Changes to affordable housing strategy may be approved this year
Posted April 15, 2015 7:42 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The Canadian Real Estate Association says sales activity increased last month in nearly two-thirds of the local markets it tracks, including Calgary and Edmonton.
It says the number of home sales processed by CREA’s members was up 4.1 per cent last month compared with February and the Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto markets were the country’s only two hot spots.
We know buying or renting a home in Metro Vancouver can seem almost impossible, given the sky-high prices that come with them and the regional district is looking at updating its eight-year-old strategy to try and make it easier to find affordable housing.
Senior housing planner, Margaret Eberle, says it’s time to make the original plan more current. That strategy, adds Eberle, is focused on the supply of rental housing and the new plan builds on that.
“So this one has a bit of a new focus on linking housing affordability with good transit locations.”
The other is supporting, retaining, and expanding cooperative and non-profit housing.
“There have been some changes in the world since 2007 and in the housing market, so this strategy is hopefully going to address the new realities, which is continuing increases in house prices and continuing low vacancy rates,” she adds.
The Housing Committee is looking at the strategy today.
Eberle says more consultation will need to be done and she’s hoping the plan will be approved later this year.
