According to this annual survey by Henley & Partners (first chart from Bloomberg), these are the top 10 wealthiest cities in the world when you count the number of high-net-worth individuals (i.e. people with investable wealth greater than US$1 million): However, if you instead count… Read More
All posts tagged “vancouver”
The impact of climate change on the Winter Olympics
It was pure luck, but we couldn’t have timed this last week any better. It started snowing in the mountains around Salt Lake City on Tuesday, and it felt like it didn’t stop until Saturday. On Wednesday morning, which was peak powder, the main resorts… Read More
Immigration to Canada is back
According to the Globe and Mail, Canada’s census metropolitan areas (or city regions) grew by about 574,000 people for the year ending July 1, 2022. This is the highest number on record (or at least since Statistics Canada started tracking this figure in 2001), which… Read More
The densest downtowns in Canada
A few days ago I tweeted this chart out (from Statistics Canada): It is a list of the densest downtowns in Canada (people per square kilometer). But to be more precise, it is a list of the densest primary downtowns for each census metropolitan area.… Read More
Sorry, you can’t build that kind of housing here — downtown or the distant suburbs
Between 2016 and 2021, and according to this recent report from Statistics Canada, the population of the Toronto CMA (Census Metropolitan Area) grew by over 274k people: The population of the Montréal CMA grew by nearly 188k people: And the population of the Vancouver CMA… Read More
Are elevators bad?
So, I of course think this is silly. But here’s a claim that living in high-rises — that is, buildings with elevators — is bad for people’s physical and mental health: In the midst of a Vancouver civic election where housing is a hot issue,… Read More
How 20% affordable can impact development pro formas
This Twitter thread by Richard Wittstock of Domus Homes (developer out in Vancouver) is a timely follow-on to yesterday’s post about housing supply, land-use regulations, and specific policies such as inclusionary zoning. What Richard clearly describes in his thread is the economic impact of a… Read More
Why traffic fatalities are lower in Canada than in the US
We’ve talked about this before. If you live in New York City, you’re probably about a third as likely to die from a transportation-related accident as compared to the average American. And if you live in Paris, you’re probably about a third as likely to… Read More
Housing starts up 63% in Calgary
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) just published its latest housing supply report for Canada’s 6 largest city regions (downloadable over here). One figure that stands out is the increase in housing starts in the Calgary CMA — it was up almost 63% last… Read More
Vancouver proposes empty stores tax
When you buy commercial real estate, you are buying a stream of future cash flows. Sometimes these cash flows are already in place and sometimes these cash flows are based on future expectations. Either way, as a general rule, it is better to have more… Read More