More Bad News For Canadian Real Estate with Kerry Gold

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]I mean, I'm hoping there might be more effort made to stimulate our economy. I think we all know that it just feels really stagnant. Okay, you did build a lot, but it was a lot of unaffordable housing. All those unsold condos that everybody keeps talking about, 80% of them are over $1 million. There's a lot of existing affordable apartment buildings in the area, and those people are being evicted for redevelopment. The area also happens to contain 25% of the city's housing rental stock. My story comes out tomorrow on a project. They had to cancel it because of that very reason. Rents are too low and it was a 2,000 unit master plan community. So, they're actually cancelling projects now. They may have turned the taps off, but the tub is still full.

[00:00:49]>> Welcome to the Tom Story Show with Steve Carish and Tom Story, where we discuss everything real estate or whatever else is on our minds.

[00:00:57]>> Okay. Welcome back to episode 214 of the Tom Story Show. Appreciate everybody being here. This week's guest is Carrie Gold. She's a journalist who covers housing and real estate and writes a weekly column for the Globe and Mail going back to 2008 with more than two decades of experience. She's covered music, entertainment, business, and urban issues. She's a co-author of Michael Bubé's bestselling memoir, Onstage, Offstage. Must be pretty cool.

[00:01:23]He's going to be performing at the FIFA World Cup very, very soon. So, that's very exciting. And Carrie, I'm going to go on a whim here, but I'm going to say you recently had your most challenging interview ever when you had to interview our very own Steve Carish about selling his condo. So, I apologize in advance for that, but welcome to the show.

[00:01:43]>> Thank you. It's good to be here.

[00:01:45]>> And we were saying just before we hit record, you spend your days interviewing others. It must be nice to to be on the other side of the conversation.

[00:01:52]>> Yes. This is refreshing. Yeah, it Yeah, it happens occasionally and it's always uh Yeah, it's different. It's different being in the seat, you know, the hot seat.

[00:02:01]>> Yeah. So, so give us kind of a breakdown of of you've been covering many different topics over the years. What was the path to real estate?

[00:02:10]>> Uh, you know, like a lot of journalists, you just sort of wind up covering a certain beat. I mean, I went from when I was at the Vancouver Sun, I was doing the music beat, the rock beat, and uh I did that for 10 years. And then when I went and started writing for the Globe and Mail, they needed uh a real estate writer. So that's how I fell into that and I started doing the weekly column and it's been 18 years. So really it was just a matter of what they needed and I happened to uh really uh pay attention to real estate and it came pretty easily. At the time 18 years ago though it wasn't nearly as interesting as it is now. I think real estate is a major driver of uh you know views to the Glob and Mail website like it is to you know any newspaper or press right now. Real estate beats a big beat. Didn't used to be.

[00:03:02]>> And when you started in 2008 it wasn't necessarily a that was a bit of a scary time in the market was it? Is there any similarities to when you first started to now?

[00:03:13]>> Uh yeah I get that was a very difficult time. It was uh I bought a home in 2009 and it was still pretty bleak. Uh but yeah, that's that's true. It was a difficult time and it was similar to now. People were really not buying. They were I think it was actually worse than now. People weren't buying houses. Now people are buying houses. I think that it depends what you're buying. There are micro markets as you know and it's really just the condo market that's taken the biggest hit. So yeah, there is that difference. So yeah, there's similarities, but still I think real estate is much more interesting now. I think once the foreign buying activity really got going, it became quite a a hot potato topic.

[00:03:58]>> I was going to say, what do you think that drive is? Like if you know the organizations that you work for know that like real estate gets eyeballs, what is Canada's infatuation with that?

[00:04:07]What have you discovered over the years?

[00:04:10]I think that people have in Canada just we've always come to view real estate as our security for our futures, right?

[00:04:17]Like I think that uh you know my father you know his family they're very workingass immigrants and they came to Vancouver and started buying properties around Dumbar. And I think that that's just sort of always been historically what Canadians do. This goes pretty far back in Vancouver especially. There's always been investment and speculation.

[00:04:40]That's not new. People because real estate, I think it's just regarded as a very safe way to, you know, protect yourself going forward. And you can borrow against it. You can use it as rental income. It's it offers a lot of flexibility. I mean, it is I think people just regard it as almost a necessity. And I think that culturally that's just where we're at.

[00:05:06]So, if you're um here's what we do. I'll to let you know.

[00:05:10]So, Tom and I both run uh YouTube channels. And a lot of the time when we're looking, we're either like boots on the ground like, "Hey, this is what we're seeing in the marketplace reporting on statistics or we flick over to news articles and comment on the news articles." So, you know, work like yours. But what I'm interested to find out is like how do you identify the stories in real estate of the day? Like how do you get out there and actually look at what might be interesting to the public?

[00:05:46]>> Well, you have to pay constant attention to what is being covered by other media.

[00:05:51]Uh, I'm always writing a week ahead, so I can't do breaking stories that need to get out the next day, but I can drill deeper into stories uh that have already broken. Um, I have to also you have to have a large network of people, sources that you can rely on that you can call up and say, you know, what's what's happening? What have you noticed in the last week? That is largely a great source of uh potential content. Uh, you know, publicists reach out quite a bit, but they don't often I don't really rely on them for stories because they're usually just trying to sell condos or something. Um, which is great, you know, and sometimes those projects can be interesting to write about, but usually I end up interviewing the developer about something bigger and it has to be of reader interest. Most people aren't interested in a single project. They want to know what's happening behind the scenes. statistics are a really big uh driver uh for readers. Readers love uh really fascinating statistics that speak to them. I recently did a story based on CMHC data uh that found all those unsold condos that everybody keeps talking about. Uh in Vancouver 80% of them are over $1 million and in Burnaby the same situation. So that just that statistic alone that went absolutely viral because people uh it angered a lot of people because I think they thought those unsold condos were affordable and actually the majority of them aren't. So that spoke to people. So yeah, statistics are powerful.

[00:07:31]>> It also kind of goes against the narrative that all the stuff that can't sell right now is just the tiny little condos that would not be a million dollars. But what what we've always kind of said with our developer relationships is the stuff that was always left over and this was long before things kind of crashed down on pricing was it was always the big three bedrooms. So, it's kind of interesting, right? It's like we've been saying now for a while or at least people uh you know on your on your reporting on on our videos have been saying we need to build more units that are the size that families need. And then we find out that 80% of the units left over might actually fit in that criteria, but it's the price that we don't like. Um, so that's why it's so powerful. Right.

[00:08:15]>> Exactly. And and that's why people got angry because they realized, okay, you did did build a lot, but it was a lot of unaffordable housing. And so we've got to deal with that. That's the reality.

[00:08:28]>> Whenever I've uh done media over the years, I've I've been able to do Globe a few times as well. and and they'll they'll bring me on and or I'll do CTV Live or something and I've had those cool experiences, but then they'll always go, "Hey, can we talk to one of your clients about but they never want to be like, "Hey, can we talk to a client that's happily bought a house and is doing great and loves their decision, right? It's it's a can you can you give me a pre-coming and can't close or someone that regretted their decision?" I'm like, even if that existed, I don't know if they'd want their name published. How do you work with that? Cuz that's so difficult. like when it's published that's the first result in Google for their name for probably the next decade.

