Challenges of Affordable Housing

Challenges to Housing A Home For Affordability Everyone

Vancouver: A Desirable City…Globally, Vancouver is a highlydesirable city – green, clean, safe,with a robust economy and an arrayof recreational and cultural pursuits.The demand for housing inVancouver has increased housingprices.

…With Limited Housing Options Incomes ranging from between $73,000 and $137,000 are now required to purchase a condo in the City. To purchase single family homes, even higher incomes are required.

Facing the ChallengesThe City recognizes affordability impacts the ability for the homeless and peoplewith low-incomes as well as people with more moderate incomes to find a homein Vancouver.The Mayor’s Task Force on Housing Affordability is seeking innovative newways to create more housing options for these residents with lower and moderateincomes — household incomes between $21,500 and $86,500.The City of Vancouver’s Housing and Homelessness Strategy will continue toseek solutions for ending homelessness and lower income residents who will notfind housing in the housing market as well as secure rental housing andhomeownership initiatives for more moderate incomes.

Challenge: 1,500 More Rental Units per YearMore than 131,000 Vancouver households rent.Vancouverites are renting for longer periods of time– young households are continuing to rent forlonger and may consider renting long-term as theyremain outpriced from the homeownership market.Renting a two-bedroom in a market rentalapartment building remains the most affordableoption for students and young families compared toowning or renting a condo.Demand forecasts show a need for many as15,000 additional rental units by 2021 toaccommodate these growing trends. The challenge is: What does it take to create up to 1,500 rental units in Vancouver each year?

Challenge: Keeping Pace with Rental DemandA growing city with more people renting longerwill result in a higher demand for rental housing.High demand for rental accommodation resultsin fewer vacancies, which in turn puts upwardpressure on the cost of renting.The cost of renting continues to grow close tothe rate of inflation in Vancouver, impactingthose with fixed and lower incomes such asseniors, students and people with disabilities. The challenge is: How can we keep pace with demand to ensure there is limited upward pressure on rental rates?

Challenge: Long-term Rental SecurityAlmost 30,000 secure market rental unitswere created in the 1960s, decliningevery decade to a low of 6,000 in the2000s.High land costs and competition withcondo developers make secure marketrental housing unfeasible.Most new rental housing has beensecondary suites (typically affordablerents) and rented condo apartments (less The challenge is: Whatsecurity of tenure). incentives are needed for private developers and investors to commit to building new secure market rental apartments?

Challenge: Affordable Rental for Lower-Income FamiliesVery little non-market rental housing forlower and moderate income familieshas been built in recent decades due tolimited senior government funding.Increasingly, the City, non-profit andprivate sector are partnering to providesocial housing. Projects are challengingdue to the absence of seniorgovernment funding and take severalyears to complete. The challenge is: How can the City and its partners meet the housing needs of lower income singles, couples and families?

Challenge: Price Increase Faster Than IncomeVancouver consistently ranks ashaving the highest housing pricesamong Canadian cities.Since the 1970’s, real householdincomes increased by 9% while houseprices increased by as much as 280%for an eastside condo.There is also the risk that interest ratesmay rise, making mortgages moreexpensive. The challenge is: How do we encourage a range of housing types for ownership – smaller, smarter units, shared equity, and other innovative approaches?

1,500 more Keeping Long-termrental units pace with rentalevery year demand security Facing the challenges: Ready, Set, Solve Affordable Prices rental for increase lower faster than income incomes families

Find out morevancouver.ca/housing

http://vancouver.ca	366
http://dev.vancouver.ca	38
http://former.vancouver.ca	27
http://internal.vancouver.ca	14
http://translate.googleusercontent.com	1

Challenges of Affordable Housing

by City of Vancouver on May 06, 2012

Accessibility

Categories

Upload Details

Usage Rights

5 Embeds 446

Statistics

Challenges of Affordable Housing Presentation Transcript