When Raven Woods, a master-planned development located in the Roche Point neighbourhood of Metro Vancouver’s North Shore, was originally built, it was one of the first businesses in North Vancouver to sell residential units on leasehold land.

Leasehold land, according to the government of British Columbia, is: 

A long-term residential leasehold is a form of homeownership where a person (the lessee or leaseholder) purchases from the owner of a building (the lessor or leasehold landlord) the right to occupy a premise for a long-term, fixed period (more than 20 years, and usually for 99 years, on first sale). This is sometimes referred to as “prepaying the lease.”

In the case of Raven Woods, the land belongs to the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation, who traditionally held the territory.

A rocky road to the shift in sentiment toward leasehold

Cal Pye, a realtor now with Babych Group Realty, was part of the original sales and marketing team for the project. Having worked in the area for over three decades, Pye has seen a shift in sentiment toward leasehold properties over the years.

But it hasn’t been a straightforward line getting there.

“The leasehold aspect has always been a contentious issue with those that don’t educate themselves about the details,” he points out. “But the confidence of the investment and the huge community spirit of Raven Woods has overcome the fears associated with the lease (from) when we started in 1994.

The buyers and their realtors who do some due diligence on the value and the community soon realize what a wonderful place (it is) to live while being comfortable with the ownership details.”

Leasehold land: A previous stigma preventing people from understanding nuances & benefits — but much of what’s left

Sarah-Jane Copeland, lands manager with Cheam First Nation, also contributes her thoughts on how people think about and work with leasehold land:

“People’s perceptions and understanding of leasehold land has changed a lot over the past decade,” she notes. Before, “(They) just wanted to kind of hide it, not really have it at the forefront.”

But Copeland believes that this previous stigma prevented people from truly understanding the nuances at hand.

“There are actually quite a lot of benefits to leasehold land as well,” she adds. “Usually there’s no property transfer tax, tax rates could be lower, it’s all different. But I think currently the reality of the situation is that First Nations land (includes) some of the only large land masses that we have left, especially since Metro Vancouver is very geographically constrained.”

‘Everyone has to start somewhere’ but education and partnership are keys to success

Copeland advocates for accessing and developing these large parcels of land to help address growing housing pressure needs, but to do so in a way that truly understands the needs of the Indigenous bands she works with.

The key word, according to Copeland? Partnership.

“I think the main thing is making sure that all parties involved have an understanding of the main goal you’re working toward and being respectful of the laws and policies that these First Nations already have,” she shares.

Aiden Mauti is a Toronto-based consultant with Creative Fire, a 100 per cent Indigenous-owned consulting and communications firm.

Like Copeland and Pye, he believes in the significance of both education and partnership when it comes to real estate sales and marketing practices for leasehold properties on Indigenous land.

For realtors who are interested in learning more but aren’t sure how, Mauti’s advice would be to just get started.

“It’s such a journey that there’s always going to be a critique, there’s always going to be a different opinion of what ‘good’ looks like,” Mauti says. “Everyone has to start somewhere.”

A journey that’s just starting

And while land acknowledgements and showing support on Truth and Reconciliation Day are major steps in progress toward national attention and recognition of Indigenous issues, Mauti believes that the journey for Canadians is just getting started.

“I think there’s just a lot more learning to happen on what reconciliation really means, beyond an orange shirt or even what we see in the industry of wanting to just hire more Indigenous people for the sake of it,” he adds.

The real estate development space has seen a rise of Indigenous-led projects, such as kʷasən Village and Sen̓áḵw in Metro Vancouver, and YZD in Toronto. The land’s history has been incorporated and welcomed, rather than avoided, in their ongoing sales and marketing efforts, with the Squamish nation calling the Sen̓áḵw project “reconciliation in action.”

Resurgence over reconciliation

Mauti reflects on the words of Kahnawà:ke Mohawk writer, researcher, policy analyst and political strategist Taiaiake Alfred:

“Taiaiake talks a lot more about resurgence over reconciliation,” he notices. “A resurgence of cultures — how could we enable the next generation of Indigenous people to support their own self-determination, for whatever that might look like.”

Something to consider both within the real estate industry and beyond.

Photo credit: aquilinidevelopment.com

“Just minutes away from local schools, shopping centres and recreation facilities … ”

As one of the most commonly used phrases by realtors when describing their properties for sale, one doesn’t actually see “close proximity to hospitals” nearly as often as its more popular counterparts. But for real estate builders and developers with upcoming health care facility projects, it soon became apparent that local health care workers would be making up a sizable segment of their future home buyers.