[00:09:08]No.

[00:09:09]>> Yeah, that's true. And and yeah, some people I don't I mean it happens very rarely where people don't understand that you know that they're that they want their name suddenly out of the paper which is not an option once >> once you give okay to an interview and it goes in the paper you know that's that's how it goes. You've just got to be careful what you say and what you will. But most people, it's interesting.

[00:09:32]Most people are, you know, they're okay with being in the paper and explaining their situation and how maybe things didn't go as planned. Um, you know, it's a human interest story. People are fascinated with other people's problems and uh especially real estate, I'd say, and housing and how things can go sideways if you're not careful. I mean maybe there's a certain amount of shod and freud even to it you know like watching other people um have misfortune but I think that uh yeah most people are willing to share and uh yeah it's very I can't even think right now of a topic where I couldn't find somebody to talk about their situation whether it's you know people being evicted from the Broadway plan that one's a bit more uh that one's a bit more approachable because they obviously want the policies to changed so that they aren't being evicted and they might be angry with their landlords, right? So, that's a bit different. But, yeah.

[00:10:28]>> What is the what is the Broadway plan just so we all know?

[00:10:32]>> Oh, yeah. Sorry. I always write about it. So, um the Broadway plan is a 500 block area between Clark Drive and Vine in Kitalano and up to 16th to the south and all the way to the water in Vancouver. and it's the city policy to add huge amounts of density and turn it into the second downtown core.

[00:10:53]>> So the the area also happens to contain 25% of the city's housing rental stock.

[00:11:00]So there's a lot of existing affordable apartment buildings in the area as you can imagine around South Granville and Kitalano Mount Pleasant. So there are threetory walkups with uh affordable rentals and those people are being evicted for redevelopment. Now because the market has been you know uh in a downward spiral kind of thing that redevelopment is not happening as quickly as it could have but it will happen. I mean they want to build a lot of towers. Part of it is also um the province's legislation to build around sky train stations and transit hubs. I can't remember what bill that is. Is it bill 46? Anyway, you wherever you have a sky train station or a really active bus hub, uh you can build towers up to I think 18 stories or more and then it sort of descends outwards within like a certain radius. So that's impacting it as well.

[00:11:58]>> Are so they are they essentially going to these 1970s built apartment buildings and saying like we're knocking this down and rebuilding. Is that why people are are being asked to leave?

[00:12:08]>> Yeah, people, investors, developers have purchased these sites and um these signs go up and you know say that this is being reszoned or whatever. And so a lot of them haven't been built yet. They're just sort of sitting there. But once you have a a site that's re for future redevelopment, as you can imagine, uh people are living in fear uh because they know that they're going to be kicked out eventually. And yeah, so there's a lot of that in Vancouver in the Broadway Plan area as it's called >> cuz I would guess too they're probably if they've been there for a while under rent control, they're probably paying significantly lower than even a similar apartment to what they have in terms of just where market rent would be at today, right?

[00:12:49]>> Yeah. No, there is a a policy in place to help them find uh when if they are evicted that the developer has to relocate them to another apartment at the same price, the same amount, the same rent, and then once the building is completed, they have the right first right of refusal to come back in. And um but that is a policy. I think Burnaby tried it and I I'm not sure how it's been working. I think there have been cases where the developer, you know, maybe they went bankrupt or something, the property foreclosed, and so the people were kind of left stranded, like they had nothing to go back to. I think that happened in one case.

[00:13:27]>> So, it's uh yeah, it's a kind of a protection that I don't know how it's going to work out. It's very complicated. It costs the developers a lot of money. I'm not sure how that's going to work >> for this specific area. Is it what they're proposing to be built? Is it more purpose-built rentals? Is that what they're building or are they building sellable condo units as well?

[00:13:50]>> Uh, that's a good question. I think they're mostly I think they're both. I think there's condos and I can think of I mean purpose-built rental has is having its moment, right? It's been very well. I mean, I think it's even done too well from what I'm hearing. The rents have come down a little much. Yeah.

[00:14:05]>> Oh yeah. Like they've overs supplied it because of the MLI select program which almost as you mentioned worked too well that that it's going to be like this boom and then they might go actually we're not building more until these numbers make sense again because they're over supplying the rental market which would be good for a renter, >> you know, lower lower rent prices.

[00:14:26]>> Oh yeah. The Yeah, the vacancy rate I mean it's it's you know it's been it's a great situation for renters. prices have rents have come way down and as we know the um in the secondary rentals the investor condos I mean they're probably looking for renters too right now a lot of people who can't unload their their their condo units that are completing but yeah so rent the rent situation's great for developers not so great I know of a project my story comes out tomorrow on a project in Port Kquitlam uh by west build they had to cancel it because of that very reason rents are too low >> and it was a 2,000 unit uh you know master plan community. They were redeveloping a shopping mall. So yeah, they they're actually cancelling projects now because of that.

[00:15:15]>> So it's not just the condo launches getting cancelled, it's the rental buildings that that's new, right?

[00:15:20]Because we all heard about the condos.

[00:15:23]So are they just going to sit and wait on the land and >> Yeah, they're just going to have to, you know, mothball it. And fortunately for Westbuild, they've got 100 tenants, so they've got revenue coming in. But for some developers who have vacant lots, it's a sort of a different situation.

[00:15:40]They'll have to proceed anyway and just cross their fingers. But I I've heard that rental rents now are below $5 a foot. They used to be I remember downtown one site was at $535 a foot they were renting for. Yeah, it was getting that high, but now they're actually going down below $5 a foot, which makes it very difficult when your construction costs are super high and your development levies are high, right?

[00:16:10]So, they're >> Oh, yeah.

[00:16:11]>> They're needing some breaks. They need, you know, like what Ontario's been getting some help from the federal government.

[00:16:17]>> Well, that's what I was going to ask you. We've uh So, I'm I'm in Toronto.

[00:16:20]Steve's obviously just outside Vancouver. Um the HST removal of new builds, I it's making a difference. like it's not selling out all the developer inventory, but you hear the stories of like the investment money coming in >> buying out, you know, entire buildings, but just individual buyers. Since that announcement, we've seen a massive uptick on people reaching out to us saying, "It didn't used to make sense.

[00:16:43]Now, at least show me my options for the leftover inventory. If it's 10% higher than the resale, I'd consider it cuz it's brand new." But it used to be 20%, 30%. I was like, "Not quite worth it."

[00:16:56]And then there's talk cutting development fees by 50% here in Ontario as well. Do you think BC's watching? Cuz we we normally copy you. You put in the taxes. No, not you, but you know, BC puts in the foreign buyer tax, uh, the vacancy tax, the we really just copy your taxes and then eventually Ontario does it. Do you think this time you guys could look at us go, "Hey, maybe that actually works."

