We live in a harsh world – and in Squamish, it seems, it’s becoming harsher.
On the weekend, I toured apartments with a friend considering a move to Squamish. Most were small, one-bedroom condos, and the prices were shocking; some one-bedroom places are up to almost $400,000.
The experience was disheartening. Some realtors never got back to us at all, perhaps deciding that showing units under $350,000 wasn’t worth their time. Another realtor was good enough to spend one hour showing us apartments but took us to few in our desired range, instead substituting others at higher price points.
We received a call a few hours later. Were we interested? These condos will likely sell in a day or two, we were told. Did we want to make an offer right now? The next batch of properties coming on the market next week would be even more expensive, about $30,000 higher for the same type of unit, they said, so best to buy immediately.
When I checked the BC Assessment values on the apartments we were viewing, some were valued at about $80,000 less last July. It’s clear that the housing market has increased since then, but that kind of jump on a one-bedroom condo is shocking. The same units increased by only $40,000 the year before.
Apartments are now coming on the market because investors are cashing in on the rising real estate values in town and asking their renters to leave. A surprising number of people here face eviction notices – or have been advised that rent will be $1,000 more per month. Pay it or move out, they’ve been told.
In recent months, The Squamish Chief has published letters and stories about the housing crunch, and some of the website comments are more or less like this: “Tough luck. You don’t make enough money. Go elsewhere.”
It’s not the kind of world many of us want, where the poor are driven right out of town. And it’s not affecting just that group in society. Even professionals with university degrees and good jobs are being asked to leave their apartments and townhouses.
In the end, this will affect all of us, not just those who want a caring society. We won’t be able to create a strong economy without workers. And if workers can’t afford Squamish, our industrial-commercial tax base will slump further and our residential taxes, already increasing, will rise dramatically. Eventually, our town will be only for the wealthy, the comfortably retired and the commuters.
