B.C. needs unprecedented construction to offset record immigration: report
B.C. needs unprecedented construction to offset record immigration: report
The B.C. Real Estate Association says the province must build 25 per cent more new homes than usual for the next five years to address deteriorating housing affordability. (CTV News)
Home construction in British Columbia will need to rise to unprecedented levels to offset the impact of record immigration on the housing market, the B.C. Real Estate Association said in a new report on Tuesday.
The province must build 25 per cent more new homes than usual for the next five years to address deteriorating housing affordability.
The association said construction needs to be ramped up to a record 43,000 housing completions a year for the next five years to counteract rapid population growth.
“While this pace of completions is close to that achieved from 2020 and 2021, higher interest rates and weaker market conditions make that rate of completion less likely,” the association said.
Lowering price growth so incomes can catch up to prices is integral to improving housing affordability in B.C., said Brendon Ogmundson, chief economist with BCREA.
He said increasing supply would ease the upward pressure on housing prices from an immigration-driven demand shock and if sustained, help improve overall affordability.
B.C. is expected to welcome an estimated 217,500 new permanent residents from 2023 to 2025, nearly double the historical average immigration levels, the
In that time, two federal government policies - the ban on foreign homebuyers and record-high immigration targets - will be the key factors shaping housing demand in B.C., the association said.
Bill C-19, which implemented a two-year ban on home sales to non-Canadian buyers, will help offset some of the demand for housing, said BCREA, but not nearly enough compared with the expected demand from new immigrants.
The association said there is “weak evidence” that the ban will achieve its objective of lowering home prices given that a relatively small number of transactions involve purely foreign buyers.
“The potential impact of the increase in immigration is much more significant than the decline in sales due to the prohibition on foreign buyers,” the report said.
BCREA said an “unfortunate unintended consequence” of the ban on foreign homebuyers is that financing new home construction is more difficult without access to international capital markets.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2023.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is pushing for special rapporteur David Johnston to 'step aside' from his role examining the issue of foreign interference before he embarks on public hearings.
New Democrat MP Jenny Kwan said Monday that Canada's spy agency has confirmed her long-held belief she is being targeted by the Chinese government, as the prime minister granted the NDP's wish to allow more party members to review top-secret intelligence.
William Karlsson, William Carrier and Jonathan Marchessault are finally getting another chance in the Stanley Cup Final, after the first one that came so quick for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Eastern Conference finals Most Valuable Player Jimmy Butler scored 28 points, and Caleb Martin had 26 points and 10 rebounds to help the eighth-seeded Miami Heat beat the Celtics 103-84 in Game 7 on Monday night and advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in four seasons.
Canadian political leaders and parliamentarians are denouncing a new law passed in Uganda that imposes harsh penalties, including the death penalty, for certain cases involving homosexuality.
There's a heightened risk of wildfires across the country during what has been one of the earliest fire seasons on record. From British Columbia to Nova Scotia, here's where the risk is highest.
New research from Penn State University found certain factors can contribute to reducing what’s known as the 'urban heat island' effect, and that climate knowledge can contribute to better city planning and design.
On Monday, Fraser Health provided two senior leaders to address the latest letter outlining risks to patients, allegations of muzzling, and pleas for help from emergency physicians in the health authority's hospitals.
The president of the BC Trucking Association is issuing renewed calls for safety after a trailer truck smashed into an overhead pass Monday morning in Langley.
Over 170,000 elementary and high school students weighed in on the Alberta election and the NDP had to hope the real voters were listening, because they won the kids' vote.
One long-time electoral tradition came to an end on election day, when Postmedia announced there would be no printed newspaper announcing the winner in Calgary.
The union representing the majority of Quebec's daycare workers is criticizing the government's decision to launch a skimpy 90-hour training program for people who want to be daycare workers but have no prior experience.
A Quebec driver who caused the death of another motorist when he swerved his truck to avoid hitting a family of ducks on the road has been sentenced to eight months in jail and a three-year driving ban.
A Winnipeg family is asking for help to find their missing teenage son whom they haven't seen since he left for school in the Fort Richmond area last Wednesday morning.
The body of a Winnipeg boy who fell into Sturgeon Falls on Saturday has been found following a desperate underwater search that lasted more than a day.
The rural Oxford County intersection where an OPP officer and a school bus driver were killed Monday was less than a month away from becoming a four-way stop when the deadly crash happened.
It was a night of indecision at Waterloo region's catholic school board as trustees went back and forth trying to find the best approach to fill a vacant seat.
The first twister of 2023 in the country touched down near Regina over the weekend, according to an analysis from the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP).
One person from Estevan, Sask. is dead and another is seriously injured following a collision between a pickup truck and a motorcycle on May 28 near Fortuna, North Dakota.
In a province where there are vast distances between cities and towns, one local group is hoping to get public support for an idea to bridge those gaps with a rail line.
The body of a Winnipeg boy who fell into Sturgeon Falls on Saturday has been found following a desperate underwater search that lasted more than a day.
The B.C. Real Estate Association says the province must build 25 per cent more new homes than usual for the next five years to address deteriorating housing affordability. (CTV News)