[00:17:22]I know that there are uh groups of marketers and developers currently lobbying for that very thing and I know that there there's pressure being put on the province to do that. I don't know why um there hasn't been like we don't have an HST so there's not that federal tax but we have you know there could be more um more breaks on the GST I think that they could because I think in the Ontario uh program aren't they making it exemp like everyone exempt like it's not just first-time buyers it's investors >> and and that that's the thing that actually moves the needles because now these big corporations can come in and buy like the one that just happened $30 million for they bought out a building near TMU.

[00:18:06]They didn't say the exact building, but I'm sure we could figure it out pretty quickly. And they're saying 500 million in investment into unsold Toronto condos in the next 12 months.

[00:18:17]>> And they specifically said their thesis is nothing will be built. Eventually, prices will go up. And I found this kind of this was such a great marketing term.

[00:18:26]They're like, "We're not flipping. We're warehousing.

[00:18:29]>> We're buying these units. We're going to rent them out and then when the market returns, we'll start selling them off individually, one by one. But it's not a it's not like a 30-year purpose-built rental hold. This is they're buying to make profit on these. And they had said the HST removal made this deal make sense. You didn't get into real estate to become a web developer, but a great website is a must. And sellers, well, they want their listings to shine. Realy Ninja.com builds affordable, beautiful, mobilefriendly real estate websites with lead capture and SEO. And there is no tech skills required. Realy Ninja will migrate your content, handle domain changes, and set up as free during your unlimited trial with no credit card required. I've been using Realy Ninja since 2012. Try Realy Ninja right now for free and sign up using our link realinja.com/tom and you will save 20% off your entire first year when you launch.

[00:19:30]>> Huh, that's interesting. So, this is And who's doing the buying? Are these like big investment companies? Like >> this one was a Montreal company. I'm It starts with a J. I'm blanking on it now when I need the information in my mind.

[00:19:42]That's how my mind works. But um they're they're basically private money. Um, so there's another one called High Art Capital that's actually like government funded here in Ontario. I haven't heard any official of them buying things, but that's where I kind of wanted to go with this uh this topic is we've seen and I've kind of made this statement where this is effectively the the Ontario government and federal because they had to come together to do what we did in Ontario essentially bailing out developers because if they don't do this, they're sitting on unsold inventory, a bunch of them go bankrupt, they can't build anything new. Do you think that's a fair statement?

[00:20:25]>> It is a bailout for sure. I mean, I've I've heard developers here even call it that. You know, people who are more maybe a little more upfront about things. And I think that would be interesting if you tried to bail out condos that are over a million dollars on, you know, on the listed price.

[00:20:41]>> Like, I'm not sure how that would go over, but yeah, for sure. I would call it a bailout. I mean, you know, you're helping the industry get back on its feet. So, and it went sideways and they overleveraged themselves.

[00:20:56]>> Yeah.

[00:20:56]>> I I mean, you're you're helping the industry get out by not paying the government absorbinant amounts of money.

[00:21:02]So, I don't know if I would totally call >> they're not getting any money on the taxes have ever been there in the first place, Tom. I'm not exactly sure. Right.

[00:21:11]Like when you look when you look at the the fees being whatever it is in downtown Vancouver, 28% or 31% or something of the overall cost is just taxes and government fees. Like is that bailing out the developer? Is that bailing out the government? I don't really know.

[00:21:28]>> Yeah, there is that argument. But there's also isn't there some CHC low uh interest financing involved in this plan? That's what I thought. So >> I think that plays into it as well. Um, there's a great quote from CIBC's chief economist Benjamin Ta where he says, "Real estate's the biggest sin in Canada because it's taxed higher than alcohol and cigarettes."

[00:21:51]>> You know, I have often thought, why are they t putting a GST on homes? I mean, it it is uh questionable. I I have never understood why it's there.

[00:22:02]>> Uh yeah, the cost to build new is just so high and it's it's like it's built into the price here, right? So, and I think that's part of the thing. If if it was not in the price and the purchasers actually realized this is now being added on after the fact, I think there would be outrage because it's built in.

[00:22:19]I think they've got away with it for so long because prices were going up and it's like, "Oh, whatever.

[00:22:24]>> I'm going to do well on this. Whatever.

[00:22:26]I'll buy it."

[00:22:27]>> Exactly. But now that things aren't so great. Yeah. So, I I do question that tax and Yeah, I do. I think you're right. There there have been a lot of charges. is I mean somebody has to pay for infrastructure so I'm not not sure how that is going to how that should work but yeah I mean I you know when I say bailout I don't think it's the most evil thing I mean uh we need it's not good when companies or developers or whatever you know go under when their projects fail that's not good for anybody that's not good for the economy so >> no that's construction jobs that's the planners that's that's that's a lot thousands and thousands of jobs that are being impacted and I guess you would argue of all the industries to bail out, the ones that could actually build the future housing we need a good place to start, right? Whether you agree with the prices or not.

[00:23:17]>> Yeah. And especially in Vancouver, I mean, real estate has been making our economy tick for many, many years. We've been depending on it little too much, right? It seems to be we're all involved in the real estate industry. All of us here >> and a lot of people in one way or another.

[00:23:35]So, >> do you think the downturn will help the next 10, 15, 20 years where people are looking not just as real estate as their nest egg that it might open up other avenues or industries? Or do you think we're just going to deja vu this and go right back to where we were in 5 years when things really pick up again?

[00:23:55]>> I think that there is some hope that we might start focusing on the other piece of affordability, which is jobs. You know, I mean, we always talk about bringing house prices down, but what about making more money? Our our incomes have been so stagnant for so long. And uh like I personally know people who've left BC just for that reason. They need to make a decent income. So, they go to Alberta, they go to the US. I mean, I'm hoping, you know, the way Carney is talking that there might be more effort made to stimulate our economy in terms of actually creating jobs and good paying jobs. You know, I haven't I think we all know that especially here in BC, we we it just feels really stagnant and there's all this uncertainty, but we do.

[00:24:42]So, I'm hoping that we focus on affordability from on that side of the coin, >> making people just wealthier. Um, in terms of real estate, I think people are reigning it in. I think we're not going to be so crazy with uh the way things were. I mean, I knew Yeah. I I know of caregivers, average people who were buying pre-sales, who were flipping, you know, condos because it just seemed like a sure thing. And uh, and that is a scary aspect of real estate is that you can get caught out. Um, but I I think people are that I think that behavior has stopped now and I think it'll stop for a while. I think I think that was the kind of wake up we needed perhaps.

[00:25:28]>> Doesn't it feel like a lot of the investors, especially the ones that are take like taking the huge losses right now, have been they're seen as bad people on the internet. Uh like people they they want to see them fail and they they're enjoying seeing the downfall.

[00:25:44]And as you mentioned, like it's it's maybe more of a reality of like that caregiver looked at their options on how to get ahead in life and went, "Well, I live in Vancouver and I could do this. I could do this, but the safest one seems to be buying a condo off plans and flipping it." And maybe that's more of just a sad reality of where we got to.

[00:26:05]>> Oh, yeah. And these are average people.

