Many British Columbians feeling priced out of housing market

For many Canadians, homeownership could be a fading dream as prices seem out of reach.

“Not only are Canadians feeling pressure on the housing side, they’re also seeing the challenges they’re facing around housing affordability trickle into their broader life choices and their broader quality of life,” said Alana Lavoie of Habitat for Humanity Canada.

“We’re seeing that people are delaying major life decisions.”

A survey conducted by Habitat for Humanity Canada revealed four in five Canadians say homeownership is now a luxury, with British Columbians feeling the brunt of the housing crisis.

“Three-quarters of British Columbians feel it’s a serious problem, which is the highest result in the country,” said Lavoie.

“Overall the statistics in the survey are showing us that the challenge that’s being faced around access to affordable homeownership opportunities and affordable housing is keenly being felt around B.C.”

In fact. according to the Interior Realtors Association, the benchmark price for a single-family home has gone up year over year.

The latest numbers show the Central Okanagan at a little over $1 million and prices range from $730,000 to $765,000 in the North and South Okanagan as well as the Shuswap/Revelstoke regions.

“We think about what the median house price is relative to the median income. The median house is not really affordable to the median income earner in a lot of labour markets,” said Ross Hickey, associate economics professor at the University of British Columbia.

A lot of the price fluctuations, according to Hickey, have to do with more people calling the Okanagan home.

“If incomes go up in Vancouver or Calgary we’ll see some movement in prices (in the Interior). As house prices go up in those markets some households get priced out of those markets and come to live here,” said Hickey.

Habitat for Humanity Okanagan has so far built 53 homes, housing 53 families as a way to help turn homeownership into a reality.

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