When people speak of affordable housing, what are they talking about ?

 

Click on the 'What is the problem' link above to see how 'affordability' translates for the average Port Moody family.  Fact is, AVERAGE people cannot afford a house in Port Moody, or likely even a townhouse or condo.

 

Most often, conversation on affordable housing turns to low income and subsidized housing - something we dont see very much of anymore.   Senior governments, provincial and federal , have substantially reduced programs for low income subsidized housing, and the tremendous rise in construction and land costs make these next to impossible to have built in today's housing market for simple economic reasons.   The simple truth is , for low income families, there will likely NEVER be affordable market housing, and some form of subsidy is necessary to keep these people in acceptable and affordable shelter.

 

For families that perhaps are slightly better off than those considered low income, the market has become particulaly inaccessible.  The most obvious, and traditional, solution for these families is RENTAL housing - traditionally, rental rates are lower than ownership rates, as they should be as the renter is not building equity.   These families, in todays reality, find themselves in 'no mans land' -  going back to the 50's to the 70's, there was a significant amount of construction of RENTAL housing - apartments, fourplexes, etc. - constructed in the lower mainland, particularly in the 'middle class suburbs' and the tri cities area.  This just doesnt happen any more, as builders and developers look for IMMEDIATE return on their investment, rather than being interested in being landlords.  So, new construction is built as condo and townhouse for sale, and a small percentage of those go back into the rental market by indivdual investors - however, individual investors are also driven by profit and , rightly, dont take on the responsiblity of providing a social safety net for low income families.  They will rent for what the market will bear !

 

Co-ops - popular in the 60's and 70's , while still in existance, havent been built at least in this area since the late 70's or very early 80's.  Again, developers have no interest in providing this type of housing.