Why is Vancouver rent so expensive?

Good morning,

Well, Friday’s poll sure sparked some heated responses. Thanks to everyone who shared their opinion on housing developments in Kits. Scroll to the bottom to read some of the thoughtful responses.

Apologies for the delayed email on Friday, I accidentally set it to three hours later than normal. Technology never ceases to fail me!

Today we’ve got:

• Why rental prices are skyrocketing 📈

• What to know about the Vancouver by-election 🗳️

• What Vancouver can learn from Auckland’s zoning changes 🏘️

Onwards!

— Geoff Sharpe, Vancity Lookout newsletter writer

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WEATHER

Friday: 25 🌡️ 14 | ☀️

Saturday: 21 🌡️ 12 | 🌤

Sunday: 21 🌡️ 12 | 🌤

Monday: 21 🌡️ 11 | 🌤

WEEKLY LOOKOUT

Good bye gas? Coun. Adriene Carr is introducing a motion at the Standing Committee on Policy and Strategic Priorities to ban all infrastructure that allows natural gas. City bylaws prevent new buildings from using gas for heating or hot water, but not stoves or fireplaces. [Vancouver is Awesome]

HOUSING

Surprise! Vancouver rental prices are still bad

It turns out Vancouver rent is affordable… if you want a windowless closet for $800. Otherwise, it’s bad news for renters.

What’s going on: A new report says rental prices in Vancouver are the worst in the country. A one-bedroom monthly rental in Vancouver costs $2,787 per month, according to CBC.

• It’s not just limited to market rental units. Some Single Residency Occupancy buildings, meant for low-income residents, are going for more than $1,000 per month, says CBC.

Why the cost: The root cause is a lack of new housing. Purpose-built rental housing has not kept up to demand, and recent policies by the federal government designed to encourage more construction have not been taken up by developers.

Yet despite that, in 2022 there were 3,805 units built, which was higher than previous years. Unfortunately, Vancouver’s ppoulation continues to grow quickly due to immigration and people moving to the province. The country as a whole faces a shortage of 30,000 rental units, according to CTV.

• It’s not just one-bedroom units. A two-bedroom apartment in Vancouver is 21 percent more expensive than last year, according to Urbanized.

Zoom out: Opposition to new development projects, a common thing in Vancouver, is just one part of the broader problem of trying to build enough supply. More projects like the Senakw development will be required if the city is to ever catch up to the backlog of housing needs.

What it means: In the long-term, Vancouve risks becoming a playground for the wealthy, not a city for middle-class or working-class Canadians. The trend is clear as more and more families leave Vancouver. If increasing supply to address prices can’t be done, more aggressive approaches will need to be taken by all levels of government.

• You can see here how other cities’ rental prices compare to Vancouver. TLDR? It’s not good anywhere!

Other news: In another example of the housing challenges facing Metro Vancouver, a Surrey co-op that was bought by a new investor is facing a massive rent increase, with rent for one person rising from $600 a month to $1,600. [Vancouver Sun]

VANCOUVER BY THE NUMBERS

$3,741: The average monthly price for a two-bedroom rental in Vancouver, up 17 percent year over year. [CityNews]

$2.009: The average gas price rose just above $2 this weekend. The last time it was this high was November of last year. [Urbanized]

ELECTION

Byelection called in Vancouver-Mount Pleasant

What happened: The provincial government has called two by-elections in Vancouver-Mount Pleasant and Langford-Juan de Fuca for June 24 to fill vacant seats after both MLAs resigned, according to CBC.

Background: Melanie Mark, who represented Vancouver-Mount Pleasant, resigned in February due to family matters. She was the first First Nations woman to be elected to the legislature and serve in cabinet and was first elected in 2016.

• After resigning, she likened her time in political life as “a torture chamber,” according to Business in Vancouver.

The details: Indigenous leader Joan Phillip was nominated by the NDP, along with Jackie Lee for B.C. United and Wendy Hayko for the Greens.

• Though by-elections are hard to predict, we feel safe saying the NDP will handily win this one. Mark won the 2022 election with 66.95 percent of the vote, with the second-place Greens garnering 20.07 percent. The riding has always gone NDP.

