A tale of two housing markets

Good morning! 

I’m currently coming at you from London, as I spend a bit of time travelling this month.

When I travel, I’m always on the lookout (pun intended) for examples of fun or interesting policies Canadian cities could adopt. One that really stood out here in the UK is that bars allow people to drink on the sidewalk outside. It’s boisterous but controlled, with people crowding around small tables set against the wall. In an age where we meet people less and less, it seems like a great idea to meet people. And it makes me wonder why Canadian cities don’t allow this. 

Seriously, do our local politicians think that Vancouver, or any other Canadian city for that matter, is so different than others that we can’t handle it? Suffice to say, this is a small example of how European cities do things differently (and frankly, much better) than in North America.

Today’s story isn’t about drinking, unless of course that’s the only way you can mentally handle the housing market. Let’s dive in!

— Geoff Sharpe, Lookout founder and managing editor

PS - If you find this newsletter valuable, please consider forwarding it to your friends. New to the Lookout? Sign-up for free. 

WEATHER

Monday: 11 🌡️ 7 | 🌧️

Tuesday: 13 🌡️ 7 | ☁️

Wednesday: 15 🌡️ 8 | 🌧️

THE LOOKOUT RECOMMENDS

A travel book: Art museum bookstores are a treasure trove of unique books. And one thing I try to do while travelling is pick out a new book to read. This trip, I’m reading The Power of Strangers: The Benefits of Connecting in a Suspicious World. Rather than a how-to, it’s more of a call to arms about the importance, both mentally and spiritually, of talking to random people. I highly recommend it.

New restaurant: I’m pretty excited for Jeju, a new Korean restaurant opening up at 540 East Broadway. It’ll be run by the same team that opened the popular Jeju restaurant in Tofino. Korean food is a personal favourite of mine, so I’m excited to see another spot like this open up.

HOUSING

A tale of two housing markets

On Friday, Metro Vancouver released a state of housing report for the region’s mayors.

The good news: According to the report, the region’s rental market is improving on a number of fronts when it comes to rental affordability. This is especially true when it comes to the pipeline of purpose-built rentals, which is accelerating significantly, primarily due to government programs, including provincial incentives and federal financing.

• At the same time, rents are softening, but still quite high, though the report did highlight rent reductions in some Metro Vancouver communities. Vancouver has registered the lowest rent for a purpose-built or condo rental apartment in 41 months, according to Urbanized. 

The bad news: The region’s high-rise condo market is in a state of crisis. Unsold inventory is expected to be at 60 per cent by the end of the year, driven by poor pre-sale activity. Condo sales by the end of the year are expected to be the weakest in the last five years, while active listings are up 25 per cent compared to last year, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) latest report. 

• The report also explains that the poor condo market makes it difficult for cities to capture public benefits from developments, through things like amenity charges, as developers cannot afford the additional costs. These are charges that the city adds on to projects to help fund neighbouring services like daycares and libraries. 

It’s all about costs: Rising costs are making many projects unviable financially for developers. The report shows that construction costs have grown by 58 per cent in the second quarter of 2025 compared to 2018, with land costs rising as well.

• The report also makes the case that the region’s development cost charges, which some higher levels of government have blamed for rising housing costs, represent only 0.8-1.5 per cent of costs. 

What it means: The increase in purpose-built rentals coming online is a great sign for those seeking to rent in the future, especially with the Sen̓áḵw development’s 6,000 new rentals coming online soon. 

As Vancouver builds out more communities like Rupert and Renfrew — which we’ve reported on here — the ability to build amenities for those communities will continue to be challenged without the ability to collect more amenity charges, and due to political issues like the city’s plan not to raise property taxes. 

In other housing news

Vancouver council will hear about a plan this week proposed by the city to turn six city-owned properties into potentially 4,000 purpose-built rentals, through a city-owned corporation. The idea is to create more housing while the city earns a profit, which could be reinvested into infrastructure. The plan isn’t without risk, and some experts are questioning the plan for purpose-built rentals, given so many are coming online. Read more. [Vancouver Sun]

THE VANCOUVER NUMBER

5

That’s how many people were injured after a collision that sent a vehicle through the front of a building at Main Street and East 48th Avenue on Friday. According to police, a driver tried to cross multiple lanes of traffic and was hit by an oncoming car, causing one of the vehicles to crash into a building with people inside. Both drivers and three people inside the building were brought to hospital in stable condition. Read more. [CBC]

THE AGENDA

🐋 The Department of Fisheries and Oceans says a Hullo Ferries passenger ferry struck a humpback whale near Vancouver on Friday. The company is cooperating with the department’s investigation; the condition of the whale is unknown. Read more. [CBC]

🏢 According to a new report by commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield Inc., Metro Vancouver’s industrial vacancy rate is the highest it has been in a decade, but may be stabilizing. Read more. [Western Investor]

🏈 The B.C. Lions eliminated the Edmonton Elks from the CFL playoffs on Friday, beating them 37-24. The Lions will now go up against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Regina on October 25. Read more. [The Canadian Press]

🪧 The BCGEU and the B.C. Government are entering non-binding mediation in an effort to end the weeks-long public service strike. The union says picket lines will remain in place during the mediation process. Read more. [The Canadian Press]

👮 A man in his 40s was stabbed during an altercation near Granville and Nelson on Friday just after midnight. A suspect is in custody and the victim was treated in hospital for a non-life-threatening injury. Read more. [Daily Hive]

🏛️ Efforts are underway to recruit a new municipal Integrity Commissioner. Lisa Southern’s four year contract expires in December. Read more. [BIV]

