Erin Nicholson wanted to raise her kids in Vancouver but the high cost of housing is forcing her to reconsider.
“Vancouver is going to wind up a ghost town and a vacation destination,” she said. “It’s not a place for families to live anymore.”
With the cost of a detached house out of reach for many, about one-third of Vancouver families live in apartments.
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In a bid to keep families from looking elsewhere, the City of Vancouver may soon force developers to offer more family-friendly living spaces, mandating that two and three-bedroom units make up at least one-third of all new construction.
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But the cost of bigger units could still be too expensive for many families.
“If you’re earning a local income here, it’s going to be extremely difficult to actually afford a two or three-bedroom,” realtor Steve Saretsky said, noting that two-bedroom units at a Yaletown development are going for around $1.1 million.
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At the Navio in False Creek, a unit with two bedrooms and a den can cost $3 million.
Critics say the city’s move to add more square footage will only benefit speculators and investors who can afford it.
“It’s too little, too late at this point,” Nicholson said. “They’ve priced us all out. We’re done. They’ve sold out a generation so that they could make money off of land transfer taxes. They should be ashamed of themselves.”
– With files from Tanya Beja
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