[00:26:07]These are not sophisticated, you know, investors, speculators. these these are, you know, I heard of a group of engineers who were pooling their money and doing this, right? And they got caught out and now they've lost a lot of money. Um, yeah, this is just what people were doing. I mean, so I think that people do want to see those people fail. I see that on social media a lot. A lot of anger and resentment blaming those people for pushing prices up. Uh, and you know that behavior did push prices up for sure, but >> people made money and they thought it was a sure thing and they weren't doing anything illegal. I mean, it's just that was the system. It was the system was almost designed to encourage that. you know the >> and if you you point out though that like the reason the system is that way or the maybe the result of it is the fact that >> maybe a lot of British Columbians >> also in Toronto >> they didn't feel they had a better option to make money >> by starting businesses by you know increasing their skills by investing in certain ways right they thought like okay if my wages are stagnant and and there's not a lot of productivity happening in this country. There's one thing I think I do know that stands a chance to get me ahead. And so that's obviously going to attract those people, right? So you obviously can't uh blame those people that also want to try and get ahead. I get a little bit frustrated with it because I know how the sales center works and I'm not a big fan of lining up a member of uneducated people who saw your Facebook ads out front and just, you know, jamming them into contracts as fast as you can as you possibly can. Um, but you bring up a very good point. Uh, just the fact that, you know, this is really shedding light on the fact that this is the way that people looked at for so long to get ahead. And now when the market turns, as I'm sure you discovered, you pro I mean if you just if you started in ' 08 or '09 doing real estate, this is actually the second time you've almost seen this cycle, I would assume.

[00:28:18]>> Yeah. Yeah. And I know we'll get out of it, but this is going to cost some people dearly, right? This being caught out. Um and I completely agree. I think that there were average people who just really thought, you know, I can't make much money working in my day job. this is a way to actually save for the future. Uh so yeah, we can't blame people. I mean it did work for a while.

[00:28:45]There was money made, right?

[00:28:48]>> They worked for precon condos for about 15 years till it didn't.

[00:28:51]>> Yeah. For a long time. Yeah.

[00:28:53]>> A lot of people look like they were geniuses for a while until they were.

[00:28:57]>> They did.

[00:28:58]>> Yeah. Completely. And so unfortunately I don't you know those people are kind of framed as greedy. I don't think they're they're the greedy ones. I don't think they're to blame. I think I mean, you know, I think that there was some bad behavior. Obviously, we know that from uh the uh you know, the stuff happening at the casinos. You know, there was stuff happening in Vancouver and the shadow flipping. You remember the shadow flipping, you know, scandal, houses being flipped to somebody else, you know, under the table basically. it. But that was the climate that you know it it that kind of behavior was only was it was natural to be part of become part of that climate. It was so frenzied and heated and money was being made. So it invites bad behavior and we saw that the government didn't react uh f nearly fast enough. It took them years. They they refused. I remember a big part of um my beat was writing about all the foreign money coming in and government refusing to acknowledge that it was even here.

[00:30:06]They refused to keep data. They refused to, you know, just say, "Yeah, there's a lot of money coming from outside. It's driving prices up. People might not be paying their fair share of taxes." And I do believe that it has there's been repercussions from that to this day that we're seeing. I mean, you know, as one person said, the they may have turned the taps off, but the tub is still full.

[00:30:32]I mean, the the wealth is here. I mean, if you look at where I grew up in Dumbar, there's a lot of emptiness.

[00:30:39]There's not a lot of uh kids running in the street and homes being fixed up. It kind of feels like everything just stopped. and it's everyone's on the east side of the city now.

[00:30:51]>> Buying a home is a big deal. So don't let your home inspection cause you more stress. For over 45 years, Carson Dunlop has helped buyers across Canada understand the homes that they are buying with detailed, calm, clear, client first inspections. Carson Dunlop inspectors don't just point out problems. They explain what really matters in a way that will protect you in your home purchase. If you want confidence in your home inspection, top agents and home buyers trust Carson Dunlop. So to check out where they service and to book your inspection, go to carson Dunlop.com right now.

[00:31:28]>> Yeah. No, they it changed the city forever and and not just Vancouver, Metro Vancouver. I mean it was all impacted I believe by foreign wealth combined with uh domestic investor and speculator behavior and yeah the party ended but will it come back? I guess it depends if they lift the foreign buyer ban which people want. Um, even though the same people who said there was no foreign buyer money, they for some reason want the ban lifted, which you know is interesting. Uh, but yeah, I mean, and you know, remember our government invited that money. They they went on and they courted that money.

[00:32:13]They said, "Come here, you know, invest in our city." And that's exactly what happened. So, you can't even blame the foreign buyers. They just did what was what was allowed. And so but it just there was so much focus on that and again not enough focus on creating jobs and uh so when the jobs the incomes stagnated and the housing prices went up and so the situation now is that like the incomes became decoupled from housing. It didn't used to be that way.

[00:32:43]It used to be quite you know very straightforward process. you you save up money, you buy a house. And when that became impossible, that's when it became a crisis. I think for a long time, like in the '9s and, you know, whatever, people were very happy with the situation with the with the money trickling in and and driving prices up and you could sell your house for a small fortune and, you know, and uh and that money is still filtering through if you think about it. A lot of people, I'd say, in their, you know, early 40s are probably getting money from their parents who scored pretty well, right?

[00:33:22]>> Mhm.

[00:33:22]>> So, that money is still here.

[00:33:25]>> Yeah.

[00:33:26]>> What do you think with >> Tom got roasted for that exact thing the other So, you may not know, we bring it up. ad nauseium on this on this uh show, but Tom got roasted one time because he was being interviewed by the press. And what was your quote exactly, Tom?

[00:33:44]>> I was live on CTV and it was the third media I had done that day. So, I was like, I got to say something different than the last two, right? Um I think I might have done the Globe and the Star.

[00:33:54]Like, it was it was a report that came out and they all called that day. And I went on live news and I said, you know, I think a lot of Canadians maybe got wealthy by mistake.

[00:34:03]Um, like they didn't buy their house thinking it was going to do this. And I I still stand by what I said, but it's so funny like whatever opinion you take, the other half that disagrees just jumps on it.

[00:34:15]>> Oh, completely. Completely. Yeah. I don't think there's anything wrong with that statement. That seems true. That's very true, right?

[00:34:22]>> Like, >> yeah. Yeah. If you get if your grandparents or your parents help you with buying something or you inherit money, that's, you know, that's not earned. You just locked out.

[00:34:32]>> Tom, you were just a victim or a success story of probably an editor picking a title, >> which I'm sure K knows all about, >> right? Like how how do like one of the best things we do is we just take the newspaper clipping headlines from the day before Carrie and we just do a video about it and use the exact same headline. Like whoever's writing those headlines definitely knows exactly what they're doing.

[00:34:57]>> Yeah. And people think that journalists write them. We don't write them. So >> people often get upset by headlines that we have nothing to do with.

[00:35:05]>> Yeah.

[00:35:05]>> Yeah. Yeah. Is there just an evil scheming room somewhere in the Globe and Mail of of eight people just writing headlines?

[00:35:14]>> It's a special art writing a headline. I mean, yeah, you've got to get the reader's attention. So, >> I uh I don't want to spend too much time here because I know you don't have too much time left, but Steve told me not to bring it up, but I have to. Can I quickly get your like two-minute thought on AI in your industry? Because every industry it's impacting different and as a journalist who writes for a living, I'm sure you have some thoughts on it.

