Greater Vancouver housing report for August, 2007
According to the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board's August 2007 report on house prices and sale activities, the demand for housing continue to be positive. The average sale prices for apartments, townhouses and detached homes are:
Apartments: $367,944
Townhouses: $446,577
Detach homes: $726,067
With the average Greater Vancouver household income at $63,300, home buyers are squeezed out of the home ownership market. Or, they are forced to buy the most affordable apartments as shelters for their families.
There is a market disconnect with "affordability" and "average prices" in other major Canadian Cities. If you take a look at the various charts as presented by Brian Ripley here, you'll find that Vancouver home owners are bearing a much heavier cost in home ownership.
Unaffordable Housing in Greater Vancouver
The Vancouver average detached homes costs twice as much as that in Calgary and Edmonton and Toronto detached home prices are only around 40% of that in Vancouver. Ottawa and Montreal prices are at about one-third the price in Vancouver, have the most affordable detached homes in the country. In Richmond, house prices are out of reach by the average family.
For years Greater Vancouver home prices are the highest in Canada. The high prices for home in Greater Vancouver area are mainly due to lack of land parcels for housing developments. The constraint on land supply for housing is one of the most critical factor affecting home prices.
Restrictive Land Policy
The conservation of agriculture lands for farming as mandated by BC's Agriculture Land Reserve Board is in conflict with urban land use and housing priority for its population. The high cost of housing is a economically detrimental to the long term growth of the province. Urban town planners are urging for better utilization of land resources. Farming for agriculture lands bordering the city centers is not the best and highest use of these land parcels.
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