Vancouver rent is too damn high. So what’s the solution?

Good morning,

I can’t stop laughing at this man’s obituary where he jokes about the Canucks poor performance. Even in death, they are still the butt of jokes.

Today we’ve got a look at the rental pricing situation in Vancouver, what’s happening (or not happening) to the waterfront and some news on mental health funding.

Let’s get to it.

Geoff

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Weather Report

Monday: 8 🌡️ 7 | 🌧

Tuesday: 9 🌡️ 3 | 🌧

Wednesday: 8 🌡️ 4 | 🌧

WEEKLY LOOKOUT

Rain, rain, go away: Hardly news in Vancouver, but rain is expected for most of next week.

Housing feedback: Consultations on Vancouver’s missing middle housing strategy are taking place all this month. This week consultations will be held on Tuesday, 5 pm to 7:30 pm at City Hall, Joe Wai (Townhall) Room, and from Saturday from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm at St. James Square Community Centre, Room 120.

HOUSING

It's still extremely expensive to rent in Vancouver

In the infamous words (or not infamous if you aren’t extremely online) of Jimmy McMillan, “the rent is too damn high.”

What happened: Rental rates fell this month compared to the previous month, according to a report by liv.rent. But don't let that confuse you, rates only fell by $6, with average rental prices set at $2,251 according to Daily Hive.

The real bad news? Since February 2022, prices have increased by $411, or 22.34 percent, throughout Metro Vancouver.

• The top five cities in Canada with most expensive one-bedroom rental prices were in Metro Vancouver. Vancouver was number two, while West Vancouver was number one.

Neighbourhoods: The report also breaks down rental prices in each Vancouver neighbourhood. Yes, you’re reading that right, a two-bedroom apartment in downtown Vancouver costs an average of $4,043. That’s a lot of lattes to give up.

It’s not only the report from liv.rent. The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation data from 2022 showed Vancouver has the highest rent for purpose-built units, according to Justin McElroy. Purpose-built rentals are buildings that are built specifically to be rented.

Zoom out: As Jimmy would say, the rent is too damn high… across Canada. Prices increased by 12.1 percent from December 2021 to December 2022, according to CTV.

• There’s also likely no end in sight. Interest rates are actually causing rents to increase as fewer people buy homes, resulting in greater demand for rentals across Canada, according to CBC.

There may be some hope on the horizon. Since the early 2000s, there’s been a 500 percent increase in construction according to the Tyee. Rentals are set to become the majority of new housing construction in the city.

Yes, but: That doesn’t necessarily mean rental prices will fall. A massive number of rental units have been built across Vancouver, but rents have not dropped, according to the Tyee.

• What’s going on? Property prices have risen exponentially, driving up the prices of units. The type of unit construction also matters. Co-ops and lower-priced housing are not often built.

One solution discussed in the article could be to establish zoning density based on affordability requirements, forcing developers to increase the number of affordable units built. But that type of housing may reduce the overall amount of units built.

VANCOUVER NUMBERS

🏘️ 36: The percent of condos owned by investors in Vancouver. [CityNews]

🚨 2: The number of shootings in less than 24 hours over the weekend. [CBC]

🚌 300: How many electric buses will fit in a new Translink bus depot located at the southern part of Cambie Street. [Urbanized]

DEVELOPMENT

Redeveloping Vancouver’s waterfront

What’s up: In a special to the Globe and Mail, Frances Bula discusses multiple options for how to use industrial land along Vancouver’s waterfront. Developers look at the waterfront and envision high rise towers, while others view it as a place for community, with parks and other public infrastructure.

While there’s no agreement on what to do with the area, ideas are a-plenty, with organizations and private developers seeing the area as an opportunity to do something.

• The tourism sector sees the vacant land as an opportunity to build more hotels, which were nearly always at capacity pre-pandemic.

• SFU hosted four days of workshopping about the area, which saw the development of proposals including an Indigenous skills-training centre, a public plaza, new city landmarks, and pedestrian paths.

Blast from the past: It’s worth noting that the topic of development in the central Waterfront area pops up from time to time. Similar discussions took place in 2021, 2018, and the City of Vancouver even had an approved plan for a waterfront transportation hub in 2009.

What’s changed: Since the pandemic has reduced the need for office space in the downtown core, development proposals that call for office towers seem to have been put on hold or scaled back to include more of a mix of residential and community-focused infrastructure, according to Bula.

• Plans but not action: As the City of Vancouver stated in its 2009 transportation hub plan, the city “has no land ownership in the area, nor the ability to finance or undertake the development of a transportation hub.”

Why’s this taking so long?: The land is controlled by CP Rail, CN Rail, and Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA), which means any ideas are just that, ideas.

