sell it. The family had it when new taxes have been approved, which considers growing hostility towards the Asian capital. Sun estimates that "at the beginning of last year, the house would have been easily sold for about 8.5 million Canadian dollars (6.34 million US dollars), holes included in the wall.

Today, the 28-year-old agent is not sure of receiving a credible offer the house of 775 square meters. Nowadays, a swimming pool, a warehouse and a home cinema in a privileged place are not enough to reach an agreement, even in West Vancouver, where sumptuous houses carved on steep slopes offer views of the ocean. Sun needs a "scene" to empty the house and Illuminate with new furniture, a modern chandelier and a coat of paint.

"I went through the top, by the highest points, never breathtaking," said Sun while he was setting an appointment for the restoration of the property. The pink labels tell the four cleaning employees what to throw away. The Lamborghini and the Rolls-Royce in the garage, which have not been used for nearly three years, must also be negotiated. "

Home Announced for C $ 10.9 Million (US $ 8.13 Million), but Planned lower the selling price approximately 8.3 million Canadian dollars (6.19 million US dollars).

This is a considerable reduction, but Hanging at home would potentially mean paying more than $ 140,000 CAN (USD 104,473) per year in additional fees for the Canadian owner who divides his time between Vancouver and Beijing. Canadian taxes are not the only measures that affect the market. Capital controls in China also limit spending on global real estate.

Sun does not believe that the Vancouver market will return to its highest levels, especially at the top. Why would they want to come here and pay all those taxes to feel like a criminal?

The hunters of "gangs"

To buy a house he seemed to be an impossible dream for Brandon Chapman. The 28-year-old financial planner began looking for one-bedroom condominiums in 2016, while the market was at a record high. "It was not what I was looking for, so I took a step back."

He is happy to have waited. Now, he believes that he would even be able to pay for a mud house and sees properties on the 1.1 million Canadian dollars (USD 820,000) in East Vancouver. To make it affordable, you partner with your best friend to buy the property. It still has not worked. An offer of less than USD 200 000 (USD 150 000) at the exit price was rejected.

"We have nothing closed except in my opinion, the market still has a downward trendSo why am I going to buy something if I do not need it in this second? ", Did he declare.

Then there is Robin Rickards, who was looking for a temporary house in a fortuitous moment. The 64-year-old orthopedic surgeon needed a place to stay while his current home, in an oasis on the coast, was being rebuilt. He ended up making an offer in three different houses and received one for almost 1 million Canadian dollars less than the original price original

"It's like a candy store for buyers right now, "said Clara Hartree, the agent who works with Rickards, via email.

The frustrated investors

The glbad tower twisted and cantilevered It's one of the most anticipated developments in Vancouver. Start with a triangle at the base, clumsily embedded between the entrance and exit ramps of a downtown highway, before turning into a square at the top.

This iconic silhouette has helped developer Westbank Corp. for sale quickly 400 ultra luxurious apartments when pre-sales started in 2014, thanks in part to the keen interest of Asian buyers. As we near the end of the work, investors they tried to get rid of more than two dozen units, according to the advertisements of real estate agent sites.

One of the announcements proposes a unit of 35 square meters at 515,000 Canadian dollars (384,000 US dollars). "Sold at its original price" He reads in Chinese. Last year, that would have left $ 800,000 Cdn ($ 597,000), said Jerry Huang, real estate agent for Nu Stream Realty Inc., specializing in pre-sales developments.

"It's a foolish deal," he said. Sale in advance they were once considered a crushing victory: a 20% deposit, canceling the contract with a bonus before its completion and pocketing the winnings.

Westbank said in an email that, for five years, some investors had bought money, the values ​​have risen from 25% to 100%, depending on the unit. The number of calls Assignment sales are less than 10% of the total building units and "in line with expectations".

Those who bought at the highest level They need to quickly find a buyer or reach the total amount to be paid to the developer. In some cases, banks rate units below the contract price, buyers who are waiting to get a loan may face a deficit. "There is no guarantee at the moment," says Royal LePage real estate agent Adil Dinani. Some sellers may have the chance to get compensation.

There have always been buyers who outperformed and needed to sell quickly.

"But the difference is that previously we we could help them because the market was rising " Sonny Bhinder, an agent who received calls from half a dozen customers looking to sell the properties they had acquired since the beginning of the year. "The job of a real estate agent has become a lot harder now."