Who is Joan Phillip: A life-long activist for climate change, Phillip is an Indigenous leader who grew up in Vancouver. She and her husband live in Penticton, but they have an apartment in the riding.

She told Business in Vancouver, “I always used to tell people that what we don’t accomplish now we will be passing the baton to the next generation. But also one of our elders always said it’s like a pie. We had everything taken from us, including our authority, and we’re going to get it back slice at a time. And I think that’s the real get of this. I don’t want to set the world on fire and make sure it’s changed overnight, but as long as we’re moving in the right direction, and I really believe we are, particularly under this government, we’ll get to where we need to be one step at a time.”

Voting information: You can vote early at the electoral office located at #615 369 Terminal Ave., from 9 pm-5 pm Monday-Friday and 10 am-4 pm Saturday. You must bring legal forms of government ID, which you can read about here.

• Advance voting takes place from June 16-21, from 8 am-8 pm. We will share more information as the election progresses for those of you who live in the riding. Election day is Saturday June 24.

NEW JOBS

Find your new dream job in Vancouver:

• Senior director of marketing and brand at Moxies

• Vice president of communications at Canucks Sports & Entertainment

• Director of business development at OceanGold Corporation

• Director, people and culture, BC at Paladin Security

• Enterprise activation manager at Freelancer.com

THE AGENDA

🚨 Amarpreet “Chucky” Samra, a member of the UN gang was shot dead at a wedding at Vancouver’s Fraserview Hall Sunday morning. Sources say it was likely the rival Brothers Keeper gang. Police say a retaliation is possible. [Vancouver Sun]

🧁 In what can only be described as the oddest break-in of the year, a man broke into Sweet Something in Dunbar, loitered around for half an hour, cleaned up after himself and left with six cupcakes. [CBC]

💊 Critics are calling on the B.C. government to add popular multiple sclerosis drugs to B.C’s Pharmacare program. All other provinces in Canada cover these drugs under their pharmacare programs. [CTV]

🏔 Vancouver man Pieter Swart, 63, died while trying to summit Mount Everest. He was employed at UBC's department of anesthesiology as an associate professor. [CTV]

🚬 City staff are recommending Vancouver council approve indoor smoking at city-run supervised consumption sites. Currently people must smoke outdoors, which limits the number of locations where the policy can happen. The pilot would last two years with a final report before June 30, 2025. [CTV]

🔥 A new study out of the University of Colorado Boulder says Western Canada mountain ranges are experiencing less snowpack, which means more wildfire risk and drier summers. The snowpack water storage has fallen 25 percent from 1950 to 2013. [CityNews]

🏊 Good news swimming fans — Kitsilano pool will be open June 4. You can book reservations up to three days in advance. [CityNews]

🧒 Champlain Heights Community Centre’s new playground is ready for kids and opened on Saturday. It features a play tower, slide, trampoline and water play features. Fun! [Vancouver is Awesome]

THINGS TO DO

Dinner And A Movie: Labyrinth | Hollywood Theatre | Tuesday, 7 pm | Come grab dinner courtesy of Nuba and enjoy the movie Labyrinth | Tickets $76 for two

Vancouver Tech Morning Coffee at The Coffee Bar | The Coffee Bar | Tuesday 8 am | Connect with Vancouver’s tech community at this casual meetup | Free to attend

Commerce Cycling Club | ECOMsquare | Tuesday, 5 pm | Come meet other people in the ecommercse space with a bike ride around Vancouver | Free to attend

Simpsons Trivia Night | The Anza Club | Tuesday 7 pm | Are a Simpsons expert? Test your knowledge about seasons 1-9 | Tickets $6

Vancouver Latin Party: Floating Nightclub | 760 Pacific Blvd | Thursday, 8 pm | Come experience Latin culture with music and drinks, maybe even try the Salsa | Free to attend

Vanimation | Rio Theatre | Wednesday, 6:30 pm | Come see the animated movies ocal artists have made, from hand drawn to computer generated | Tickets $25

West Vancouver Community Cultural Fest | Ambleside Park | Friday-Saturday, 4 pm-9 pm | Food, muci and culture with events and fun fo the whole family | Free to attend

AROUND THE WORLD

What New Zealand can teach Vancouver about housing

Auckland in New Zealand faced similar housing challenges as Canada. One solution? Upzone properties to increase the amount of missing middle housing that’s available. With B.C following this strategy by allowing upzoning, does this mean housing will get cheaper? The results are mixed according to reporting by the Vancouver Sun.

