Better Dwelling

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Better Dwelling
Better Dwelling Logo.png
Better Dwelling Logo
Type of site
 Business News
Available inEnglish
Founded2017
Country of originCanada
OwnerBetter Dwelling Inc.
URLbetterdwelling.com
ISSN2371-8528

Better Dwelling is a Vancouver-based daily news publisher and financial media company. It operates Canada’s largest independent housing news outlet.[1]

History[]

Better Dwelling was founded in 2016 as a real estate blog that used artificial intelligence to assist with its data journalism. It was co-founded by Stephen Punwasi, whose background is in cognitive computing and machine learning.[2]

In 2017, the company began a daily news syndication service carried by mainstream news publishers such as Business Insider, HuffPost,[3] and Maclean's.[4]

Better Dwelling has played a prominent role in the debate of the Canadian property bubble and housing crisis.[5] The organization and its staff have collaborated on research with Canada’s national housing agency[6] and Transparency International Canada.[7]

In 2021, Better Dwelling was an innocent bystander to a controversy involving Big Tech’s censorship of criticism of China and Optimum Publishing International. The outlet had published an “innocuous” clip of an interview with Optimum author and Global News reporter Sam Cooper, discussing his coverage of the Cullen Commission. [8] Shortly after publishing the video clip, the outlet’s staff was removed from managing its Facebook page. The page was later restored with Facebook stating it was an error.[9]

Research[]

Money Laundering and Property[]

The outlet has played a key role in exposing money laundering in Canadian real estate. Notable contributions involve publishing a leaked Canadian intelligence report that alleges transnational criminals have used housing Vancouver, Canada for laundering since the1990s[10] and an analysis with Transparency International on billions in opaque ownership in Toronto.[11]

One co-founder is thanked by name for "his market knowledge" in a report commissioned by the Government of British Columbia and conducted by former RCMP Commissioner Peter German. However it's unclear to what extent he was involved in the report, since he is not credited as a consultant.[12]

The organization's staff testified how money laundering impacts real estate prices at the Cullen Commission, BC's Inquiry Into Money Laundering.[13]

Vacant Home Epidemic[]

A research report from the outlet showed the extent of vacant housing in global cities, helping to coin the term "vacant home epidemic" and argues a tax could fix the problem.[14] This report sparked a debate on whether owning additional homes that aren't used full-time is a contributor to inequality and should be subject to a vacant home tax.[15] Governments such as the European Union[16] and the City of Toronto[17] have cited the research in their consideration of taxes, while homeowners argue this would unfairly penalize homeowners of vacation homes.

References[]

  1. ^ Maddeaux, Sabrina (2021-10-28). "Sabrina Maddeaux: Facebook, Twitter are silencing China critics and it is corrosive to our democracy". National Post. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  2. ^ "Virtual world making more inroads in property marketing". Business in Vancouver. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  3. ^ "Better Dwelling". HuffPost. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
  4. ^ Wong, Daniel (2018-02-16). "Canadian real estate sales just fell the most since 2008. Here's why". Macleans.ca. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
  5. ^ "Vancouver housing market is not going to crash". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
  6. ^ "CMHC Housing Finance Symposium 2017 Speakers" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-11-03.
  7. ^ "Our Work". Transparency International Canada. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  8. ^ Maddeaux, Sabrina (2021-10-28). "Sabrina Maddeaux: Facebook, Twitter are silencing China critics and it is corrosive to our democracy". National Post. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  9. ^ "FIRST READING: Censorship is chic again!". torontosun. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  10. ^ Greene, Tiffany. "Chinese billionaires, gangsters, and spies have been influencing Canadian real estate for ages". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  11. ^ "Opacity: Why Criminals Love Canadian Real Estate (And How to Fix It)" (PDF). Transparency International. Toronto: Transparency International Canada: 60. 2019.
  12. ^ German, QC, PhD, Peter (March 31, 2019). "DIRTY MONEY – PART 2: Turning the Tide - An Independent Review of Money Laundering in B.C. Real Estate, Luxury Vehicle Sales & Horse Racing" (PDF). Government of British Columbia. Peter German & Associates Inc. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-05-10. Retrieved November 18, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ "Overview Report: Lower Mainland Housing Prices" (PDF). Government of BC. Cullen Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in BC. 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-04-15.
  14. ^ Collins, Chuck (June 2018). "Discouraging High-End Vacant Properties" (PDF). Inequality.org. Institute For Policy Studies. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-11-14.
  15. ^ "Speculative Vacancies" (PDF). Prosper Australia. April 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-06-08. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  16. ^ Centre, European Commission-Joint Research. "The Future of Cities". European Commission. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  17. ^ KPMG, City of Toronto (November 2020). "A Review of Issues to be Considered for the Taxation of Vacant Homes in Toronto" (PDF). City of Toronto. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-11-18.

External Links[]

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