A BC Coalition of industry, non-profit and government leaders has been formed to address the growing concern of affordable rental housing in the GVA. The Coalition signed a Canadian Rental Housing Charter outlining a nine-point plan to increase the supply of affordable rental housing across Canada.
Coalition Co-Chair and Metro Vancouver Housing Committee Chair Wayne Wright said, "The Coalition calls on all levels of government, the private sector and the non-profit sector to work collaboratively to address the critical supply shortage of affordable rental housing."
More details including The Canadian Rental Housing Coalition Founding members can be found in the media release.
CAAMP Releases "Annual State of the Residential Mortgage Market in Canada: 2011"
The Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals (CAAMP) released its State of the Residential Mortgage Market in Canada for 2011 this week. The annual report uses data from over 2,000 Canadians and analyzes consumer responses to topical questions, consumer choices & satisfaction and outlook for residential mortgage lending.
Some interesting points from the report:
- Many Canadians believe that other people have taken on too much debt or have bought homes for which they are unprepared, yet very few felt they personally had done this.
- Data on mortgage arrears indicates that there are very few Canadians who are not meeting their mortgage obligations, and estimates also indicate that a vast majority of Canadian mortgage borrowers are well-positioned to deal with potential increases in mortgage rates.
- Most Canadians feel that "Real Estate investing in Canada is a good long-term investment"
- Most Canadians consider their mortgages "good debt."
You can view the entire report here.
TOP BC Investment Towns for 2012-2016
The Real Estate Investment Network (REIN) released its latest report on the top cities and towns of British Columbia for real estate investment. The report looks at factors such as population growth compared to provincial average, infrastructures being built, new jobs being created, political leadership and major transportation. The top 10 are:
- Surrey
- Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows
- Kamloops
- Abbotsford
- Fort St. John
- Dawson Creek
- Kelowna
- Comox Valley
- Penticton
- Prince George
It is of note that Vancouver narrowly missed the top 10, coming in at #11.
