Cost of housing in Canada

[dapaterson]

View attachment 79027

...on a good day ..

 

[mariomike]

... and good luck finding a parking spot ...

National Post
Jul 21, 2023

A parking spot for sale in Toronto is listed for almost $200K

What makes this parking spot cost more than some homes in Ontario?

nationalpost.com

Some joked in the comments about living in the parking space instead of looking for a condo

 

[Halifax Tar]

Your society is broken when people sell parking spots for 200K. Or sell parking spots at all.

 

[IKnowNothing]

Your society is broken when people sell parking spots for 200K. Or sell parking spots at all.

But allowing urban planning best practice to evolve and reduce reliance on private auto's in high density areas is a commie conspiracy

 

[Brad Sallows]

But allowing urban planning best practice to evolve and reduce reliance on private auto's in high density areas is a commie conspiracy

If the cost of parking is that high, I suspect the market will take care of part of the problem without taking the risk that a relative handful of planners will make sub-optimal decisions.

 

[Quirky]

Your society is broken when people sell parking spots for 200K. Or sell parking spots at all.

I see no issue with that seeing how people still voluntarily live in Toronto and the area. Still tones of space left from Hope, B.C - Barrie, Ont, but please don't tell that to Torontonians, we don't want them infecting the rest of Canada, if they even realize such a place exists.

 

[mariomike]

I see no issue with that seeing how people still voluntarily live in Toronto and the area. Still tones of space left from Hope, B.C - Barrie, Ont, but please don't tell that to Torontonians, we don't want them infecting the rest of Canada, if they even realize such a place exists.

While they are at it, bring back the old Metro Residency Requirement for out-of-town applicants.

Before that became a Human Rights thing.

It was still in effect when I graduated high school. Metro jobs were reserved for Metro residents - unless they could not be filled locally.

I found it interesting that those fire fighters with many years experience with a full-time fire department elsewhere were willing to leave to pursue there ( sic ) “dreams” as they put it and work for Toronto Fire."

https://www.torontofirefighters.org/wp-content/uploads/firewatch/Spring2009.pdf

I have some friends who sold their shacks in the city when they retired and moved out of town. They probably cried all the way to the bank.

But allowing urban planning best practice to evolve and reduce reliance on private auto's in high density areas is a commie conspiracy

Anyone with an interest in urban planning may, or may not, find this of interest,

Reece Martin

Transit, Technology, Life

rmtransit.com

I grew up in the suburbs of Vancouver BC with basically no transit service. Through years of riding the SkyTrain, travelling to other cities around the world, and later living in Toronto, I developed a passion for public transport, and an interest in learning more.

When in Toronto, I studied Computer Science at the University of Toronto's St. George campus, which was a fantastic experience that taught me how to learn and how to visualize complex problems. More importantly though, it taught me the limits of what technology can do. By the time I finished my degree, my main focus was on promoting better transit — so that transit could be a real option for more people in my community, and around the world.

I've developed my own perspectives on what makes transit great. Living without a car and relying on public transportation and walking for almost all of my trips, I like to think I can appreciate things from a rider’s perspective.

 

[Halifax Tar]

But allowing urban planning best practice to evolve and reduce reliance on private auto's in high density areas is a commie conspiracy

The 15 minute city is not a conspiracy, its a thing. Halifax (the peninsula and just off) is trying to be that. I'm not sure where your commie bit comes from or what that has to do with me.

15-minute city - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

And none of that was my point. My point is what we put a value on, how much value we assign to what, and what does it say about us ?

 

[Weinie]

The 15 minute city is not a conspiracy, its a thing. Halifax (the peninsula and just off) is trying to be that. I'm not sure where your commie bit comes from or what that has to do with me.

15-minute city - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

And none of that was my point. My point is what we put a value on, how much value we assign to what, and what does it say about us ?

Lets put the 15 minute city under a dome, and leave them alone for say, five years. I bingo it will quickly descend to Lord of The Flies.

 

[IKnowNothing]

The 15 minute city is not a conspiracy, its a thing. Halifax (the peninsula and just off) is trying to be that. I'm not sure where your commie bit comes from or what that has to do with me.

15-minute city - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

And none of that was my point. My point is what we put a value on, how much value we assign to what, and what does it say about us ?

Yes. The 15 minute city is a "thing" An urban planning thing. The commie conspiracy bit is when people treat that urban planning thing as a nefarious plot to subdue the population rather than just urban planners shaking off decades of auto lobby to try and do things better.

What it says is that we exist in a capitalist society that shaped our mobility infrastructure around private automobiles, and that said parking space's value is set by the demand generated by the latter and supply constrained by lack of space in densely populatied areas.

As a rural Ontarian I like getting my shots in at Torontonian's as much as the next guy- but this isn't a stupid Torontonian citizen issue, it's a fundamental failure in decades of planning leading market forces to doing their thing.

 

[Remius]

I

Your society is broken when people sell parking spots for 200K. Or sell parking spots at all.

I used to rent my space when I had a condo.

I know that in certain high rise condos getting a second spot is an additional cost. 200k seems excessive though. I know one build that had it anywhere from 30 to 50k but that was a few years ago.

