Rising housing costs ons online story and sources

Rising housing costs not just attributed to foreign buyers; effects felt at community level

A young Metro Vancouver resident on his commute. Residents aged 20 to 30 is one of the groups hardest hit by rising prices of housing.

There is no questioning that the rising housing costs in the Greater Vancouver area has made it extremely difficult for prospective home-buyers to purchase a house that suits them. However, in cities such as Richmond, the effects of rising housing costs include far more than a lack of affordable homes.

According to Affordable Housing Planner Joyce Rautenberg of the City of Richmond, it’s getting harder for residents to secure appropriate housing due to a number of different reasons, including fewer houses and rental spaces that are empty.

“Because the vacancy rate is quite low in Richmond, there are a lot of challenges for people to find accommodations that are suitable, that meets their needs and is something that they can afford,” Rautenberg says, “We’ve noticed that from different client groups like seniors and new immigrants, a lot of people are facing the same issues.”

Largely blamed on foreign buyers from Mainland China, Rautenberg adds that there are other factors that could contribute to rising housing costs, including the overall high price of land in Vancouver, and current low interest rates making it easier to get a mortgage. She hopes there will be more cooperation between municipal, provincial and federal government agencies to, at least, discuss a national housing strategy, as well as closer partnership to create housing stock.

In 2014, Statistics Canada numbers showed that the Metro Vancouver region has been losing job and home-seeking residents in the 20 to 30 age range to other provinces, which one Richmond resident, Dwight Dee, says the government has to recognize that as an issue.

“We want communities with young people there. We want vibrant communities with a strong economy. The government has to be creative to think of policies that will allow younger people especially, to be able to live where they work,” Dee says, “If the only people who can live here are rich people, I don’t think that’s the kind of community we want.”

The price of housing in Metro Vancouver continues to rise, with little sign of slowing down.

Common opinion seems to be that the different levels of government should take a greater interest in creating a solid housing strategy to assist residents.

By: Steve Zhang Broadcast and Online Journalism Set E

SOURCES

Contacts: Joyce Rautenberg Affordable Housing Planner Community Services, Affordable Housing Department, City of Richmond

(604) 247-4916

Dwight Dee Richmond Resident (604) 506-7540

Housing prices have been a big issue for residents of Metro Vancouver for a number of years now. However, I noticed that many of the reports on the issue have been focused mostly on shifting the blame for this problem onto the Chinese community, mostly non-Canadian citizen buyers from Mainland China. I contacted Richmond City Hall, due to Richmond being a very diverse city and also accessibility, and was put in touch with someone from the City’s Affordable Housing Department, Joyce Rautenberg. She told me exactly what I was hoping for: that there is more than one probable reason for housing prices rising, other than the increase of foreign money and buyers flooding the property market. She would neither confirm nor deny that it is solely Chinese buyers, without first seeing more data and evidence to support that claim, which she says is something that the City does not track, and more focus should be placed on. Everyone is concerned about housing prices and it’s important to know what it is that can be done to stop them getting any higher. However, it is just as important to understand that this is a multidimensional issue. There is more than one cause, and there is more than one way to tackle it.

Ultimately, it’s about getting a better understanding of the issue and cooperating with each other, our communities and the different levels of government. The one-sided reports and the obvious bias have fuelled considerable anti-Chinese rhetoric in Metro Vancouver. For example, a mural in Chinatown, depicting an image with significant cultural and traditional value to the Chinese community, was recently vandalized with graffiti. I wanted to explore the housing issue further, but from a different angle. A more inclusive one.