Health care workers: Quite interested in living close to work

Barrett Sprowson, vice president of sales and project marketing at Peterson Real Estate based in Vancouver, shared his thoughts on this. One of the developer’s current projects, Ashleigh, is located in the Oakridge area of Vancouver — traditionally known as a “medical” neighbourhood in the city.

“We didn’t particularly think about health care workers specifically as a segment early on,” says Sprowson. 

But with a concentration of medical facilities nearby, as well as BC Children’s Hospital and BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre, the idea of living close to where they work appears to be of great interest to those in the health care sector.

“Now we have lots of people coming into our presentation centre who are in the medical field in some form: doctors, dentists, registered nurses, physiotherapists,” he adds.

Higher price points out of reach for many in the profession

But with a wide disparity in income within the health care sector — a doctor can make up to $335,000 per year in British Columbia while a medical office assistant can make as little as $17.40 an hour — Sprowson is aware that the price points in this popular neighbourhood might not be attainable for everyone.

“It is a slightly higher price point,” he acknowledges. “So it has a slightly skinnier appeal in those terms.”

‘Building for humans’ despite affordability challenges

Celina Villarroel Whiting works as a practicing kinesiologist and facilities health care worker in Vancouver. However, she and her husband have chosen to live further away from her work in nearby Burnaby, with cost being the biggest factor.

“I think if we had the choice, I would have preferred to be closer to work,” shares Whiting. “In my department specifically, everyone is commuting from somewhere else.”

But despite these challenges in affordability, Peterson still aims for the principle of “building for humans” in its homes. For example, when considering the suite mix of the Ashleigh project, the team considered how they could design the space to fit as diverse a population as possible.

“We want to fit the widest range of humans possible,” continues Sprowson. “(Considering) what we’ve seen in the past, we think ‘Maybe we need this percentage of one, two or three-bedroom homes in our suite mix,’ or ‘What kind of amenities would support the type of lifestyle that people might want to have?’” These are the types of questions his team addresses.

Nearby hospital a major decision factor

Arvind Grewal is the CEO of Meritus Group, a real estate developer primarily focused on the ever-growing Fraser Valley region in B.C. One of its future residential projects is close to Mission Memorial Hospital. When they made an offer on the property in 2021, the hospital was a major factor in their decision.

“We were lucky enough that it was a big chunk of land that we could build our desired community within close proximity to all of that,” shares Grewal. 

Mix of complementary commercial tenants to existing hospital & infrastructure a ‘key priority’

Meritus Group had previously donated over $500,000 to the hospital for a new CT scanner back in 2022. Grewal hopes to continue building on this relationship as the company looks ahead to planning and building its future project. The current surrounding area is primarily made up of single detached homes, but the first two phases of the project will comprise multi-family residential units with commercial space below. Having a mix of commercial tenants that complement the existing hospital and infrastructure is a key priority for Grewal and his team.

“For a developer, it’s very significant whether a physician or a pharmacist comes into those commercial spaces,” he says. “But I think that’s something where we need to step in and have more of a careful approach into who we bring into those tenanted spaces.”

Homes can be healthy too, with plenty of light, air & access to nature

For health care workers, often surrounded by clinical spaces, Sprowsen believes that homes for these professionals can be healthy as well — albeit in a different way. Unique landscaping items, such as edible plants, garden plants and tree retention, have been incorporated into the Ashleigh project.

Growing up in Malawi, southeastern Africa, Sprowson’s mother was a horticulturist: “She would tell you a healthy building is one that has lots of greenery and plants,” he shares. “Light, air, access to nature … That, to my mind, is the foundation for a healthy building.”

If you’re a real estate professional who grew up in the ’80s or ’90s, the word “mall” likely elicits memories of water fountains, cinnamon-sugar pretzels and Orange Julius. But in today’s market, the concept of a “mall” has shifted dramatically — much like the rest of the real estate landscape.

Harp Khela, president at Khela Real Estate Group based in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley, has seen this transformation evolve throughout over 17 years as a broker. So when it was announced earlier this year that Strawberry Hill Shopping Centre, located in Surrey’s Scott Road corridor, was sold with plans for future development, this news didn’t come as a shock to him.