 

[Halifax Tar]

What it says is that we exist in a capitalist society that shaped our mobility infrastructure around private automobiles, and that said parking space value is set by the demand generated by the latter and supply constrained by lack of space in dense areas.

As a rural Ontarian I like getting my shots in at Torontonian's as much as the next guy- but this isn't a stupid Torontonian citizen issue, it's a fundamental failure in decades of planning leading market forces to do their thing.

See, all that I can agree with you on. Perhaps you should try that instead of the snarky side eye posts about commie conspiracy theories.

Also I havent mentioned Toronto once. Greed and out of control capitalism isn't contained to the big smoke in Canada.

 

[Halifax Tar]

I

I used to rent my space when I had a condo.

I know that in certain high rise condos getting a second spot is an additional cost. 200k seems excessive though. I know one build that had it anywhere from 30 to 50k but that was a few years ago.

Yup Ive heard of that before.

 

[IKnowNothing]

If the cost of parking is that high, I suspect the market will take care of part of the problem without taking the risk that a relative handful of planners will make sub-optimal decisions.

Sub-optimal to who? And by what measure?

 

[Weinie]

Yes. The 15 minute city is a "thing" An urban planning thing. The commie conspiracy bit is when people treat that urban planning thing as a nefarious plot to subdue the population rather than just urban planners shaking off decades of auto lobby to try and do things better.

What it says is that we exist in a capitalist society that shaped our mobility infrastructure around private automobiles, and that said parking space's value is set by the demand generated by the latter and supply constrained by lack of space in densely populatied areas.

As a rural Ontarian I like getting my shots in at Torontonian's as much as the next guy- but this isn't a stupid Torontonian citizen issue, it's a fundamental failure in decades of planning leading market forces to doing their thing.

As an aside, that is one of the Talking Points that 15 minuters espouse.

I fervently do not want to live in any 15 minute contrived construct. I am adult enough to make my decisions based on my experience, and have developed the economic means to choose where, and why, I live. Co-existence with mindless followers is not on my bucket list.

 

[mariomike]

The 15 minute city is a "thing" An urban planning thing. The commie conspiracy bit is when people treat that urban planning thing as a nefarious plot to subdue the population rather than just urban planners shaking off decades of auto lobby to try and do things better.

What it says is that we exist in a capitalist society that shaped our mobility infrastructure around private automobiles, and that said parking space's value is set by the demand generated by the latter and supply constrained by lack of space in densely populatied areas.

As a rural Ontarian I like getting my shots in at Torontonian's as much as the next guy- but this isn't a stupid Torontonian citizen issue, it's a fundamental failure in decades of planning leading market forces to doing their thing.

Some interesting conspiracy theories, for fans of that sort of thing,

15-minute city - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Funny about where people start and end up.

My father, and his father, started their railway careers in Northern Ontario.

When they had enough seniority, transferred to Toronto, because that was / is where the money is in high-speed passenger rail.

You go where the jobs are. That's what I did, and our kids do with Air Canada.

My sister did it at little different and joined the CAF full-time. Posted all over Canada, and retired to Northern Alberta to raise horses.

 

[Weinie]

Some interesting conspiracy theories, for fans of that sort of thing,

15-minute city - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Funny about where people start and end up.

My father, and his father, started their rail - roading careers in Northern Ontario, but, when they had enough seniority, transferred to Toronto, because that was / is where the money is in high-speed passenger rail.

Long, long ago, in a galaxy, far, far, away.

 

[Brad Sallows]

Sub-optimal to who? And by what measure?

The likelihood that planners can out-guess the mob is always low. The prudent assumption is always that the limited amount of brainpower they can bring to a problem, coupled with their manifest inability to acquire and digest large amounts of information and the absolute certainty that they will be unable to overcome the local knowledge problem, will produce results that fall short of what might be possible.

 

[IKnowNothing]

As an aside, that is one of the Talking Points that 15 minuters espouse.

I fervently do not want to live in any 15 minute contrived construct. I am adult enough to make my decisions based on my experience, and have developed the economic means to choose where, and why, I live. Co-existence with mindless followers is not on my bucket list.

Flippantly- then don't. I don't want to live in any city, so I don't.

More seriously-

What makes people that would choose a different, less car dependant) way of life mindless followers?
What makes a 15 minute city more of a "contrived construct" than current cities built though meticulous and onerous application of land use planning, zoning, and by-law enforcement?

 

[IKnowNothing]

See, all that I can agree with you on. Perhaps you should try that instead of the snarky side eye posts about commie conspiracy theories.

Also I havent mentioned Toronto once. Greed and out of control capitalism isn't contained to the big smoke in Canada.

With respect, the post you referred to was about a 200k parking spot in Toronto. That's not an issue in London, or Halifax, or Lethbridge. Seems a reasonable inference that the "society" you're condemning is limited to that of the problem area. If that was not the case- my apologies.

As to the commie conspiracy theory- again apologies. That wasn't directed at you, but your post was the logical leap off point for that tangent around land use planning, transportation, and the connection to housing.