Q2-2017 “State of the Market” UDI Report

UDI Pacific’s ‘State of the Market’ quarterly publication for Q2-2017 is now available.

UDI Pacific’s ‘State of the Market’ quarterly publication for Q2-2017 is now available. View the report here. The below is from a September 12, 2017 press release from UDI which can be seen in its entirety here.

Throttled Supply of New Multi-Family Housing Worsens

VANCOUVER, BC —New multi-family housing supply continues to decline with zero new townhomes or concrete apartments completed and move-in ready in Vancouver. Only 31 apartments were ready for occupancy in the entire Metro Vancouver region at the end of June 2017, shown in UDI’s second quarter State of the Market 2017 Research Report. This independent report by Urban Analytics tracks quarterly population growth with new home sales, prices and supply.

“Any home seeker knows we don’t have enough choices for them, in either new homes or resales. Various independent and academic studies have proven supply is being throttled by restrictive single family zoning policy and delays in permitting. Just this month, a developer had to cancel a building project due to permit delays that led to financing cancellation. If municipalities need more resources to process building applications faster, let’s make that happen,” says UDI President & CEO Anne McMullin. “I can’t find any good
news in this report.”

Re-zoning of single family areas to allow multifamily homes, speeding up municipal approvals of housing projects and improving the lengthy, contentious public hearing process would create healthy competition and lower home prices, asserts McMullin.

Report Highlights:

  • The best measurement on new housing that is available to purchase is called “standing inventory” or “move in ready”.
  • “Released and unsold inventory” is housing in various forms of construction but not move-in ready. Housing starts are not a good measurement of supply, since 87% of all apartments and townhomes under construction were presold, to meet bank financing conditions. The housing starts to population chart on p.4 reflects only net BC migration and immigration. This does not reflect local downsizers or millennials, all competing with new BC residents for the same homes.
  • Zero move-in ready apartments or townhomes available in City of Vancouver.
  • Outer Metro created most (85%) of the family-friendly townhomes.
  • Unsold attached home supply in the preconstruction phase has declined by a whopping 408% across Metro from Q2-2013, from 9,858 unsold units to 1,942 units at end of
    Q2-2017.
  • Average rental vacancy rates still less than 1% across Metro.

Facts/Links:

Justin Mitchell

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Adam Lawrence

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Megan Johal

Personal Real Estate Corporation

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