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September enjoyed a sweet spot in terms of affordability
The latest affordability report data compiled by Ratehub.ca finds that affordability conditions improved in 11 of 13 major housing markets across the nation, as a third Bank of Canada rate cut led to a month-over-month drop in borrowing costs. Cumulatively, the central bank has slashed the cost of borrowing in Canada by 75 basis points since June, bringing its benchmark overnight lending rate – which sets the pricing for lenders’ prime rates and variable mortgage rates – down to 4.25% from its longstanding 5%.
The report calculates the minimum annual income required to buy an average home in some of Canada’s major cities based on September 2024 and August 2024 real estate data. It also illustrates how changing mortgage rates, stress test rates and real estate prices are impacting the income needed to buy a home.
17-10-2024 -
Bottom line: we are not producing enough housing, especially in Ontario and BC
On a seasonally-adjusted basis, national housing starts increased by 5% in September, but this was after a 22% drop in August. According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), we're still "well below" the amount of starts necessary to reach our housing goals.
There are a few different lenses through which to view our current standing. On a seasonally adjusted basis, there were 223,808 unit starts in September, up from 213,012 units in August, but the six-month trend saw a decrease of 1.9%. Now, year-to-date (January to September), there was a 2% year-over-yearincreasein actual, not seasonally adjusted, urban housing starts as numbers ticked up from 165,559 in 2023 to 168,897 this year.
16-10-2024 -
As Vancouver’s skyline continues to evolve, the issue of building shadowing has become a significant consideration in urban planning.
While discussions often focus on aesthetics, urban design objectives, and public health, there’s a growing tension between urban planning principles, mantras, and even ideologies — specifically building shadowing restrictions and the city’s urgent need to address growth and housing shortages.
Over a number of occasions, Daily Hive Urbanized’s Kenneth Chan previously discussed in-depth Vancouver’s stringent building shadowing policies, which seek to preserve sunlight for public spaces such as parks, playgrounds, plazas, and retail streets.
16-10-2024 -
The proposed rental buildings are allowed under the Broadway plan
The Broadway Plan was approved in 2022 and applies to the area between Clark Drive and Vine Street from east to west, and from First Avenue to 16th Avenue from north to south. Its goal is to increase the population of the area by permitting much larger buildings than previously allowed.
Under the plan, many non-arterial blocks with three- or four-storey limits for residential buildings can now have up to two 20-storey residential buildings, as long as the owner agrees to rent out the suites rather than sell them.
In Kitsilano, five examples sit within a three-block radius between Vine and Arbutus streets and 6th and 8th Avenue on the 2100 and 2200 blocks. Another tower is planned six blocks away at 1960 West 7th Avenue, with another on the 2100-block of West 1st Avenue.
The seven proposed towers range in height from 64 metres to 76 metres and each offers mostly market rental units, with around 20 per cent of floor space allocated for below-market rentals. In total, they will have 1,354 rental suites of different sizes and around 270 below-market rentals.
14-10-2024
