Frankly Speaking

The rapid rise in prices for housing of all types is the largest single pocketbook issue facing voters in the 2017 provincial election. The pocketbook issue which may prove to have the biggest influence on how people vote in the May 9 provincial election is housing. When looking back at the cost and availability of housing in 2013, when the last election was held, there is no comparison with the multiplicity of challenges on that front today. While the cost of detached houses had already risen substantially in some areas, sale prices were nowhere near what they are today. Townhouses and apartments were definitely affordable for most working people. Interest rates were low, as they are today, but the monthly payments were significantly less, simply because the initial cost was less. I took a close look at the Surrey, North Delta, White Rock and Langley markets in 2013 and 2017, based on Fraser Valley Real Estate Board sales statistics. In the markets other than Langley, p...

The Alex Fraser Bridge is under more pressure each day, due to growth in the South Fraser region and the province's tolling policies Last week’s announcement of a new interchange at Highway 91 and 72 Avenue in North Delta shows that the provincial government is finally aware of at least some of the critical issues related to the Alex Fraser Bridge. Transportation Minister Todd Stone and Delta Mayor Lois Jackson announced the plans to turn the intersection into an interchange on Wednesday, June 8. The $30 million project will be completed by the fall of 2018. The Highway 91/72 Avenue intersection has been controlled by a traffic light since the bridge opened in 1986. The intersection has long caused significant traffic delays, particularly for northbound traffic, because of the ever-increasing volumes of traffic on Highway 91. Since the bridge opened, North Delta’s population has grown significantly, and Surrey’s has grown even more substantially. Much of the growth i...

Cameron Muir, chief economist of the B.C. Real Estate Association. Cameron Muir, chief economist with the B.C. Real Estate Association, has a very different take on the Greater Vancouver housing market than the take demonstrated in many media reports. For starters, he sees no evidence that foreign buyers are inflating overall housing prices, in Vancouver or elsewhere in the region. Nor does he believe that interest rates will rise anytime soon. He also expects the red hot housing market, particularly for detached homes, to continue well into 2016. He was the guest speaker at the annual meeting of the Antrim Balanced Mortgage Fund, held Wednesday at Newlands Golf Club in Langley. The Langley-based company operates a mortgage investment corporation which holds over 650 mortgages, the vast majority of them in Greater Vancouver, and has 4,500 shareholders. Full disclosure: I am an investor in the fund and have been dealing with Antrim Investments, the parent firm, for more...