BC Attorney General and Housing Minister, David Eby thinks municipalities aren’t doing a good job of getting affordable houses and rental properties to the market.

With an estimated 25,000 new residents moving here each year, ramping up housing supply is an urgent priority.

Municipalities, however, continue to be bogged down with red tape and lengthy timelines according to Eby. He’s considering intervening with legislation this fall to streamline zoning approvals and provide greater density in single family neighbourhoods. 

The Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM), representing BC’s 162 municipalities, disagrees with Minister Eby’s analysis.

In a new report, Building BC: Housing completions and population growth, 2016-2021, the UBCM finds:

• more housing has been built in BC over the past three years than in any three years in the past 20 years; and
• growth in the number of BC dwellings has closely tracked population growth. From 2016 to 2021, BC’s population grew by 352,824 (7.6% growth) while the number of dwellings grew by 148,277 (7.2% growth).

The UBCM asserts that the problem of getting more supply to market is rooted in:

• the development sector’s current trade and supply chain shortages;
• rural and northern areas shortage of qualified professionals and developers;
• provincial approval processes and referrals contributing to delays in housing; and
• federal government’s inaction on policies to support greater housing attainability, including monetary policy, tax policy, investments in housing supply, and other means.

The UBCM also has data which finds:

• local governments have been approving housing at a record pace; and
• have been working in good faith with the province to streamline development approvals. 

Action to address speculation

• More than 20% of new home purchases across Canada are made by investors which contribute to higher prices.
• Some communities in BC are seeing substantial growth in the flipping of pre-sale condos (assignments). Langley saw a 724 per cent increase over the past three years; Abbotsford saw a 161 per cent increase.
• Institutional investors such as Real Estate Investment Trusts are buying rental buildings and raising rents.

Rental housing strategy

Would include a variety of incentives and investments to support coops and other forms of attainable housing, not just supply for the sake of supply.

A Demand Management Strategy

Would include measures to stabilize prices and restore affordability.

A Comprehensive Homeless Strategy

Would substantially reduce the number of homeless residents.

Minister Eby will share his ideas to increase housing supply with members on April 7, 2022 at 8:30 a.m. at this free REBGV webinar. We encourage you to tune in!