It’s no secret that Kelowna is growing, and as its population increases, so does competition for housing.
Now a condo development is marketing itself as the solution to this problem for buyers who want to get into the market.
However, not everyone agrees that this is the right way to deal with the city’s housing shortage.
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Kelowna’s population is getting bigger and older
The 105-unit Glenmore Central condominium project under construction in Kelowna’s Glenmore area has a unique selling point: the developers are keen not to market the project nationally or internationally.
Instead, they count the development as an opportunity for the locals to enter the housing market.
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“We want this to be a building and neighborhood in the central areas of Glenmore that people are proud of and that they can identify as their home, as opposed to an investment opportunity,” said Corey Makus, VP, Traine Construction and Development.
This is in response to the pressure that Kelowna’s growing population is putting on the local housing market.
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“This is a very viable option to still have property as a viable option for many people who have moved here or have lived here for some time,” said Makus.
UBCO economist Ross Hickey sees the same challenges facing people looking to enter Kelowna’s highly competitive real estate market.
“It gets harder if we don’t see housing supply coming online fast enough to meet demand,” Hickey said.
However, he does not agree that restricting the developments marketing campaign is the solution.
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“When we start limiting and restricting who can enter these markets, bad things usually happen. One of those bad things may be that we’re not investing in the British Columbia real estate markets because we’re keeping those overseas dollars from coming, ”Hickey said.
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Instead, Hickey sees more revealing zoning as the answer.
“This means that the supply can be created quickly enough to meet this demand. Because if you come up with another way to make housing more affordable, pushing that demand away is not ideal as it would put down price pressure, ”Hickey said.
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Vancouver buyers continue to fuel the Kelowna real estate market
While developers and economists see different solutions to the Kelowna housing shortage for some individual buyers, the solution to their housing hunt will be the completion of the Glenmore Central condominium project in the fall of 2019.
© 2018 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
