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No, actually. It was a straw man argument. But, higher structures on Vancouver Island would increase the available space to live downtown. You're dancing around this point and saying it's irrelevant because other factors are more important. I disagree. And your statements to the effect that...

Yes. But I have already isolated this by using the lease listing data from MLS. There's no regulation on what price you can ask for a new tenant.

Why?

No. Actually, picking a condo in one of the most expensive neighborhoods of downtown is exactly what I should not do. Condos filled with middle-income earners are exactly where I should be looking to get an idea of affordability since they make up the vast majority of the market.

What basic level is that? You people keep making broad, dismissive, statements without any actual deconstruction of what you think is fundamentally wrong in my logic. Oh, and you threw up a straw man argument to boot! Good show! I have no problem with people disagreeing with me: "hey brockm, I...

Well, at least I'm making an argument. People like yourself have merely dismissed my arguments out of hand, suggested I'm "misguided', and "misled". Wait, look! You're doing the same thing right now. I know, I know, my argument is so "out there" that it doesn't even dignify a proper...

I happen to know a lot about real estate. In turns out that I have a background in real estate capital markets and, as it turns out, in economics. And in fact, in <a href="#post628272">this post</a>, I make specific mention of the nature of speculation driving real estate prices. But anyways...

In one fell swoop, you have managed to completely undo my economic worldview and/or possibly exposed a conflict of interest at the heart of my argument... wait, no you haven't.

Well, from a simplistic assessment, what you're saying seems to make sense. But I think the problem is a little bit more deep than that. Investment typically leads to falling prices. In almost all industries. Agriculture, electronics, textiles, etc. More investment means more productive...

I am well aware of the Houston model. And while I think it makes a great point about how urban centers can and do develop organically, my main criticism is the limiting of density in favor of historical preservation.

I would probably say more like Edward Glaeser. Your position trumps property rights. It trumps market forces. It trumps having affordable cities. I think the scales need to be tilted, here. Since people like yourself demand we restrict property rights, restrict market forces and also impose...

My problem with historical protectionism is that it is based on emotion romantic notions. Historical protectionism can certainly lead to the preservation of beautiful architecture, but it also leads to more expensive real estate for everyone as density increases. The living museums that make...

+1

"To you and brockm...yes, it is architectural sacrilege. And message-board-posting amateurs like you were factored out of the equation more than half a decade ago. Sorry." Cool. But tell me: what is it like to be an elitist prick? Is it comfortable? How are the mornings?

I was walking down Bay St past NPS last night and was thinking the same thing. They just look like absolute crap. Period. Full stop.

Well, it's only the romance languages and cultures that get offended. If you go to Scandinavia, you don't see that. They have more or less accepted that English is de facto lingua franca. Germans too My German colleagues have all talked to me about this, and whenever they're anywhere but...

So let me get this straight: you are surprised that the privately-owned, profit-driven park is maintained in a top-notch, spic and span condition and the government-run, bureaucrat laden park is in disrepair? And the worst thing for you that could possibly happen is that Ontario Place could...

Gentrification can indeed have these effects. But, on balance, there are a bunch of things which make living in city centers unaffordable for low income people today. The first is government real estate purchase subsidies. These come in the form of construction, renovation and other tax...

Except, of course, I have every right to disrespect the police. And I do. I not only endorse the videotaping of police, I actively encourage it. There is a general move afoot in North America, pushed by pro-police interests to place serious limits on the videotaping of police. Even in...

Here you go: http://topforeignstocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Canada-Banks-Risk.jpg