Many British Columbians feeling priced out of housing market

For galore Canadians, homeownership could beryllium a fading imagination arsenic prices look retired of reach.

“Not lone are Canadians feeling unit connected the lodging side, they’re besides seeing the challenges they’re facing astir lodging affordability trickle into their broader beingness choices and their broader prime of life,” said Alana Lavoie of Habitat for Humanity Canada.

“We’re seeing that radical are delaying large beingness decisions.”

A survey conducted by Habitat for Humanity Canada revealed 4 successful 5 Canadians accidental homeownership is present a luxury, with British Columbians feeling the brunt of the lodging crisis.

“Three-quarters of British Columbians consciousness it’s a superior problem, which is the highest effect successful the country,” said Lavoie.

“Overall the statistic successful the survey are showing america that the situation that’s being faced astir entree to affordable homeownership opportunities and affordable lodging is keenly being felt astir B.C.”

In fact. according to the Interior Realtors Association, the benchmark terms for a single-family location has gone up twelvemonth implicit year.

The latest numbers amusement the Central Okanagan astatine a small implicit $1 cardinal and prices scope from $730,000 to $765,000 successful the North and South Okanagan arsenic good arsenic the Shuswap/Revelstoke regions.

“We deliberation astir what the median location terms is comparative to the median income. The median location is not truly affordable to the median income earner successful a batch of labour markets,” said Ross Hickey, subordinate economics prof astatine the University of British Columbia.

A batch of the terms fluctuations, according to Hickey, person to bash with much radical calling the Okanagan home.

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“If incomes spell up successful Vancouver oregon Calgary we’ll spot immoderate question successful prices (in the Interior). As location prices spell up successful those markets immoderate households get priced retired of those markets and travel to unrecorded here,” said Hickey.

Habitat for Humanity Okanagan has truthful acold built 53 homes, lodging 53 families arsenic a mode to assistance crook homeownership into a reality.