Politicians, planners need to do something about inventory problem
Ashley Ford
Province
Bob Rennie calls for action. Photograph by : Nick Procaylo, The Province
Housing affordability in the Lower Mainland has gone, says Bob Rennie of Rennie Marketing Systems.
And there is an urgent need for politicians and planners to sit down and do something about it, he told the Urban Development Institute yesterday.
“Paying lip-service to it won’t work any more and sustainability and affordability must be looked at,” he said. “We already have an inventory problem, we can’t find land and there are just not enough sites.”
Rennie’s comments came on the same day the Royal Bank released a report on housing affordability showing that B.C. and Alberta buyers face the highest price hurdles in owning a home.
The report found that the cost of owning a home — including financing, utilities and property taxes — rose faster than incomes for the second consecutive quarter.
“The economies of B.C. and Alberta are driving most of that affordability deterioration,” said RBC economist Derek Holt, noting house prices rose 17 to 20 per cent in B.C. from a year earlier, while Alberta saw a 25-per-cent hike.
Rennie said downtown waterfront property now costs $1,500 a square foot to develop compared to $550 four years ago.
Non-waterfront land downtown is now $650 a square foot, up from $305.
Rennie said city officials need to consider increased densities and bonuses for developers to create more affordable housing.
He said no one predicted construction costs would go where they have and “I don’t necessarily believe they have settled.”
Despite his affordability concerns, Rennie believes the market is very stable and will remain that way.
He said the rest of the development world is in “awe of us” and international investors are keen to buy B.C. properties.
“We are already a world-class city and the world is coming here,” he added.
© The Vancouver Province 2006