A great quote from an anonymous developer (no wonder), as relayed by Jonathan Baker – a well-known Vancouver lawyer and a colleague back in the late 1980s on City Council (we sat next to each other).
It’s a quote he uses to end the latest post on his blog – Baker on Vancouver – which I am immediately adding to my Favourites list.
In this post – Ye Olde Affordability Report (circa 1976) – he references a book, The HOUSING CRISIS: Causes, Effects and Solutions”, by Gordon Soules, in which the author tries to answer the perennial question: “What can be done to bring the cost of housing within the reach of the lower, younger, aspiring middle class?”
Some of the answers, and those who give them (from Mike Harcourt to Bill Vander Zalm), can be surprising, familiar and frustrating (see above). Check ’em out.
A short quiz:
Q: What politician in BC called for socializing all private land to end speculation?
A: Bill Vanderzalm then Mayor of Surrey
JB
Another short quiz. What popular community activist said: “Hey, if you build them any smaller, when you push in the key you’ll break the back window” – Jim Green
Well, I think one of the reasons you get such luxury finsihes nowadays (versus arborite countertops, which was the norm in the early 1990s) is that it’s hard to justify the high prices for such small spaces, and adding granite and nice fixtures adds to the visual appeal (in the highly superficial market).
I also think it’s because the people who are buying condos are just as likely to be investors as people who intend to live in the units themselves, and those people are more interested in re-sale value, thus finishes and things like that, than they are in ensuring affordability. The market is heavily skewed to the so-called “luxury condo” demographic, with high ceilings, granite countertops and fancy appliances, and this market makes more money for the developer, since an X% markup is going to be higher on a $450,000 condo than it is on a $200,000 condo.
It will be interesting to see what finishes the developers use on the rental-only buildings being built now.