Not only a cheaper option but also one where people want to raise families

“It wasn’t surprising,” Khela says. “All of the large shopping centres are going through densification around the Skytrain and key transit areas.”

The Fraser Valley, a traditionally suburban region about one hour east of Metro Vancouver, and nearby cities like Surrey have undergone tremendous growth over the last decade, including a rise in housing inventory, jobs and commercial spaces like malls. According to the City of Surrey, it has experienced a 22 per cent employment growth rate over the past 10 years.

“The job creation is here,” adds Khela. “Now, the population is increasing rapidly; so it’s not just a cheaper option anymore for people, it’s more so a place where they actually want to raise their families.”

Growth and existing infrastructure: A need for balance

But not everyone in the Fraser Valley is happy with this growth. 

“I think you have people that have lived in certain areas for a very long time, in older neighbourhoods that are now densifying,” Khela continues. “Developers and planners will need to deal with this as they densify, and as they’re allowing projects to move forward, they’ll be keeping those people in mind so that they can have buffers or create setbacks that allow them to still enjoy their properties.”

The Smith neighbourhood, located in the popular Willoughby community in Langley, is a prime example of how developers are balancing the need for growth while maintaining the existing housing infrastructure in place.

Apcon Group, a real estate developer also based in the Fraser Valley, has been creating a mixed-use project called The Hive located directly next to Willoughby Town Centre. As a newer retail shopping centre, it was positioned as a “walkable lifestyle centre” —  a relatively new concept in the Fraser Valley that sits in sharp contrast to traditional models like Strawberry Hill Shopping Centre that rely heavily on vehicle traffic.

A complementary — not competing — tenant mix: Bringing essential resources to underserved communities

Tejvir Atwal, managing director of Apcon Group, paid close attention to how the community has responded to all of these development changes, particularly with the Smith Neighbourhood Plan updates on the horizon with the Township of Langley. 

“The amendment brings a great change to the area,” Atwal shares. “The Township has done a great job balancing community resources with development by bringing recreational and essential resources to an underserved community. This will benefit the community as a whole as it continues to experience growth.”

Balraj Rai, also with Apcon Group, adds her insights: “It feels like it’s a very delicate dance,” she admits.

Both Rai and Atwal understand the importance of creating a tenant mix that complements, not competes, with the existing infrastructure of Willoughby Town Centre. Communication between all stakeholders, even if interests are different, ultimately benefits the neighbourhood as a whole. 

A two-fold retail approach

“I think it’s two-fold,” continues Rai. “One part is making sure that each category of service has enough coverage, but it has to be balanced between it all, taking into consideration what is already existing around.

Secondly, at least from what I’ve seen, having an anchor tenant is very important. For your anchor tenant, you’re going to want somebody who is more of an established company, a little more known. That becomes very attractive for other companies and businesses to want to be there as well.”

Janice Barroso, a resident of the Smith neighbourhood, lives within walking distance of Willoughby Town Centre. The anchor tenant there is a grocery store, which has been beneficial for Barroso and her daughter.

“I would say that the most important thing there for sure is the grocery store,” she shares. “Especially when there’s a snowstorm or something, you don’t need to drive, you don’t need to worry, you can just walk across the street.”

Addressing new needs that stem from commercial & residential changes

These commercial and residential additions to the Smith neighbourhood inevitably create other needs from the resulting changes.

Even with an emphasis on a pedestrian-oriented neighbourhood, the Township of Langley will need to address various vehicular issues along 208th Street, including the addition of new traffic lights and the creation of new local roads.

What the future holds: Demand continuing upward — there’s ‘never been higher pressure to sell’

With the sale of Strawberry Hill Shopping Centre, along with the rise of other models of retail shopping experiences like Willoughby Town Centre, the future horizon of other shopping centres in the Fraser Valley remains unclear. But based on what’s happening in the market, Khela sees the demand to sell continuing on its upward trend.

“What’s happening with these shopping centres, with high interest rates, there’s never been higher pressure to sell,” he says. “Cap rates are still low. You can still demand a lower cap rate due to the underlying land value.”

Walkability: it sounds like a straightforward concept, but when you consider the diverse landscape within major Canadian cities, it’s not quite an apples-to-apples comparison.

Francesca Johnson, a realtor with Century 21 based in Calgary (which has a Walk Score* of 39), grew up in Manitoba. The difference between the two cities when it comes to defining walkability is indicative of each area’s respective urban areas — despite Winnipeg technically having a higher Walk Score (of 48).

