Diverging views emerge on Vancouver home construction outlook
A Vancouver real estate services firm is pushing back against the widely held view that not enough homes are being built in Metro Vancouver.
In a report it releases semi-annually, Rennie highlights that construction began on 33,000 homes locally last year – which was a record for the region.
Still, the firm acknowledges not all municipalities in Metro Vancouver are building enough, given record immigration levels.
“The onus is then on cities, towns, villages, communities, to accommodate that growth, with infrastructure, transportation, hospitals and housing,” said Rennie’s head economist, Ryan Berlin. “And the reality is – I don’t think that municipalities – they’ve kind of had a myopic view, and sort of like, we’re going to go it alone, we’re going to do things our way, and now I think that mindset is changing a little bit.”
But not everybody feels rosy about the home construction outlook.
Earlier this month, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation forecast a slowdown in building, pointing to high costs and financing constraints.
“The other thing I would say is there is significant risk of reduced construction in 2024 and going forward,” said economist Tom Davidoff with the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business. “Interest rates have not come down. My understanding is very challenged economically to make rental projects work and I would imagine presale activity is pretty slow as well.”
While many economists expect interest rates to drop, uncertainty could leave some homebuilders and potential buyers waiting on the sidelines.
“It’s simple math,” said RE/MAX Canada president Christopher Alexander. “When developers don’t have enough people to buy their projects, they don’t build them. When rates started to rise, people stopped buying, and the more they rose, the less purchasers on top of that. So it’s been a compound effect.”
The Rennie report also takes a look at the drop off in first-time buyers in recent years.
“The proportion of first-time homebuyers in all home sales in British Columbia, in Metro Vancouver, has fallen by about two-thirds today versus where that activity was before the pandemic,” said Berlin.
As for improving the situation for those trying to get into the market, some in the real estate space want the feds to take action in this week’s budget.
“Incentivize as much development of both affordable housing, purpose-built rentals as we can, and find a way to speed up development time so that we can bring more product to the marketplace,” Alexander said, when asked about his federal budget hopes.
In terms of specific incentives, Alexander is calling for tax breaks or credits, saying certain projects are not profitable in the current climate.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Baby and grandparents killed in wrong-way crash involving police on Ontario's Highway 401
An infant and the child's grandparents – aged 55 and 60 – were all killed when a vehicle being pursued by police in the wrong direction on Highway 401 in Whitby, Ont. caused a crash involving at least six vehicles, the Special Investigations Unit says. The driver of the suspect vehicle also died.
Judge holds Trump in contempt, fines him US$9,000 and raises threat of jail in hush money trial
Donald Trump was held in contempt of court Tuesday and fined US$9,000 for repeatedly violating a gag order that barred him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to his New York hush money case. If he does it again, the judge warned, he could be jailed.
McGill requests 'police assistance' over pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University says it has 'requested police assistance' about the pro-Palestinian encampment on its lower field.
New cancer treatment approved, but not everyone thinks it's what's best for patients
A new cancer treatment recently approved in Canada promises to cut treatment time down to just minutes, but experts have differing opinions on whether it's what's best for patients.
Air Canada walks back new seat selection policy change after backlash
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
Province boots mayor and council in small northern Ont. town out of office
An ongoing municipal strike, court battles and revolt by half of council has prompted the province to oust the mayor and council in Black River-Matheson.
This is how many dentists have actually signed up for Canada's new free dental program
A new Canadian dental care program is offering the hope of free care to millions, but while 1.7 million people have signed up for the plan, only about 5,000 dentists have done the same.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 13-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a east London suburb early Tuesday, killing a 13-year-old boy and injuring four others, authorities said.
Police searching for 'armed man' in Dartmouth, N.S., residents asked to shelter in place
Residents in the area of Gaston Road in Dartmouth, N.S., are being asked to shelter in place as police search for an armed suspect.