BC ministers’ real estate windfall

By Steve RandallFont size :

Some members of British Columbia’s provincial government are reaping the rewards of the growing real estate market while opposed to measures that would cut prices according to a report by CTV News. A review of public records found that ministers have added $2.3 million to their personal wealth so far in 2016; one who owns four properties has seen a $765,000 increase. UBC professor Paul Kershaw told the broadcaster that officials should balance their own wealth gains with the plight of those that cannot afford to live in Vancouver.

The government has said that measures to ease housing affordability would not directly affect house prices. “We can’t start with the presumption that housing price increases are a good thing. Housing prices that have outpaced incomes is remarkably bad news. It’s turned Vancouver into a generational ghost town,” the professor said. The CTV study found that 96 per cent of BC MLA’s own property compared to 70 per cent of Canadians.

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