It’s good news if you have already bought, but disastrous news if you have not.
The sharp increase in house and apartment prices in Squamish – both up 13 per cent over the past 12 months, according to the most recent Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver report – has owners smiling broadly. Thirteen per cent is a great annual gain on any investment.
The Squamish real estate market is sizzling, with properties moving rapidly and new developments selling out quickly. This month, the entire ParkHouse condo building sold out in only 90 minutes.
Generally it’s good news when property values rise this quickly. It’s a sign of a vibrant, growing community, a place where people want to live.
But many of the people who had appointments to buy in ParkHouse and were sent away disappointed were local people looking for reasonably priced housing, a rare find these days in Squamish. And rents are also continuing to rise, forcing people out on the street searching desperately for a place for their family. The rental vacancy rate is near zero.
The sad news is that many young families are not finding places to live here. Squamish residents are being forced to leave town. In the past few months, many have packed up, left their jobs in Squamish and headed for other areas where they can afford a home from their paycheques. Some have babies and realized they will never be able to buy a family home here on their incomes.
The average household income in Squamish was $71,000 in 2006, according to StatsCan. Using the guideline that housing should not cost more than 30 per cent of gross income, this means the average family can afford to pay $1,775 a month in total housing costs, so they can buy homes only below $300,000 in value. In Squamish, that’s a one-bedroom or two-bedroom unit with not enough room for a family and certainly no yard where children can play.
The district’s Housing Task Force is discussing this dilemma and plans to encourage developers to build more housing intended for rentals.
They’re on the right track – but we hope they act quickly to make a difference before we lose more young families who can no longer afford to live in the place they call home. They’re being priced out of Squamish.
– Editor Christine Endicott
