Record new home construction needed to meet surge of new immigrants in B.C.
To tackle a country-wide skilled worker shortage, the federal government is increasing immigration targets. That means more permanent residents will be settling in B.C. in the coming years, and there’s concern the province’s housing supply isn’t keeping up.
A new BC Real Estate Association report found a record 43,000 new homes need to be built in each of the next five years to meet demand from hundreds of thousands of newcomers. That’s a 25 per cent increase over historical norms.
“We are at around 40,000 currently, so we would have to go up even from levels we are seeing right now, which are pretty close to a record, and then sustain it through a period where the economy might be in a downturn,” said BCREA chief economist Brendon Ogmundson.
While he thinks the immigration increase is good policy, he doesn’t believe the issue of where to house the new arrivals has been addressed.
“We need to plan for it, and that’s the one thing we never do properly. We make policy that affects housing demand without ever really thinking about the supply side,” said Ogmundson.
The provincial government is also concerned the federal immigration strategy doesn’t include a plan for where new permanent residents are going to live.
“I have spoken to the federal minister multiple times urging them to consider tying their immigration numbers to both housing starts and also affordable housing. We know it’s going to be critically important to build that stock for the amount of people that are coming,” said Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon.
Jamie Howard, the CEO of Woodbridge Homes, says developers want to help meet the demand from new immigrants and existing residents, but they need municipalities to get on board with greater density and shorter construction times.
“You’ve got the federal government controlling immigration targets and then you have municipal governments who are adjudicating land rights and saying how much density can go where and how quickly it can be approved,” said Howard. ”What we really need is the three levels of government to be cooperating and coordinating and trying to find ways to reduce bureaucratic processes.”
He’d also like to see less pushback from the public on new multi-family developments in what have traditionally been single-family home neighborhoods.
“If we can have the broader community coming into the construction process more constructively and cooperatively, then that would be massively helpful,” said Howard, adding, “NIMBYism is a real thing, and it’s a big problem in development.”
Ogmundson says if the target of 43,000 new homes per year isn’t met, the price of existing real estate will continue go up.
“Keep in mind we need to build a record amount of housing in the next five years just to get affordability back to where it was like right now,” he said. “To improve affordability, we would need to build a lot more.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Ex-tabloid publisher testifies he scooped up possibly damaging tales to shield his old friend Trump
As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye.
Here's why provinces aren't following Saskatchewan's lead on the carbon tax home heating fight
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye make it four NFL drafts with quarterbacks going 1-3
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.