Steve Nguyen runs two Airbnb units in a downtown Victoria apartment building, including one decorated and paying homage to the television show, “Friends”. He says he’s still reeling from the news he soon won’t be able to operate it as a short-term rental — since he doesn’t live there.
“This news is a huge, huge shock,” he said Tuesday. “The equity that I’ve worked so hard for in these units has vanished in a day.”
Ravi Kahlon, B.C.’s housing minister, who tabled the new law Monday that imposes a principal residence requirement, said the rules don’t come into play for a few months.
“(The legislation) doesn’t come in until May 1, so individuals do have some time whether they want to rent them out for long term or whether they want to sell them,” said Kahlon Tuesday.
Nguyen says he makes enough by renting out his unit on Airbnb to cover its mortgage — even with interest rates spiking — but because the unit is so small (less than 400 square feet), it’s not attractive for long-term rentals, and wouldn’t fetch enough to cover his mortgage, which is more than $3,000 a month. “You cannot make the numbers work – you’re better off putting your money in a GIC.”
He says, as a result, he’s forced to sell the loft unit, but plans to list it for $150,000 less than he bought it for a year ago — its value walloped because in a matter of months, it will no longer be useable in most cases as an Airbnb,
“The revenue stream dictates the value,” he said, noting that revenue stream will soon dry up for short-term rentals – which had been earning him between $80 and $225 per night.
The new rules — aimed at creating more long-term rentals — are also causing concern in the hospitality industry. Ian Tostenson is the head of the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association, He worries there won’t be enough hotel rooms to cover demand in Victoria and Vancouver, once many short-term rentals disappear.
“In the worst case scenario. it would mean fewer poeople — fewer tourists — coming to British Columbia, in the big regions because they can’t get accommodation,” said Tostenson.
The government acknowledges potential tourism impacts of the proposed legislation, but calls it a balancing act — noting the spillover effect of the housing crisis on tourism itself.
“Restaurants can’t find employees because they can’t afford to live in a community,” said Kahlon.
Paul Nursey with Destination Greater Victoria, says the city’s tourism industry supports the new short-term rental rules.
“People own two, four, six, 20, 40, 60 units — and that takes away from housing for our residents—including for our workers,” said Nursey.
But Nguyen – who has already laid off the staff he employees to keep the units clean — calls himself and his former staff collateral damage — as the province tries desperately to create more homes.
CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.
It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.
The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.
The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.
“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”
Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.
BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.
The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.
BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.
It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.
The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”
Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. trimmed its financial guidance as it reported its second-quarter revenue fell compared with a year ago.
The luxury clothing company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 29 totalled $267.8 million, down from $281.1 million in the same quarter last year.
Net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $5.4 million or six cents per diluted share, up from $3.9 million or four cents per diluted share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned five cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
In its outlook, Canada Goose says it now expects total revenue for its full financial year to show a low-single-digit percentage decrease to low-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit increase.
It also says it now expects its adjusted net income per diluted share to show a mid-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a percentage increase in the mid-teens.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
