AS FREDERICTON CREATES MORE HOUSING THAN EVER, AFFORDABILITY IS A CHALLENGE
The City of Fredericton says it has surpassed most previous records for development in the province’s capital. It issued $257 million in building permits for 2022, an additional $70 million from the previous year. The construction has led to 938 new housing units. “Relatively, we’re meeting the demand and we’re seeing development happen in the right places in those designated growth areas,” said Frederick VanRooyen, a planner with the City of Fredericton. VanRooyen said the residential...
read moreWEEK OF JANUARY 23 2023 NEWSREEL WITH KERRY CHANDLER
A recent study from Canada Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) studied several factors that may be contributing to housing affordability issues in major housing markets across Canada. The study looked at municipal approval processes, resulting timelines for approvals, and government charges levied by municipalities. You’ll be surprised to see what municipalities charge and the time they...
read moreB.C. AFFORDABLE HOUSING ADVOCATES WELCOME $500 FUNDING, BUT SAY MORE COULD BE DONE
A non-profit organization dedicated to helping affordable rental housing tenants on Vancouver Island says B.C.’s new rental protection fund is “welcome news,” but not necessarily the kind of help they wanted to see. The provincial government announced Thursday that it is planning to create a $500-million fund that will enable non-profits to buy older rental buildings in the province, rather than having those buildings sold to developers. The Rental Protection Fund, billed as...
read morePREMIER DAVID EBY ANNOUNCES $500 MILLION FUND TO HELP NON-PROFITS BUY RENTAL BUILDINGS
Non-profit housing providers, who have been asking for more money to address the housing affordability crisis, can soon tap into a $500 million fund to help purchase rental buildings slated for redevelopment and protect renters from eviction. Critics, however, say half-a-billion dollars is a “drop in the bucket” when it comes to acquiring multi-unit residential properties. The Rental Protection Fund, announced Thursday by B.C. Premier David Eby and Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon, will prevent...
read moreWHAT DOES OUR $78-BILLION HOUSING PROGRAM REALLY FIX?
How can Canada possibly spend five years and tens of billions to fix the housing crisis, but still have no idea if it’s working? That’s the question raised in a recent report by the federal auditor general. Canada’s government is in the process of spending $78.5 billion — about $5,000 per family — to fix housing. But it can’t show that money is having any demonstrably positive effect — not in reaching the goal of cutting homelessness in half and not in reaching the goal of supplying hundreds...
read moreLIVING WITH ROOMMATES IS NO LONGER JUST FOR STUDENTS OR 20-SOMETHINGS. CANADIANS’ STRAINED FINANCES ARE TO BLAME
Luanna Bowen began looking for an East Vancouver apartment in July. But her budget of $1,200, utilities included, left her battling many other renters also searching for affordable housing. “Prices were going up, and it was emotionally exhausting getting rejected constantly,” says the 32-year-old film crew worker. By September, Ms. Bowen decided to broaden her search and look for a rental with roommates. She cut her budget to $900 a month and, by October, she landed a room in East Vancouver....
read moreCANADIANS CONTINUE TO FLEE REAL ESTATE BUBBLES TO MORE AFFORDABLE PROVINCES
Canadians are still dumping expensive provinces for, well, less expensive ones. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) released its latest interprovincial migration estimates for Q3 2022. The biggest losers of residents to other provinces were BC and Ontario, the former printing its first net outflows in nearly a decade. The biggest winners were Alberta and Nova Scotia, which managed to attract a significant inflow from other provinces. Net Interprovincial Migration Net interprovincial migration is the...
read moreB.C. PREMIER ADMITS HOUSING FUNDING BACKLOGS, PLEDGES TO GET MONEY OUT THE DOOR
Premier David Eby acknowledges there’s a backlog in government funding for affordable housing and promises to get more money out the door to start construction of desperately needed subsidized units. “I know that (B.C. Housing) got five applications for new affordable housing from non-profit organizations for every one that we’ve been able to fund,” Eby told Postmedia News during a year-end interview on Tuesday. “The demand is massive out there for affordable housing.” Eby was responding to...
read moreTORONTO CITY COUNCIL VOTES TO REPORT BACK ON MAYOR TORY’S ‘AGGRESSIVE’ NEW HOUSING PLAN AMID CRISIS
Toronto councillors have voted to approve Mayor John Tory’s request for a report back on his 2023 housing action plan — something he calls an “aggressive approach to address the acute affordability and housing crises” facing the city. Councillors voted 23-3 in favour of the item with amendments. Tory also asked council to approve a bylaw to better protect those living in multi-tenant housing by legalizing the practice in all parts of the city. The bylaw, previously deferred,...
read moreTHE REAL SOURCE OF THE B.C. HOUSING CRISIS: GOVERNMENTS, TAXES AND BUREAUCRACY
Housing supply and affordability is one of the leading issues across Canada, and the situation is particularly dire in Vancouver. We all recognize this, particularly developers, who for the most part are trying to be part of the solution. Here’s the foundation of the problem. With increasing development cost charges, property taxes, municipal charges, utility costs and GST on new rental buildings, developers typically spend at least 15 per cent to 20 per cent of our total project budget on...
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