[00:35:41]>> Is it going to be terrible for your industry? Good. because it will make the people stand out that are actually have thoughts behind what they're writing versus relying on, you know, an LLM to put a report together for them.

[00:35:52]>> Yeah. I mean, so far a AI will get better. Right now, it's not great. I I would say I mean, I think it's in its infancy and the writing is, in my opinion, not great. It's pretty bad. Um, yeah, even using it for research purposes is pretty scary because I find it can get things really wrong. So, I'd say it's learning. It's learning from us basically, right? The more we use it, the more powerful it'll become because it's a two-way process. So, maybe one day. Right now, I'm not threatened by it at all. I don't uh I and you know, there's strict AI rules. You can't use it at the Globe Mail. Like even a photo that's been AI generated in a real estate listing, it has to be clearly identified. So, yeah, I don't know. I mean, I think AI will definitely become more powerful. it will have its uses.

[00:36:42]Writing I don't believe will be one of them. I could be wrong, but I think that writing having a point of view is incredibly subjective and and uh it takes it does take years of it is you know it's knowledge based. You have to have years of knowing who to talk to and and uh a perspective. I I the AI stories that I see generated like say that are taking my stories and >> and putting them together. I have seen that and and they're pretty bad. And uh yeah, I'm not threatened by that. I'm annoyed by it though. I'm seeing my stuff being >> Yeah.

[00:37:21]>> you know, show up in publications I've never heard of, you know, in Dubai or someplace and >> and not giving you credit.

[00:37:29]>> None at all. Yeah.

[00:37:31]If I was a journalist and I used to write with M dashes, I would be so frustrated that I can't write with M dashes anymore because then anyone that sees that assumes it's AI, right? That would be so frustrating to me.

[00:37:42]>> That's right. I always forget I shouldn't use that. I shouldn't use them. But >> Well, some people just assume if there's an M dash, it must be Chat GPT writing it, right?

[00:37:51]>> Yeah. Yeah, that's right. It has a certain style of writing because I've, you know, I've checked it out and it it's very wordy. I find it very wordy.

[00:38:00]newspapers, you're that you're not supposed to write that way. It's the opposite. You have to be very concise and get to the point. So anyway, right now I'm not threatened by it.

[00:38:09]>> I uh I know you said you don't write your headlines, but I'm going to read a headline about a recent report that you put out. I think it was actually in stories.com, which I have nothing to do with by the way, even though it's my last name. Uh so many times be like, "I love your blog." I'm like, "Not me."

[00:38:26]Um, but it said a third of all land buys are now multiplexes. Vancouver zoning that is paying off. So, we've talked about this a few times and had a few kind of experts in this field and it sounds like I would totally agree with that headline. It's paying off where people are buying the land, starting to build these things. But at least from our knowledge is that these weren't pre-sold and now we're going to see if buyers are actually willing to pay them at the prices that people thought when they were building them. What's what's your experience in that side of because that's pretty much the only thing being built right now other than the purpose-built rentals.

[00:39:04]>> Yeah. And I think that market I mean I know that this is sort of the first year. I think we're going to really see how how it works out for those guys. Uh I think that market is I think it's pretty slow. I think I mean I can't I can't imagine it's doing well. I don't know like I'm hearing that builders are having a tough time making the numbers work. Like I mean small builders who buy single lots and build duplexes or multiplexes I I think that's a tough market right now. So I think the multiplex market's going to it's going to take a few years to get going again.

[00:39:38]I think yeah I know they're building them. I hear on the west side I hear complaints that they're really boxy and ugly and there's a lot of that going on.

[00:39:47]>> Are you seeing >> Steve hates the ones in his areas?

[00:39:50]>> I was actually considering taking my iPhone out and just going like around a construction site and like filming them because they're ugly.

[00:39:58]>> Um I don't think there's a buyer for them. Honestly, I don't think people want uh a massive half duplex with a singlecar garage in the front uh where there's no parking, a basement suite, and then a garden home duplex behind that. Like, I just don't think people want to live.

[00:40:16]>> I don't think they want it for $1.5 million, which is what they're trying to sell for, right?

[00:40:21]>> Yeah.

[00:40:21]>> Yeah. Yeah. I'm hearing from say like I was talking to the a planner in Cork Aquilm and he said they're the market for town houses and duplexes is really hot right now. People want ground oriented but they don't want like a multiplex seems really awkward to me and uh you know because you you get a small space you have to spend a lot of money and you're not you know you're not necessarily walking out at ground level.

[00:40:47]I mean and how about parking? I don't I don't understand if you're going to get much in the way of parking. It still seems like if you're going to go for an attached housing type, why not buy a duplex or a rowhouse or a townhouse or something? But >> yeah.

[00:41:01]>> Yeah. And also the infrastructure needed for all those, you know, all that plumbing and everything. They're going to be having to tear up a lot of streets, aren't they? Just to put in all those toilets. And it seems >> and and Vancouver now is electric only.

[00:41:14]There's no natural gas allowed. So, you got to bring in who knows how many amps to the to the lot line. There's so many problems with it. We had a couple of times uh former housing minister Rabbi Kalen on and he his answer was honestly housing's our problem not parking. So >> Oh, okay.

[00:41:32]>> And I was like, "All right."

[00:41:34]Like what do you do with that? I don't know. Like you're you're knowingly creating a new problem. So >> somebody else's problem, I guess. But >> yeah, >> it does seem like a lot of infrastructure is going to be needed to convert every single family or most single family lots to multiplex, right?

[00:41:52]Because they allow what up to six units, I think. I can't remember, but that's that's a lot of units. Yeah. And also there's I, you know, there's the whole idea of the strata corporation that you'd have to form. A lot of people aren't really wellversed in strata law.

[00:42:07]How are how's everybody going to get up to speed on that? That logistically sounds >> the worst part there, Carrie, is I think they're actually trying to make them >> not a proper like they have to have a strata corporation, but then they're not necessarily tying like monthly maintenance fees to them. So like when these properties need roofs in 25 years, Lord help you. But you know, the the infighting that's going to happen amongst the neighbors is going to be absolutely insane.

[00:42:34]>> Yeah. I mean, and yeah, I just don't see how that's going to work out. I could see potential for disaster in that regard, too.

[00:42:42]>> So, I think it's going to be a slow growing housing type. Like, I think we'll see it here and there, but you know, only in I would imagine really dense areas where there's a chance that somebody might want to live in one of them. And but yeah, I can't I don't know. We'll see. The market's just so slow right now. It's, >> you know, except for detached houses.

[00:43:05]Like I do think that it but those seem to be doing absolutely fine in you know unless they're not very desirable but that market seems to be >> fine. So yeah, who was I talking to?

[00:43:18]They said you really got to when people say there's a downturn. They they you can't it's a generalization. It isn't really. We're just really talking about condos I think.

[00:43:28]>> And yeah, >> in in Toronto >> it's the same thing in Toronto.

[00:43:33]>> Yeah. Houses are doing fine. Toronto's doing fine. The condos are slow.