Background: To slow down rising housing prices, Auckland approved zoning on lots to easily expand missing middle housing — think townhomes, multiplexes and low-rises. The idea was that expanding housing supply would lower prices.

The reality: That didn’t necessarily come to pass. Auckland currently has the seventh highest unaffordable housing prices in the world. Property prices also rose to account for the added land value.

• But: Rental prices compared to other parts of the country were stable and did not rise as much because of increased supply.

Zoom in: Expanding housing supply in New Zealand has become a bipartisan issue, according to the Brookings Institute. While prices didn’t necessarily fall, it’s estimated housing supply tripled because of the policy. It also caused more housing development in suburban areas, not just in cities.

What it means for Vancouver: The B.C. government’s policy change will take a long time to see results, given building times. And studies seem to indicate it will disproportionately affect upper middle income buyers, which while not a bad thing, leaves many others unable to afford housing. It’s clear governments need to invest more below-market and subsidized housing, like the federal government did in the 1970s according to Policy Options.

SPORTS

⚽ The Whitecaps lost 1-3 to St. Louis City SC, with Vancouver’s head coach literally eviscerating the referee’s performance. The coach even demanded an apology from the league. [The Province]

🏈 The B.C. The Lions lost 27-30 against the Roughriders in their preseason game, with Ayden Eberhardt having a stand-out performance after making six catches and going 104 yards. [The Province]

🏒 Apparently Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini was livid that former GM Benning took Olli Juolevi instead of Matthew Tkachuk, who has gone on to lead the Florida Panthers to the Stanley Cup Final. [Daily Hive]

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Good news for people who like to suffer — The Grouse Grind has reopened, and is accessible from 7 am-7 pm. [CBC]

• Boring machine Phyllis broke through the future Broadway-City Hall Station on Friday. She’s excavated 1,350 meters of tunnel since November. [CityNews]

• Congrats to Floria Gu from Burnaby who is the youngest spring graduate at UBC this year at the ripe old age of 18. She started her first year at age 14. [CityNews]

• Who’s got the best club sandwich in Vancouver? Reddit users said Sandwich Plus, Vennie’s Sub Shop, Argo Cafe, Kyle’s Cafe and Truck Stop Cafe. [Reddit]

POLL

Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts about the Kitsilano development story. There were some well-thought-out responses. Here are the survey results:

• 53 percent of readers said we need more housing, not less

• 21 percent opposed the Kitsilano development projects

• 19 percent said they support more housing but believe the city needs to maintain the public hearing processes

And where’s what readers said:

“I live in Kits and think more housing and supportive housing is an awesome idea. We should be caring for and supporting each other, not pushing for people in need to stay in ghettos.”

“We do need more purpose built non market housing all across the metro area. However I oppose both these projects: Arbutus because of size/height and lack of mixed residents, as proposed. Instead a concentration of the hard to house with two support workers in a low barrier housing — across from an elementary school, beside a highly used children’s play park, etc. etc. Kits point opposed because of lack of neighborhood consultation, huge size and height, lack of co-op and below market rentals, lack of school, loss of green space and new road through city park. Huge traffic concerns, loss of light and Mountain Views. Lack of city zoning regulations.”

“I think there needs to be more rental stock and supportive housing and as for the rest, well maybe if all the homes we have were actually lived in perhaps we would not have such a housing crisis.”

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Reddit user Mewpup made this for an art media project. Can you even imagine transit this good?

GAME TIME

Congrats to everyone who got Friday’s Vancouver Wordle. The answer was Kits.

Today’s question quiz — how many by-elections are there in June? The first five people to answer will have their names mentioned.