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24 B C B U S I N E S S . C A J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 5 REAL ESTATE the other. Within 20 years, he hopes to have five paid-off properties. But for now, he's roosting on his two eggs, prepared to do no more than break even on whatever he rents out because the real money is not in rent, it's in the Lower Mainland's house prices that seem to go up no matter what disasters erupt. "In Vancouver, real estate is more about capital appreciation," Sharma says in his precise I've studied this and here is my con- clusion way. In today's polarized world, people like Sharma—along with anyone else who invests in residential real estate—run the risk of being vilified. Many investors won't even admit to close friends that they have a rented-out condo or small portfolio of townhouses and multiplexes, let alone to reporters. The stories that appear with stunning regularity about bad actors at various rungs in the investor ladder don't help to create a flattering picture. Mom-and-pop landlords who seem to have barely a nod- ding acquaintance with tenancy law get- ting into squabbles with their renters over extra children or pets or appliance repairs. Owners of apartments from the West End to Chilliwack who contrive to evict reason- able tenants, claiming that non-existent relatives need to move in so they can boost rents. Bigger operators who rack up stun- ning numbers of disputes at the province's residential tenancy branch in what seems like some kind of civil war with the people paying off their mortgages. In spite of that, the underground enthusiasm for real-estate investing con- tinues to percolate in B.C. Sharma's life plan is emblematic of the way that people around the world—people who are far from being a bunch of characters on Succession but rich enough to have money to invest beyond a main house and retirement sav- ings—have added residential real estate to the ways they try to grow what money they have. In other eras, it might have been different schemes: inventing some- thing; running a small hobby business on the side (lawn-mowing, car repair); writing romance novels; throwing big money on the stock market or tulips or casino chips. Now, residential real estate has come to seem like one of the safer bets for those looking to break free of the bonds of stag- nant middle-to-upper-class incomes and get beyond maximum contributions to their RRSPs. Unlike the stock market, real estate is very tangible. And unlike running a small side business that may or may not have a product that the public is clamour- ing for (car windshield wipers, maybe; Trump Steaks, no), the housing market very obviously has a seemingly never-end- ing lineup of desperate and crazed consum- ers. Vacancy rates remain stuck near zero. Housing prices continue to go up, creating a bigger and bigger pool of higher-income renters every year. As well, the financial and legal system has evolved to include small-time investors. In the 1940s, when Canada's renters—then more than 50 percent of the population compared to today's 33 percent—needed a place to live, they rented either apart- ments that were wholly owned by someone wealthy enough to buy an entire building or single-family houses that, again, had likely been bought by someone with a fair amount of capital for that era. "The barriers to entry have been reduced," says Bob Dugan, chief economist for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corpo- ration. "When condos came in, it lessened the amount of skin you needed to put in. The REITs (real estate investment trusts) are like that too—they provide more access." But that new reliance on small inves- tors and their capital can lead to its own In today's polarized world, people like Sharma—along with anyone else who invests in residential real estate— run the risk of being vilified. Many investors won't even admit to close friends that they have a rented-out condo or small portfolio of townhouses and multiplexes, let alone to reporters. S h u t t e r s t o c k

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