[00:43:38]>> The condos, >> free housing is good.

[00:43:41]>> It was like you took our condo frenzy and went nuts with it. You took it to a whole other level and went way further than we ever did.

[00:43:51]>> You know what what should have been the the point we're all like, wait a second, is uh you know Ryan Sirant, he's the New York realtor that had he was on Million-Dollar Listing and he's got a network show. Um he came to Toronto. He actually spoke at our brokerage and I think he like went out to see like one of these precons. This was in 2122 and he watched people line up around the block and he's like this is the craziest thing I've ever seen. And that came out of the mouth of someone that sells 25 million to $200 million New York pen houses. He's like this is nuts. I've never seen anything like we should have been like wait a second maybe this is a problem.

[00:44:28]>> Yeah. And they're they were all studios, right? Dog crates, I think.

[00:44:33]>> Yeah. Yeah. I mean, like I think that's been overblown a bit. A percentage of them were. Um but but the sad reality is those are the ones the investors love the most because they rented out the best and the ROI was arguably better with those smaller units for the per square foot rent you could get, >> right? Okay. But yeah. Okay. So it really Yeah. It just seemed to happen like because we were doing it for many many years and then suddenly it was like oh now Toronto is going crazy. What's going on over there? So yeah.

[00:45:03]>> Yeah. We copy you. I told you two two years later we copy what you guys do.

[00:45:07]>> Yeah. And so does the federal government. They start, you know, doing foreign buyer bands and stuff. But um yeah, it was interesting. I think now I think developers look at Toronto and think, "Wow, I'm glad I met you guys. At least we didn't go that crazy." Because I you How many unsold units are there in Toronto now? I heard is it 25,000 or something.

[00:45:26]>> Yeah, it's we don't even use the word months of inventory anymore. We call it years of inventory for developer. Uh and it's tough because there's like the built unsold stuff and then the building never got built but they're trying to sell and those are also separate categories. So it it depends on how you look at it. I think that huge number would be like launched but not built yet includes all those ones. So they're they're still >> concept at this point, right? They haven't actually put a shovel in the ground. Um, >> I I know you you got to go soon, but is there a silver lining here?

[00:46:00]>> We we everything we've talked about has kind of been negative. I mean, that's the reality of that's what the market's doing. That's what you write about.

[00:46:07]That's what we talk about. You see a silver lining in this for home insurance of any type, I use Square 1. Go to squareone.ca/the a/thetomtory show to buy your tenant, landlord, or homeowner insurance policy and save $20.

[00:46:22]That's square one.ca/the tomtory show and save 20 bucks.

[00:46:28]>> Yeah, I think that this is just I mean I think this is just a cycle we'll get out of this. My prediction is in a in about two or three years, at least in BC, I think those condos will be absorbed. Uh because they're not building, we'll probably need more and there's going to be more demand. I think that's everybody's saying that and I think that's probably true and I have a feeling in three years we'll be having a very different discussion. Uh I don't know about Toronto. I don't it might take a few more years to absorb all that stock that's sitting there.

[00:46:58]>> It might be five years. Yeah.

[00:47:00]>> Yeah. Maybe five. But I think yeah I think this is just a downturn and we're going to my prediction is people are things are going to change. The economy will pick up. What's happening in the states will change. I mean, they can only take it so far and I have a feeling that he's taken it as far as he can go right now perhaps. You know, you know, I'm talking about Trump. Um, and that'll, you know, I interviewed Benjamin Tall about this and and he believes that he thinks that this year will be slow, but next year will be a year of recovery. And uh, he's pretty good at guessing. you know, >> he was bang on on where Bank of Canada was going to end up like two years ago he made that prediction and they got exactly to where he said.

[00:47:44]>> Yeah. Didn't he say that they're going to start uh increasing the interest rates far too rapidly and and far too many times or something? And that's exactly what they did and he called it.

[00:47:54]So >> So yeah, I would I would you know I bet you Benny Tall is right. I bet you, you know, next year we'll see some recovery and on we go. And then we'll be talking in a few years about how, you know, how the market is too hot and people need to calm down, right?

[00:48:12]>> I have one more question I have to ask before we let you go. Um, so I did a little bit of research on you and it looks like you've written some books. Uh >> you written one called >> Good with Money, >> which I sound like I would appreciate because we're very into that. We've had the wealthy barber on where Tom and I are very very into most of our text messages back and forth are about investing and that sort of thing.

[00:48:34]>> Um Vancouver Vanishes, >> which is another book apparently.

[00:48:40]>> Yeah, >> sorry.

[00:48:41]>> I contributed to that one. I didn't write that. I I contributed a couple chapters. Yeah.

[00:48:46]>> Okay. But the one that came up that I was most interested in was a whitespot cookbook.

[00:48:51]>> Oh yeah, I wrote the history of the white spot for them. Yeah, it was a it wasn't a cookbook so much as a history.

[00:48:56]And yeah, because White Spot, as you know, >> it's a Western Canadian.

[00:49:01]>> So, of course, I I mean, this is the part that got me super interested. The white spot is the culture of restaurants in British Columbia. I asked Tom about it and he's like he had no idea even what it was. He didn't grow up, you know, with the with the drive up, you know, the French fries. And my dad always used to leave one French fry on the side mirror of his pickup truck for the seagulls to come down and get and the seagulls would be in the back of the like it was just a whole thing. So, um, that is some absolutely fantastic uh I was going to call it Canadana, but it's not even. It's Vancouver Anna.

[00:49:36]>> Um, yeah.

[00:49:37]>> So, I just wanted to ask you about that and see what it what was that like? Like what was that was that a while back? I didn't even I didn't look further than the fact that I saw that name and I thought that was amazing.

[00:49:46]>> Yeah. I think that was like 10 years ago. But um when Red Robinson was alive, do you remember Red like the radio guy who interviewed Elvis and everything? He he helped out with that book too, I think. Yeah. He was like a white spot. I think he did ads for Whites Spot and uh working with the toy ghost. Yeah, it was fun. And because you know it was just fun writing about a historical book on a western Canadian institution. And I mean now people I don't even know if they know N now Bailey was behind Whites Spot. He started it right and >> you know he was like didn't have any parents and I think they both died or something and if I remember and he started this chicken shack and you know way back and uh yeah grew it into a huge chain restaurant and uh yeah still not in Toronto. Hey I never got out there.

[00:50:36]>> No but they the rest of the country now has triple O's. So they get the the really crappy version of White Spot.

[00:50:43]>> It's like a It's like a gas station drive-thru, not so much in Toronto, but it markets like kind of outside Toronto is where I've seen the triple O's.

[00:50:52]>> Okay. Yeah, that probably it requires less real estate, right? So it's probably more, you know, it the math works out better just to >> Yeah.

[00:51:04]Tom, if you like I don't know what the equivalent is, but like if your family went to church on Sundays, White Spots where half the church showed up to like >> have lunch afterwards. It's just it's just such a staple. Uh it's where all the old guys go at 6:00 a.m. before their wives are up for coffee in the morning. Like that's Yeah, >> that that was the white spot. So >> yeah, that was fun. Yeah, I'm a true Vancouverite. So >> Gary, can I ask you one final question and then we'll let you go on with your day. What's the relationship with Michael Bubé because I know you kind of were interviewing him early before he found massive success. How did that start and do you guys stay in touch and can you tell him I'm sorry about Vancouver hockey team and that we took your first overall pick?

