New analysis of census data has found that a quarter of the condos in some areas of downtown Vancouver are empty or occupied by non-residents, leading analysts to raise concerns about the role of investors in the city's housing market.
With findings that downtown Vancouver is home to the equivalent of 35 empty 20-story towers, and the city's overall vacancy rate is much higher than other Canadian cities, the latest analysis by adjunct UBC planning professor Andrew Yan is adding grist to the "contentious debate over whether Vancouver is turning into a high-end resort or offshore investors’ holding tank," reports Frances Bula.
"That sign of high vacancies and non-resident-owned units, which contradict some other studies and assurances that Vancouver is not being flooded with investors, should give the city pause, analysts say."
“What kind of community are you living in if there are that many empty? For a city to have that kind of vacancy, it’s like cancer,” said Richard Wozny, a real estate consultant, during an interview Wednesday. “It distorts density and it’s delaying the impact. It raises the question ‘Are we over-building?’”
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