🚗 The paving over of the work done at the site of the new Vancouver Art Gallery is complete, with the land now converted back to a pay-parking lot. The site, which is owned by the City of Vancouver, has been temporarily handed over to EasyPark while architects literally go back to the drawing board. Read more. [Daily Hive]

🧑‍⚖️ Last week, the Crown stayed theft charges against Adam Mann stemming from an April 2024 incident in Vancouver. Mann, who has a lengthy criminal record and is also charged with the June 2024 murder of a Surrey woman, was also scheduled to be tried next week on unrelated charges of assault against two corrections officers in July 2024, but that trial has been rescheduled. Read more. [Cloverdale Reporter]

NEW VANCOUVER JOBS

Discover your dream job in Vancouver:

• Program coordinator, CityStudio Vancouver

• Director of strategic services, West Coast LEAF

• Provincial engagement officer — Vancouver Island, Ronald McDonald House BC & Yukon

• Supervisor, before and after school, YMCA BC

• Program specialist supportive housing & homelessness, BC Housing

EDUCATION

Inside the evolving future of the long-delayed Olympic Village school

The Vancouver school board has received $150 million to build a new school in an underserved neighbourhood, and needs city approval for extra height on the proposed building.

Read the story

EVENT GUIDE

Vancouver Writers Fest | Various venues | Oct. 20–26 | 125+ authors in 85+ events including Naomi Klein and Chris Hadfield, plus Literary Cabaret & Poetry Bash | Tickets

Teen Angst Night | Fox Cabaret, 2321 Main Street | Oct. 22, 8 pm | Brave people read the most embarrassing excerpts from their teenage diaries and notebooks. 19+ | Tickets $20

Inclusion Art Show & Sale | Roundhouse Community Centre – 181 Roundhouse Mews | Oct. 22–23, 10:30 am–7:30 pm | Artwork from 200 artists with diverse abilities including paintings and pottery | Free (donations welcome)

Women in Tech Vancouver – OutGeekWomen | Global Relay Communications, 220 Cambie St., 2nd Floor | Oct. 23, 6–8 pm | Mid/senior-level women in tech networking with hiring teams and CTOs | Tickets $50

Women in Tech Vancouver – OutGeekWomen | Global Relay Communications, 220 Cambie St., 2nd Floor | Oct. 23, 6–8 pm | Mid/senior-level women in tech networking with hiring teams and CTOs | Tickets $50

Amour, acide et noix (Love, Acid and Nuts) | Vancouver Playhouse – 600 Hamilton St | Oct. 24–25, 8 pm | Daniel Léveillé’s contemporary dance work set to Vivaldi and pop music | Tickets $40

Vancouver Comic & Toy Show #28 | PNE Forum – 2901 East Hastings St | Oct. 25–26, 11 am–5 pm | 400+ tables of comics, toys, art, and collectibles in 45,000 sq. ft. of pop-culture fun | $Tickets $12

VMS Fall Mushroom Show | VanDusen Botanical Garden – 5251 Oak St | Oct. 26, 10 am–5 pm | Annual fungi festival with exhibits, kids activities, and mushroom displays | $5 / Free under 12

Fall Pop-Up Market – Hosted by Madeinthe604 | Heritage Hall – 3102 Main St | Oct. 25–26, 11 am–5 pm | 50+ local makers selling handmade art, crafts, and cozy fall treats; dog-friendly | Free

Halloween Spooktacular | Granville Island | Oct. 26 | A family-friendly Halloween celebration with costumes, games, and activities for all ages | Free

44th Annual Fall Mushroom Show | Floral Hall – VanDusen Botanical Garden – 5251 Oak St | Oct. 26, 10 am–5 pm | Exhibits, art, vendors, and contests celebrating fungi and mushroom education | Tickets $5

Halloween on The Drive | Commercial Drive | Oct. 31, 3:30–5:30 pm | Trick-or-treat along The Drive with local shops offering treats for kids in costume | Free

Main Street Safe Trick or Treat | Main Street, Mount Pleasant | Oct. 31, 3–6 pm | Candy giveaways, kids’ performances, and face painting along Main Street’s local shops | Free

Man Up Halloween: MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR | The Birdhouse, 44 W. 4th Ave. | Nov. 1, 9 pm | Undead disco drag because disco never dies! | Tickets $16

Vision Zero Vancouver Presents: Life After Cars | SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, 149 W Hastings St. | Nov. 8, 6:30 pm | A discussion with The War on Cars podcasts hosts Doug Gordon and Sarah Goodyear about their new book! | Tickets $35

2025 Eastside Culture Crawl | Eastside Arts District | Nov. 20–21, 5–10 pm; Nov. 22–23, 11 am–6 pm | Four-day open studios with 500+ artists, galleries, and crafts | Free

Submit your event and it could appear here and reach 20,00+ Vancouver locals.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Bouquet Cafe, a combination florist and coffee shop, will be opening mid-November on Robson Street. [Vancouver is Awesome]

• Fans of Waffle House will appreciate this new restaurant on Hastings. [Daily Hive]

• The Friendly Paws Society is hosting a Halloween party for dogs at the Pasadena Mansion. [Vancouver is Awesome]

• Read what goes on in the mind of a Fright Nights actor. [Georgia Straight]

• It’s about that time of year when we all need the D. [Reddit]

VANCOUVER NEWS QUIZ

PHOTO OF THE DAY

It’s fall in Vancouver. Is there a season where the city doesn’t look good?