M- and MarKoz brought up this topic – Vancouver seems to be seriously lacking in affordable family housing.
There are lots of 1 and 2 bedroom apartments, but not much available for 3-4 bedrooms until you go to houses. M- suggest the city requires more large units to be built to provide future homes for Vancouver families:
CoV could require condo developers to include a much larger percentage of 2-bed and 3-bed units in the towers that they’re approving, and require some of those units to have a more family-sized square footage. Maybe in exchange for higher density, to make it less controversial.
It won’t help much of anything today, but it will prevent today’s towers from becoming tomorrow’s ghettos.
My wife and I used to have an 800 sq.ft condo. It was too small for the two of us. Then we got a 1000 sq.ft apartment, and it was enough space for the two of us (we would have liked more, but it was good enough).
Then we had a kid.
The 1000 sq.ft unit slowly became too small for our family, so we’ve upgraded to a house (rental, of course).
We keep an eye on the condo/house markets, and there’s not much selection of 3-bed units out there, until you get into houses.
MarKoz adds:
When I went condo hunting I could find nothing similar. You would have marginal master bedrooms and second bedrooms the size of a closet. The master bathroom was usually huge at the cost of a smaller living room etc. All had fireplaces – a waste of precious wall space in a small unit. Stainless and granite with barely enough counter space to lay a pizza box. Closets were minimal as was out of suite storage.
I moved on to townhouses. 1200 square feet spread over 3 floors is worse than 800 square feet on one floor. So much space given over to stairs and landings.
Who wants these places? Apparently everyone but me. They sure are selling. In the US they have plenty of 3 bedroom units but I guess those don’t attract specuvestors like 565 sq ft one bedrooms.
Hey! Welcome back!
Its that time of the week again, Friday free-for-all time!
Time to do our end of the week news roundup and open topic discussion thread for the weekend.
-we need to add links here.
So what are you seeing out there? Post your news links, thoughts and anecdotes here and have an excellent weekend!
Ex-kitsie pointed out this story:
Justice Minister Susan Anton has introduced Bill 17 (Miscellaneous Amendment Act, 2014) which includes a proposed amendment to Section 23 of the Real Estate Development Marketing Act (REDMA).
Ex-kitsie explains:
This is the legislation that governs the marketing of real estate by developers to consumers. The amendment would make a purchase agreement enforceable against a purchaser where the developer’s disclosure agreement included misrepresentation of a material fact and the developer was not aware of the misrepresentation at the time the agreement was entered into. This amendment would remove the ability of the purchaser to terminate or renegotiate the agreement upon discovery of the misrepresentation. So… the developer can include unsubstantiated inaccuracies while still enforcing the purchase agreement against the purchaser who relied upon the misrepresentation. Of course, we all know developers would never lie.
We’re not sure if this is a big deal or not, here’s a link to the amendment, you’ll have to scroll down about half way to find the relevant section. Any comments on whether this is a dramatic change to the Real Estate Development Marketing Act or just a minor adjustment?
Like a local onion?
Many Franks pointed out this article over at syruptrap.ca:
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson to be town down, replaced with condos
VANCOUVER (The News Desk) — After a long fight with developers, City Hall announced yesterday that Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson will be demolished to make way for a condo development.
“Gregor is such a recognizable part of this city. We are all very sad to see him go and regret that we couldn’t do more to save him,” said City Hall human resources manager Deborah Swift as she watched construction crews approach the mayor from across the street.
According to documents from Henriquez Parters, the developer, Robertson will be rezoned as “mixed-use residential.” If the application is approved by council, the two-term mayor will be rebuilt as a 16-storey residential tower, with commercial space at street level.
Read the full article here.
Yessireee, it’s Friday again!
That means it Friday Free-for-all time, our regular end of the week news round up and open topic discussion thread.
Here are a few recent links to kick off the chat:
-We’re the 39th best place to live
-Don’t worry about debt
-Flaherty’s ‘dangerous meddling’?
-Canadian banks at risk
-Did Carney damage economy?
-Bye bye Fanne and Freddie
-
So what are you seeing out there? Post your news links, thoughts and anecdotes here and have a great weekend!
Is there a ‘good’ and a ‘bad’ kind of density?
Is density for its own sake an improvement to a city?
Gordon Clark has an opinion piece over at the Vancouver Province about density and it’s effect on people in the city.
Perhaps I’d feel better about all the growth if someone could point to some positives. But where are all the natural history museums, art galleries and other great cultural features common to other large cities? Despite the growth, we’re not acquiring any of the cultural attributes of large cities that at least provide some trade-off to a hectic life in an urban jungle. Let’s face it, we’re an artistic wasteland compared with truly great cities. How are all those condo towers blocking the spectacular views of the North Shore mountains and the ocean making us more interesting?
What do you think? Are community and culture getting shafted in the race to density and growth or are long term Vancouverites just grouchy and looking at the past through rose coloured glasses?
Hey, looky here!
It’s Friday o’clock!
That means it’s time for our regular end of the week news roundup and open topic discussion thread for the weekend. Friday Free-for-all time!
Here are a few recent links to kick off the chat:
-22 Months since the peak
-34% of Canadians ready for bid war
-A good investment?
-Good luck with that
-Fake CMHC on twitter
-Maybe a bit too much debt
-Ping Pong Pricing Protocol
-The sunshine coast in 2014
-Richer yet poorer?!?
-
So what are you seeing out there? Post you news links, thoughts and anecdotes here and have an excellent weekend!
Are you aware of the Vancouver Realtor Hunger Index?
Across the city you’ll see used house salespeople who are having trouble making their german auto lease payments – a decline in the glory days of Vancouver real estate affects us all.
That lost commission translates into a deferred payment to a local auto dealer, who might not buy that extra big ad in the local newspaper. Will that editor buy his ounce of weed this month? Will that grow op have the money to expand?
These are the big issues to consider.
Please.
If you’re thinking about buying a house or apartment in Vancouver BC or know somebody who is, your commission can make all the difference.
Just jump in and do it. Now is the time.
The Vancouver Realtor Hunger Index for February 2014 stands at 62%.*
And while thats nowhere near the worst that we’ve seen it, it’s a hell of a lot worse that the halcyon days of 2004 where for two solid months every used house salesperson in the city was fed.
You can help. Buy a house or condo in Vancouver BC and lets keep this economy rolling.
*A big thanks to RFM for the data.
The worlds biggest bond fund seems to think there’s some sort of an issue with the Canadian real estate market.
Ed Devlin sees a decline somewhere in the range of 10-20 percent for home prices across the nation.
“And if you get that kind of 10-, 20-per-cent real correction, that should alleviate some of the stresses,” he added in an interview with our real estate reporter.
“And so that’s kind of what what we’re seeing. It will start this year, it could be bumpy along the way.”
To be clear, Mr. Devlin is not forecasting a sudden crash, but he joins a chorus of voices, from Deutsche Bank to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, in raising red flags.
Deutsche Bank, for example, believes the Canadian housing market is the most overvalued in the world.
Read the full article here.
Whoa! Is it Friday already?
We almost forgot.
But if it’s Friday, that means it’s time for our Friday Free-for-all!
This is our regular end of the week news roundup and open topic discussion thread for the weekend. Here are a few recent links to kick off the chat:
-CMHC to increase insurance premiums
-A little math
-Housing and debt, don’t worry!
-Boom expected to cool, crash
-Statscan rearview: RE makes us richer
-Inflation rises in January
-Party over for high end housing?
-Canadian dream a ‘myth’
-
So what are you seeing out there? Post your news links, thoughts and anecdotes here and have an excellent weekend!
