Most every narrative needs a villain, so it should not be surprising that in the frustration of the Vancouver housing market there is furor about foreign investment, ownership and non-occupancy. What this fixation has done, though, is neither apt nor accurate in addressing the mess. There is so much more to the challenge for policy-makers; villains are not the least of the issues, but they are a distraction from larger matters.
It has been wise for the province to signal the collapse of looser elements of the assigned contract – what we now call shadow flipping – in order to mitigate predatory real estate practices. It is wiser still to hone in on the cheaters, fine them ferociously or toss them over the side with licence revocation, in order to clean the business of buying and selling.
But, as with any shape-up program, we need to recognize we did not get here quickly and will not get out of it quickly. Moreover, we share the responsibility. It didn’t happen to us.
That means the narrative needs to transform the obsession into a focus – and on several fronts – to generate supply and variety, to gently densify neighbourhoods with dwellings that families can and will buy, and to first and foremost take the time to build a more coherent citywide plan to more transparently consult and build support for what has to happen.
The city’s existing strategy, of trying to go it alone on many fronts and then pointing the finger at other levels of government when the situation worsens, is neither sustainable nor adult. We have no more serious policy challenge now as a community than what our housing market is creating as an engine of prosperity, a driver of inequality and a vehicle of divisiveness. Vilifying is of little use, except to avoid the real issues. It is time to realize the enemy is often us.
