Building more townhouses would help to ease the pressure on the housing market in Vancouver according to a new report.
Building more townhouses would help to ease the pressure on the housing market in Vancouver according to a new report. The UDI/Vancity Housing Affordability Index highlights that a lack of townhouses means growing families stay in their existing homes longer than they would like which in turn ties up property that first-time buyers could afford. Additionally those looking to downsize do not have enough options. Jon Bennest of Urban Analytics told the Vancouver Sun that the lack of zoning for townhouses is one of the reasons for the undersupply; land is being made available for mid or low-rise condo developments with only a few townhouses on the ground level. Michael Ferreira from the firm said that there need to be more land zoned for townhouse developments, recognising that that may be hard to do in downtown Vancouver but some other communities would be ideal. The city’s planning manager Brian Jackson says that officials are looking to increase the number of townhouses in the city as they see the benefits of more being available. Read the full story.
