Affordability, we’re often told, is a relative concept. Like taste or humidity, it varies so widely from one person to the next that it’s impossible to quantify.
However, there is one simple way to measure affordability on the North Shore: gridlock.
Because when we look at the line of 20,000 or so workers who put the North Shore in their rear-view mirrors every afternoon, what we’re mostly seeing are folks who can’t afford to live here.
That’s just one of the reasons we’re grateful the province is putting $19 million towards 196 units of affordable housing on the North Shore.
Naturally, some contend the free market would eventually provide the housing we need. Well, if given enough time, the human body might naturally produce enough antibodies to fend off disease, but we’d prefer medicine.
While Metro Vancouver home sales fell 43 per cent compared to the same period in 2017, benchmark prices rose 2.2 per cent. Even if the real estate boom is over, we’re still grappling with aftershocks.
This money means 106 homes for seniors at the Kiwanis North Shore Housing Society at Whiteley Court and 90 homes for families near Phibbs Exchange – depending on the wishes of the newly elected District of North Van council.
We note the below-market Delbrook housing project is threatened not by a lack of provincial funding but by a lack of support from its neighbours.
We’re hopeful our new council will overcome political gridlock and help the legions priced out of the North Shore.
The new funding may be a drop in the bucket. But the way we see it, that’s all the more reason not to waste it.
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