[00:51:49]>> Okay. Well, we met because he used to so I was a music critic at the Vancouver Sun and he used to call me up and ask me to write about him. He was struggling.

[00:51:58]He was young. And >> I think he won the P& talent show. That was all he had done so far. And uh so I, you know, I had a column on an entertainment column. So I started writing about this young singer and I'd go out and see him and he would attract uh mostly the Italian community in in Burnaby because, you know, and they loved him. He had lots of groupies and uh and yeah and then I just sort of kept writing about him and he got to know um you know the Malrronis and they helped him introduced him to David Foster and then David Foster got him down in LA and put him in a rental apartment and was introducing him to everybody and Michael would call me from there and say you know tell me what's happening and how he was struggling. He was still playing, you know, bar mitzvah and birthday parties and whatever. He he would do anything. He worked really really hard.

[00:52:48]He almost gave up and became a broadcaster because he it just wasn't, you know, he was doing covers like Sinatra stuff. But he finally, you know, David Foster helped him a lot and Paula played a role too, but uh on his first album, but uh yeah, he finally broke and then uh he became this famous guy, which is really, you know, weird. But I was the first one to ever write about him.

[00:53:13]So, uh, and then I wrote his memoir and then Yeah. And then he Yeah, I don't see him as much now because he's got a big family and he's, you know, he's a family guy and uh, but yeah, I could call him up. I still, you know, I could text him, see how he's doing. But yeah, I'm not into hockey, so I know he's completely into hockey.

[00:53:34]>> Oh, he would have been devastated about the draft lottery results. That's what I thought about. Anyone in Vancouver, I was like, and he's a huge fan.

[00:53:41]Oh yeah. Yeah. He stayed true to his roots. Hey, he never >> I mean living in Burnaby and everything.

[00:53:47]>> Yeah.

[00:53:48]>> I think you know what's so cool about that story is like he was someone that regardless of industry believed in himself went out of his way to try to contact the person that writes about music. Like that's that's cool to me.

[00:53:59]And then he did it. He he actually did he got >> he's worldwide famous. Like >> Oh yeah. Did you ever see him play at Babaloo when he was down on Granville Street? He'd play I can't remember the night, but he had a standing gig every week.

[00:54:14]>> Yeah. With uh uh with our friend Jason Manning who uh who's a radio guy. But yeah, they would do that. It was really fun. Those were fun days. They had a they had a lot of fun. Uh >> one of the first ever gifts uh my wife bought me uh Carrie was tickets to his Deer Lake Park performance way back in the day. I want to say it's 20. I don't even know. 200 I don't know six maybe seven something like that >> and um to be able to see somebody like that in that venue actually we even did our wedding song our wedding first dance to one of his songs so like yeah such a massive part of Canad I remember when I got that first Michael Bublé album and I was like I can't believe this guy lives in Vancouver. Yeah. And I remember when I wrote was working on the memoir flying out to, you know, his he was on tour in the States and I flew out to Grand Rapids, Michigan and I joined him on the tour bus and I just remember thinking, God, this is so crazy. Like you've gone from this kid who won the P& talent show to, you know, these arenas. like we we would go into an arena and people would be screaming and backstage there would be you know all sorts of people wanting to meet him and and suddenly he became just this yeah he it was just such a production you know all the sound people just this whole all these trucks of people making these shows happen and just the whole process it became so big money and yeah it was it's been really interesting watching his career I mean I'm used to it now but and then when he was dating Emily Blunt that was a a whole thing, too.

[00:55:49]>> Oh, I didn't know that, actually. Oh, >> yeah. Yeah, he dated her for can't remember how long that went on. She was very nice. I met her once and she was very sweet. Yeah. Before Louis Santa, but yeah. Yeah, it's been fun to watch.

[00:56:03]It's It's uh Yeah, he's But he stayed a Vancouver boy or a Burnaby boy, so >> you know, and his dad's a was a fisherman and big in the fishing union, so yeah, >> that's so cool. It's >> It is cool. Yeah. So, that's how that came about. Yeah.

[00:56:20]>> What else was cool is you hanging out with us for almost an hour. This was This was so fun. I I really appreciate your perspective and thanks for doing this and I'm so sorry you had to interview Steve. I hope that wasn't the worst day of your career, >> but um I know I know obviously still the weekly column in the Globe. Where else can people find uh find your writing?

[00:56:42]>> Just the Globe right now. Yeah, it's uh just yeah, that weekly column it's uh it's a constant coming up with a story every week is enough for me right now like and I'll you know I'll probably still do books but yeah right now the globe is is all I'm doing and uh keeping on top of that. So this has been fun.

[00:57:00]Thanks you guys.

[00:57:01]>> Thank you so much for coming on. Yeah, this is great. Everyone go check out uh Car's work if you haven't already. And uh I'm going to bring you back just to do a full hour on uh Michael Bubé and all the other things you you did in the music side of your career. We got to go into that.

[00:57:13]>> Sure.

[00:57:14]>> She's going to send a a text to him and be like, "Hey, there's this podcast you got to go on, Michael." And here you go.

[00:57:19]It's called the Tom.

[00:57:19]>> Tell him to come on and talk hockey with us. Yeah.

[00:57:22]>> Sure. He'd probably like that, actually.

[00:57:26]>> Awesome. Thank you so much.

[00:57:28]>> Thank you, Carrie.

[00:57:29]>> You're very welcome. Thanks you guys.

[00:57:31]>> All right. Bye.

[00:57:31]>> See you.

[00:57:32]>> Wow, she was awesome. We should interview more people like her. That was great.

[00:57:38]>> Yeah. Good, good, >> good uh guest booking. Steve, you did a good job.

[00:57:43]>> I did and she found me. So, what does that tell you?

[00:57:47]>> So, how it was because the video you did about you selling your investment condo that kind of blew up on YouTube that that's how she found you.

[00:57:54]>> Yep. And she reached out and she said, "We're seeing this trend uh and I want to talk to you about it." And then I actually like my picture, my YouTube thumbnail was uh she ran it in the in the like I had friends um some of the guys from RRI sent me like they actually get the paper still and they were like, "Holy crap, you're in the paper."

[00:58:16]>> And I was like, "Oh, >> did you get a physical copy?"

[00:58:19]>> No, I didn't. I wouldn't even know where to get one.

[00:58:22]>> Well, I'm sure like Carrie can can point us in the right direction. I mean, it's from a month ago now, but still. Anyway, yeah, I never thought we would have talked Whites Spot cookbooks and uh Michael Boué and all that, but um yeah, a little Vancouver focused, I guess you would say. But yeah, I you know, we're we're trying hard, everybody here, to get um some non-real estate agents on. So, I just wanted to see a different perspective of somebody who's not in the market, but who views the market and then sees reports on what they say >> or what they see. So, I thought it would be fun. It was fun.