• All three organizations have been absent from discussions, and in responses to media questions about their plans for the land, have highlighted the importance of this land to their operations and fulfillment of their mandates to support trade and the economy, according to the Globe and Mail.

• Additionally, there is nothing in TransLink’s 30-year plan about increasing service to the area, which would be key to any additional development.

Analysis: Like Bula states in the Globe, the non-committal answers from the organizations that control the land, combined with their absence from any discussions, means there is little chance of development.

• If this were to become a priority of City Hall, look for efforts by Mayor Ken Sim to convene a working group of representatives that includes CN, CP and VFPA. Without having these organizations at the table, the most likely outcome in the near term continues to be the status quo.

Outside Vancouver: Vancouver has a love-hate relationship with our eastern friends, but Toronto is a good example of what's possible with waterfront development. After the failed Google Sidewalk Labs experiment, the city is undertaking a massive redevelopment, with housing, restaurants, and "the first all-electric, zero-carbon community built at this size."

DREAM JOB

Discover you new dream job in Vancouver:

1. Director of People Wellness at Vancouver Coastal Health

2. Communications Manager of Planning and Development at the City of Vancouver

3. Director of Human Resources at St. Paul’s Foundation

4. Vice President of Hospitality at the Vancouver Canucks

5. Executive director at Future Majority

QUICK HITS

🏛️ The B.C. government and the City of Vancouver announced a ​​$2.8-million grant to help with mental health services, to help with outreach programs and establish de-escalation services, among other things. [Global]

🙊 The individual who was recorded shouting homophobic slurs at a couple last week has turned themselves in to the police. [CTV] Unfortunately, the individual who posted the video online says he’s been the victim of more hate, this time online. [CBC]

🚨 The VPD is looking for suspects in the stabbing of a good samaritan trying to stop three individuals from robbing a person experiencing homelessness on Granville Street. [CityNews]

Downtown Eastside residents are not happy about Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre calling Vancouver being “hell on earth,” saying the Ottawa MP doesn’t have a clear understanding of the community or its concerns. [The Toronto Star]

✈️ The company that controls plane traffic in Canada is changing plane traffic routes to YVR, and tri-cities communities are not happy about the lack of consultation or the increased number of flights over their cities. [Vancouver Sun]

💐 A teenage-run flower shop in Coquitlam was broken into on its opening day. Coquitlam RCMP are looking for suspects. [CityNews]

💰 According to the VPD, Vancouver victims of ‘bail money scams’ have lost nearly $60,000 since last week, and that’s just the victims they know about. [CTV]

FOOD

What's going down in Vancouver's food scene

Our food editor Jamie Mah is producing food stories you won’t find anywhere else. Here’s a few of the best stories from the last month:

🔟 A list of ten things Jamie is excited about in Vancouver’s food and bar scene, including a big re-opening, a new ship-themed bar, a watering hole you probably haven’t heard of and an amazing dish from La Tana.

🇪🇸 Como Taperia’s Shaun Layton on what makes his happy hour so unique.

🍴Why Jamie loves the Mackenzie Room and what you should order. Hint: order everything.

🇨🇳 The challenges and opportunities of Chinatown, including a food and bar trip itinerary.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• CBC has an excellent series telling the stories of Black Indigenous women and their efforts to reclaim their identity despite systemic erasure. Highly recommend checking it out. [CBC]

• CBC also spoke to Black people in the Lower Mainland to talk about their experiences. [CBC]

• Vancouver Magazine’s 2023 Power 50 List is out. Maybe you’re on it! [Vancouver Magazine]

• The results of /r/Vancouver’s “Best Of” survey are in! [Reddit]

• African Descent Society B.C. is hosting a series of five stop walking tours exploring the history of Vancouver’s Black community. [CBC]

• Downtown Eastside community members are trying to have the city honour street artist Smokey Devil, known for his art sharing news and memorializing those who have passed away. [CTV News]

• Have an announcement you want featured? Reply to this email and let us know!

GOOD NEWS MONDAY

Start your day off with some good news:

• It’s raining today (and tomorrow, and the day after, etc.) but it might be nice this weekend! [Vancouver is Awesome]

• The B.C. provincial government is taking a lesson from the labour relations crisis its federal counterparts have created in Ottawa, and is encouraging public servants to work from home. [CBC]

• Head out to Langley for this movie-mindset spin on the Free Little Library. [CBC]

• Ducks Unlimited Canada is leading other conservation organizations in efforts for salt marsh restoration in Boundary Bay. [CTV]

GAME TIME

The answer to Friday’s wordle was PATIO.

Here’s today’s quiz question - did the average rental price in Vancouver drop or rise this month? Bonus points if say by how much.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

This photo is courtesy of Reddit user DimitriSirenko who placed second in r/Vancouver for the best artwork of 2022, located at 61 E 5th Ave.