A quiet Port Coquitlam neighbourhood has become the latest battleground in the ongoing conflict over housing affordability in Metro Vancouver. Houses in Citadel Heights are being listed for just under $1 million but are often selling for much more than that.
According to city councillor Brad West, a Realtor who recently sold a home made it no secret that the listing was aimed at foreign investors.
“I said to the Realtor, ‘How on earth is anyone who lives here going to be able to afford $1.1 million? We’re a middle class community.’ He said, ‘No one from here will be able to afford it but we’ll have multiple offers.'”
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The Realtor, who isn’t breaking any laws, took down the company’s website after West first went public about his concerns.
The issue has touched a nerve across Port Coquitlam and the region as a whole.
“We very much are entering a much more regional housing market as opposed to a housing market that just is focused on the city of Vancouver,” SFU City Program Acting Director Andy Yan said. “You very much see some of the behaviours move out into the region that perhaps used to just be within a few neighbourhoods in the city of Vancouver.”
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says there are no strong data sets that deal with the issue of overseas investment. But CMHC hopes to work with FINTRAC, the Canada Revenue Agency as well as Canadian insurers to get a better handle on the issue.
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The provincial government promised housing relief in its last budget and cities continue to talk about the need for affordable housing. But West says something concrete needs to be done, even if it is unpopular.
“You have a lot of politicians who would prefer to ignore the issue,” he said. “They’re scared of being viewed as politically incorrect. So they’ve kind of kept their head in the sand about it. See no evil, hear no evil, do no evil.”
Port Coquitlam has made inroads, building more affordable options for families such as row houses and denser neighbourhoods in the downtown core. But protecting typically middle-class suburban neighbourhoods is beyond the city’s scope.
– With files from Aaron McArthur
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