[00:58:58]>> It it it was interesting to me that a lot of her uh projections or outlook on on market activity kind of lined up with exactly what we've been saying. Like, you know, freehold homes are doing okay.

[00:59:13]You know, your market's a little bit different cuz you're in the BBS versus just Vancouver where I guess she's doing, you know, but but >> condos are hurting. The precon market, we know what's going on there. the fact that she looks at what's going on with HST and here in Ontario as a bit of a developer bailout. Like it kind of lines up at least. Um where I guess I guess it kind of validates a little bit where it's like we have these opinions cuz we're seeing it. But I also recognize that people that listen to us or people that watch us are like, "Well, yeah, but you guys make money on real estate. So like of course you think the market's going to rebound." It's nice to see that someone that yes is makes her living reporting on real estate but doesn't make money from the buying and selling that has similar viewpoints on kind of where the market's at and where it might go and that this is a downturn. But you know a term I've said many times on the show now is like everything is temporary >> in life and and so is this and this will change and then we'll be complaining about how fast home prices are going up again. No, I don't think it's going to be like it was before, but it'll get to a point we're like, what the hell, you know? So, >> yeah. Yeah.

[01:00:19]>> And I was going to bring it up, but I didn't. So, I'm going to mark it down for next episode. I'm seeing a trend out there, particularly with investor units at the moment. So, maybe that'll be a cliffhanger Tom story for next week, possibly. Or we'll forget about it.

[01:00:36]I think that these investor condos that were bought 90% by investors and the ones that were actually built, okay?

[01:00:46]Like they're built, they're rented out, there would be a very small percentage chance I'd ever recommend any of my clients ever buying them.

[01:00:56]>> Not because the location is not good, not because I don't like the developer, not because I even have an issue with the fact that they're rented out.

[01:01:04]It's who owns them. And most of these buildings that were unless people bought them cash and just took the loss and don't care.

[01:01:14]A lot of people that own in these buildings are losing money every single month on these units. And when they launch and there's 45 units for rent and you just have to and you're like, "Holy crap.

[01:01:27]Okay, I'm paying internal occupancy, but it's going to close soon. My mortgage kicks in. I need a renter in there yesterday. this person is not as qualified as maybe I'd want, but I need to get them in there so I don't have another month of vacancy. So, I think all those factors adding up. I I I think I'm going to make a video on this. Like all the reasons why I don't like these condos, not but it's not because like I think they're going to become ghettos or the glass is going to fall off the building. It's more just because of the situations the owners are in and I don't know how long a lot of them can wait it out based on real conversations we're having.

[01:02:00]>> You know what I hate about them? I hate sliding glass doors as bedrooms.

[01:02:06]>> Yeah, that became a >> That's what I hate about them.

[01:02:08]>> It's garbage. It's not a second bedroom.

[01:02:12]It's not even a first bedroom. If it's sliding glass like, oh, look, I can open up all of my sliding glasses and that's now what was two separate bedrooms in my living room and everything is just one big orgy room. Like, I don't even understand what it like, it's so stupid.

[01:02:29]I can't believe we got sliding doors.

[01:02:32]What What does that save you? How thick is a wall, an interior wall? 4 in 6 in like >> Well, I Well, yeah. I mean, there's there's that part of the door opening and closing. I also think it was like a legality thing where if you're not going to have a window in the bedroom, you have to do the sliding glass before you frost it because >> natural light has to come through for it to be be considered a bedroom. So, like that plus >> that's fine, but that doesn't help you.

[01:02:58]Like that's their like how do we get out of this bad fire code violation that we're about to have where >> I mean there got to be a reason that they didn't just do like pocket style doors like the reason they did these sliding ones that don't actually fully close.

[01:03:15]>> Yeah.

[01:03:15]>> Okay. Like you could have done something up top with a glass feature or something. But my point is, if it doesn't have a closet and it doesn't have a window, it's not a bedroom and we're selling them as bedrooms and it's [ __ ] and we should stop it.

[01:03:29]>> You know, >> never should have been allowed in the first place.

[01:03:31]>> We should also stop this week's episode of the show. Thank you everybody for watching and listening and we will see you next week. Bye.

[01:03:39]>> Love you. Bye.

[01:03:46]>> The Tom Show.

[01:03:57]The Tom's story show the Tom story show.

[01:04:19]The Tom story Oh, the story show.

[01:04:44]>> We put this at the end of an episode.

[01:04:46]It'll be like one of those like Easter eggs like after the Is it Marvel? Who does it? Who does those ones?

[01:04:50]>> Marvel. Yeah. I mean, they all >> the original Masters of the Universe had one of those where at the very end after the credits, Skeletor comes back out of the lava.

[01:05:00]>> All right. So, >> 1980 with Dolph. Dolph.

[01:05:03]>> We just wrapped up filming a podcast and I got a notification at my front door.

[01:05:10]Steve has sent me something.

[01:05:13]>> So, I'm going to open it. You >> just keep a razor blade in your desk.

[01:05:17]>> You can never be uh too safe here.

[01:05:20]Oh my god. What? What company shipped this? This is like a child. Uh, >> no. I taped it up. You're also opening it from the bottom.

[01:05:30]>> Oh, you tap.

[01:05:31]>> The top is where the label is.

[01:05:35]>> That's the bottom that's reinforced. You could have done it from Oh, >> whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Look at this.

[01:05:47]>> You got to get your eyes out of the There you go.

[01:05:49]>> Tom Story.

[01:05:51]>> Look at that. Holy moly. Hey, these are actually pretty nice.

[01:05:57]>> Yeah, I do only things topnotch.

[01:06:00]>> So, that is >> There you go. That is legit Canadian leather made in British Columbia >> for the logo attached to only the world's finest Bangladeshi hats.

[01:06:18]Look at that one.

[01:06:20]>> Did you order some of these for yourself, too, or am I just going to hoard them here in Toronto?

[01:06:25]>> Uh, I may have massive amounts of these.

[01:06:29]>> Can we give these away to people that listen to the show?

[01:06:32]>> I may have shipped out 15 today >> to past guests.

[01:06:37]>> To all past guests.

[01:06:40]>> Look at this one. Lots of different color options here. I will say I pro I think I like this blue here like is very close to my my brand blue for my team.

[01:06:53]Oh my god.

[01:06:58]>> Limited. Look at this.

[01:07:00]>> No. Turn it around you dingling.

[01:07:02]>> I'm a I'm a backwards hat.

[01:07:04]>> Look at that. Oh my goodness. Steve.

[01:07:07]>> Beautiful.

[01:07:09]Wow. You did good.

[01:07:12]>> You booked a good guest. There you go.

[01:07:13]>> And you got some nice hats. I think I like the black and blue ones. These all these other ones are a little funky for me, but >> uh they're very more truckery.

[01:07:27]They're very more uh flannel shirt guy wearing.

[01:07:30]>> Yeah. Well, it' be good. We'll send uh we'll send fo one.

[01:07:36]>> Well, we'll stop recording.

[01:07:38]>> Him and Nick like flannel.

[01:07:39]>> All right, I'll stop recording. These are sweet.

[01:07:41]>> Okay.