LOL both houses have approx same listing price. One has ~2x Property tax bill. One city has industry besides Realtors, developers and speculators flipping houses to each other.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1912-38th-Ave-E-Seattle-WA-98112/2112783023_zpid/ Property Taxes = $19,000+
https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/23757965/4388-w-11th-avenue-vancouver Property Taxes = $10,500
Assessed value of Vangroovy house https://www.bcassessment.ca//Property/Info/RDAwMDBCQVpLNg== "Why work when my house gains $180k annually; tax free!" Every investor knows that $2mil for a 33'x122' lot is a good value.
"vAnCoUvEr Is A gLoBaL cItY" Heres a $3mil listing in suburb of STL Missouri with 2x Property Tax as above mentioned VanRE house. Again; hodling costs of Canadian Real Estate is comically low. Don't like that example heres another one . Go to Butt-Fuck Alabama for ~$3.5mil for $7500 property taxes.
Also; you're neighbours in North Van/Squampton with new wonder-fibre über-Enduro rig and special series Euro Lux brand vehicle likely bought it on credit.
Heads should roll when people who earn income through labour learn how much of what they pay in Income Tax goes towards subsidizing Millionaire Home Owners in Vancouver and Greater Toronto Area. Canada is about growing non-productive assets by any means possible (See former MP Adam Vaughan for reference) whilst taxing labour is one of the most regressive things we can do. Unfortunately we've spent decades electing the same two parties over and over to do just that. Luckily The Boomers who've benefited the most from such tax policy will have largely died off and not have to deal with the outcome. The rest of us will face massive shortages in skilled workers country wide.
Property Transfer Tax is there to keep Annual Property Tax rates low. Again certain demographic benefit from this much more than anyone else. Also the no capital gains on primary residence benefits that same group of peoples. And it's not difficult to game the system. People say housing is an investment yet is sure isn't taxed as such. Why are my meme stocks, NFTs and shit coins taxed as investment income; yet a person that gains $2mil in a decade thru housing is tax free on it?
Anyway, if you believe you're a Real Estate investing guru and not another victim of shitty government policy welp thats on you.