Soaring housing prices that show no sign of slowing is the topic among British Columbians, and yet Premier Christy Clark has barely acknowledged it.
While the B.C. government took in more than a billion dollars in property transfer taxes last year — it is the housing crisis that may spell the end for the Liberals in the next election.
Skyrocketing prices have officially dashed many young people’s dreams of owning a single family home in Metro Vancouver or the Fraser Valley. It is changing the landscape, creating a larger community of haves and have-nots, making the gap between the rich and the working poor much wider.
Long gone are dreams of raising a family in a detached home, with a backyard, three bedrooms and an attached garage.
This has long been the reality for most Europeans, however it has not been that way here until now.
Housing prices have jumped more than 37 per cent since last year and continue to increase with every ‘sold’ sign that goes up.
New buyers can, with a lot of savings, own a nice townhouse in the suburbs, where they will commute to work with the hundreds of thousands of others on jammed highways.
B.C.’s housing crisis began more than a year ago, yet it is only now that the provincial government has decided to actually look into it, tracking how much of the crisis is due to foreign ownership. Prior to this spring, people purchasing homes in B.C. didn’t have to indicate whether they are Canadian citizens.
We are all pretty sure that foreign ownership plays a role, but whether or not it is the main driving factor may not be known.
Foreign buyers believe our housing stock is a safe place to put their money. But a lot of the demand is coming from local people jumping on the bandwagon, caught up in the excitement and momentum of the boom. That could be seen in a recent camp-out for luxury condos in Willoughby.
A lot isn’t known and there are many variables. But what is known is the housing crisis could potentially devastate young families who have taken on $700,000 mortgages.
Should interest rates jump even a few per cent, those home owners could be in a lot of trouble.
From everything we can see, it doesn’t appear Canada will face the same fate as our American cousins, but the Bank of Canada cautioned that a sharp correction could trigger a mass recession.
The trickle-down effect from this housing crisis is hurting the most vulnerable, pushing out renters, while homeowners cash in.
Rent has gone up, and now low-income housing is even more in demand as many complexes are being turned into high-priced condos for eager buyers. It doesn’t seem that far-fetched to say homelessness is set to increase even more. We hear of local millennials looking to other provinces for more affordable options.
After all, how far are people willing to live from their work?
At what point do people sacrifice quality of life just to own a home?
Commuting two hours-plus each day is, well, life-sucking. And yet our almost all-day rush hour says that is what we are doing.
We are in the midst of one of the biggest building booms we’ve seen in B.C. and with that comes a big population boom.
Roads like 200 Street, 208 Street and the Langley Bypass, are already showing they can’t handle the growing volume of cars.
Perhaps the next big markets will be places like Agassiz and Deroche, given that Chilliwack housing is already red hot.
Premier Clark has dismissed the outcry from the public for more than a year now, and it is this disinterest in what British Columbians really care about that could cost her seat as the leader of this province.
A whopping 80 per cent of us feel the provincial government is not doing enough to reign in the out-of-control housing market, according to a recent poll.
Another poll showed that people are currently more concerned with the housing crisis than health care and the rest of the economy.
Voters may be getting as red hot as the housing market.
If the NDP were to put forward a real contender, Clark would have to rethink her head-in-the-sand strategy.
