There was a report issued by UBC’s Sauder School of Business a couple of weeks back that suggests red tape is the biggest culprit in high housing cost. While recognizing that speculation is definitely a contributor to the high cost of housing in Metro Vancouver, massive cost additions in the process that are incurred by developers are ultimately passed on to buyers.
Author Dr. James Taney notes these costs can add an additional $600,000 to the price for a new build which can often take as long as two years of hoop jumping to get approval.
“The factors driving that are really much more tied to the success of the economy, to population growth and to high-interest rates, and have very little to do with foreign buyers and speculation,” Taney states.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), whose mission is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world, has 37 member countries of which Canada is one. The OECD notes that density in Vancouver ranks 140th amongst all cities participating. Vancouver has 5,491 people per square kilometre while Metro Vancouver has a mere 490 per square kilometre.
If you have ever been to or lived in Paris you will know that it is a beautiful and highly walkable and liveable city that seems less dense than its 21,498 people per square kilometre, four times the density of Vancouver. This stark contrast exists because vast amounts of real estate in Vancouver proper are zoned single family.
There will be a lot of pressure on Vancouver’s government to change zoning in corridors that have traditionally been protected by vocal single family communities. Despite the rally against change, Cambie and Oak streets are morphing quickly and it probably won’t be long until Granville and Arbutus come into play.
In the future (maybe sooner than later), NIMBY bastions of Shaughnessy, Kerrisdale and Dunbar will see zoning for laneway housing and, God forbid, townhomes in strategic pockets close to transportation hubs.
What does the future look like here? You can see some change occurring in North Delta on 72nd Avenue and elsewhere and there will likely be continued rezoning applications along Scott Road in light of the Delta Rise success.
Ladner is looking great with several pockets of townhomes that, to me, lend an added dose of appeal to an already charming community.
In Tsawwassen there are a couple of major developments underway yet there has been little change along major corridors and around our retail and commercial areas.
It would be nice to keep our community intact so that generations of families could live together in the same place. Our next municipal government will have the chance to become a leader for the change needed to battle soaring housing prices with more supply. Rental housing is hard to come by here as well.
Two of the three slates thus far have identified housing as a concern. Team Delta has noted that affordable housing is an issue while Achieving for Delta has stated it wants to offer more housing choice in town centres without compromising agricultural land.
In his study Taney asks: “What is the downside of significantly increasing supply through changes in zoning, regulation and the rate of permitting?”
Indeed, my daughter asks the same question.
Mike Schneider is founder of Project Pickle and likes to write about growing, cooking and eating food. He is a Jamie Oliver Food Revolution ambassador.
