They gathered last week to talk about building up Squamish, about creating homes for the multitude of people who want to live in this recreational paradise.
While the developers at the Squamish Chamber of Commerce forum on March 16 spent most of their time outlining the projects they have already built and sold, they also touched on the issue on many people’s minds: the explosion of demand and rising prices.
In our free-market economy, the low supply of homes and high demand are pushing rental and house prices up, and the new unaffordability is forcing many to leave town. The demand is partly fuelled by sky-high Vancouver prices and partly by Squamish’s reputation as a great place to climb, hike, kiteboard and live a better life.
The event sponsor, realtor Angie Vazquez, said 80 per cent of her customers are from out of town and trying to move to Squamish, where “everything is sold out.”
“Squamish has been discovered. We’re very trendy,” she told the crowd.
She described the typical people moving to town as “rich hippies” in their 30s who eat organic foods, do yoga, have $10,000 bicycles and want to enjoy the recreation here.
Developers Tyler Ovington, Patricia Wilson, Shan Trouton, Philip Scott, Bob Deeks and Doug Day also spoke at the event, outlining their projects. Trouton, of Rostrum Development, which has built hundreds of homes, said some recent sales have been $100,000 above asking price. “Squamish is pretty hot at the moment.”
But Day, who owns Garibaldi Springs and has plans brewing for more projects, isn’t at all surprised by the spike in demand. With Squamish’s proximity to Vancouver and the upgraded highway, “it’s astounding that it has taken this long,” he said. He said lots that sat at the market for years at $400,000 recently sold for $800,000.
Prices will continue to increase, he predicted. “We haven’t even started yet.”
Young people are getting squeezed out of the market, much like in West Vancouver, where children could never afford to buy their parents’ homes, said Day.
During the event, developers discussed building communities with a mix of housing including smaller units at lower price points. Scott said Holborn Development builds a variety of housing sizes so that some are more affordable. He praised the District of Squamish for working with developers.
With 4,000 new units approved for building by the district, the supply will eventually increase, and many hope that this will make Squamish more affordable. But with huge demand, expect prices to continue to rise.
As Scott said, “it’s the land of opportunity here.”
– Editor Christine Endicott
