HomesNow says not right now

For many living in the Lower Mainland, finding an affordable home or rental property can be extremely challenging, although the reasons why Vancouver’s housing market is so expensive are not exactly clear. To rectify this, a new report out of SFU is examining the factors that impede home ownership, while providing actionable recommendations.

The report, entitled “The HomesNow Initiative: Affordable Home Ownership in Greater Vancouver,” was produced by HomesNow, an initiative of Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue, and involved a coalition of community and business partners, along with Peter Ladner, the former Vancouver city councilor and director of Metro Vancouver.

HomesNow originated in Sept. 2011 when organizers invited architects, citizens, non‐profit developers, and politicians, to attend a conference and workshop on affordable housing. The weekend culminated in a collaborative project design competition, where attendees worked together to create site proposals for affordable home ownership. The recommendations and support gained from this conference led to the creation of the HomesNow volunteer initiative.

Research has shown that the average residential price in the region is twice than that of the national average, while vacancy rates have remained extremely low and most new rental stock is composed of “individually leased condominiums without long term security of tenure.” To combat these issues and more, HomesNow hoped to find suitable sites for new housing in the region and partner with a local government in order to rezone the properties and construct more affordable homes.

Although HomesNow was unable to meet its goal of producing affordable housing for purchase by moderate income households, the initiative did reveal many challenges that prevent new affordable homeownership options. These include a lack of municipal government commitment, a need for innovation, and “a strong voice from the public in support of affordable housing.”

Despite this, HomesNow is pleased with the success stories of several affordable housing case studies; namely, the Verdant, 60 W. Cordova, and Whistler Employee Housing developments. Whistler Housing has created almost 900 homes for affordable ownership by its local workforce with policy innovations such an affordable housing levy and limits to inflation that have kept prices as low as 50 per cent of market value.

HomesNow has decided to spend the next year consulting with Metro Vancouver’s housing committee, BC Housing and potentially the minister of housing before continuing the process of creating affordable housing spaces. In the meantime, the initiative is encouraging organizations and advocacy groups to engage the public and create momentum for an affordable housing movement in Vancouver.