Vancouver council to vote on asking province for more help with affordable housing

The City of Vancouver is looking for new instruments to add to the box of tools government has to help with housing affordability.

A report scheduled to go to council tomorrow (February 2) asks civic leaders to support Mayor Gregor Robertson in calling on the province to take action in areas where the city lacks jurisdiction.

Councillors will vote on making the following requests of the Government of British Columbia:

• Consider measures to discourage the quick resale of new housing, to reduce speculation and help level the playing field for first-time buyers;
• Increase the property-transfer tax on the sale of the most expensive properties, with the proceeds invested back into affordable housing;
• Accurately track information on housing purchases, both foreign and domestic;
• Provide municipalities with the ability to track property occupancy and reduce excessive vacancies.

The report includes a number of alarming indicators related to Vancouver’s housing market..

For example, it calls attention to a 2015 Vancity credit-union study that found housing costs in Metro Vancouver increased by 63 percent from 2001 to 2014.

“The City of Vancouver lacks the legal authority to create new taxation categories or tools,” the report reads. “The Mayor has highlighted the urgent need for the provincial government to examine and implement new tools to better manage Vancouver's housing market, including by writing to the Premier.”

On January 27, the Straight reported that 91 percent of all single-family homes in Vancouver are assessed as worth more than $1 million. A follow up article based on an analysis by Bing Thom Architects adds that 23 percent of that category of housing is valued at more than $2 million.