20 Ottawa Street North | 26, 6, 6 fl | Proposed

[tomh009]

Am I to believe that an industry that could give me between $19,488,000 (12%) and $32,480,000 (20%) in profit per project (such as this one) is not a caricature of a "greedy developer"? 

Presumably that's 12% to 20% of the total sales revenue. But it takes several years to break ground, then years to build, and a few more years before you can completely detach from a new building, and risks lurk at every step. Compare that to any random consumer electronics company named after a fruit, which ships the product to consumers in a box, and then moves on to the next customer. At a net profit margin of 26%.

I personally don't see developers any more "greedy" than other businesses. And they are far from a monopoly, so they cannot dictate prices, another developer can easily undercut others.

Where do you think all of your favourite local developers found the money to buy up even more local property and grace our skyline with their spectacular projects?

Banks. Or a stock market offering.

All that said, I have previously proposed a development fee to fund affordable housing.