“It takes half an hour to an hour to even get to the city from where a lot of people live because it’s very agricultural,” Johnson explains about Winnipeg.

She compares walkability to her current experience living and working in Calgary:

“I would break it open to three pieces: amenities, accessibility and safety,” she comments. “Are they taking good care of the sidewalks in the winter time, or are you going to be terrified that you’ll break your back on the way to work because they haven’t started it or they haven’t travelled it?”

Place-making and pedestrianization in Vancouver

On the West Coast, Vancouver (with a Walk Score of 80) is addressing its own questions about walkability with the City’s launch of the Water Street Pedestrian Zone pilot project over the summer in the popular Gastown area. The pilot converted a section of the street, formerly open to vehicle traffic, into a pedestrian-only area with public seating, market stalls and a free bike valet.

Nathan Hawkins, an urban planning student at the University of British Columbia, is involved with Vision Zero Vancouver, a non-profit organization that advocates for transportation systems that put safety first. He closely watched the pilot project in Gastown unfold throughout July and August.

“I love it,” Hawkins shares. “I think any change of use and pedestrianization of streets is fantastic from a safety and place-making perspective.”

Some businesses dissatisfied but pilot & walkability factor could help — not hinder — sales

Not everyone shares his sentiments, however. Some local businesses affected by the project have expressed their dissatisfaction with the changes, citing negative impacts on sales.

Having previous experience as a real estate project manager for a retail start-up in Canada, Hawkins takes an analytical approach in assessing any brick-and-mortar business’ sales success. This involves metrics such as month-over-month revenue, daily revenue, year-over-year revenue and basket size per sale/transaction. He believes that the pilot project, and subsequent walkability factor that comes with it, should actually help, not hinder, these businesses. 

“No business has the resources to be able to say this specific pedestrian pilot accounted for 80 per cent of their loss of sales this month versus last month. There’s just no way,” he adds.

Toronto: ‘So hard to get downtown’ and every commute minute matters

Adam Jacobs, PhD, the national head of research with Colliers, adds his insights into how walkability impacts the real estate market in Toronto (which has a Walk Score of 61), where he’s based:

“It’s so hard to get downtown here,” comments Jacobs. “It’s a difficult commute, there’s a lot of construction, there’s a lot of traffic and it’s getting harder and harder to get employees downtown.”

For businesses with offices in downtown Toronto, every minute matters. A Q1 2024 report from Colliers indicated that “an average lower commute time of 10 minutes is correlated to a two-percentage point lower market vacancy.” 

So how do these businesses decide on their next office space?

“(They think,) ‘Let’s make this as frictionless and easy as possible. I’ll pay top dollar to rent the building right next to the main train station’,” Jacobs explains.

Walkability impacting the market: A ‘wholly Canadian issue’

Whether you’re in Calgary, Winnipeg, Vancouver or Toronto, walkability plays a key factor in the real estate market. And while there are differences between each city, Hawkins sees this as a wholly Canadian issue.

“We as a country are very unwilling to invest deeply and make bold moves. Canada as a whole really approaches governance as, ‘We need to see somebody else do it successfully for 10 years and then we’ll do a milder version of what they did,’ and that’s exactly what’s happened with the Gastown pedestrian pilot,” he points out.

“I don’t think the City went far enough with it. They’re very averse to taking risks and doing things boldly, the way that other cities, like Paris, are willing to really invest in public spaces.”

Montreal: A potential source of inspiration

Widely known as one of the most walkable cities in Canada, garnering comparisons to other European cities like Paris, Montreal may be poised to serve as an inspiration point for the rest of the country.

With a Walk Score of 65 — lower than Vancouver’s — Montreal is one example of how numbers alone can’t tell the whole story or paint the full picture of a city’s accessibility and walkability.

Lea James, originally from Paris, lived in Montreal before eventually moving to Vancouver and currently advocates alongside Hawkins at Vision Zero Vancouver.

James believes that Paris and now Montreal increasingly becoming among the most walkable and bikeable cities taught us in the last few years that, “Without determined political powers and citizens pushing for healthier and safer cities, change will not happen.”

“A walkable city is the best advocacy for living in a sustainable way, connecting with our communities and enjoying healthier living, and that’s the winning recipe to make our cities durable and equitable,” James adds.

* Walk Scores sourced from walkscore.com

Overlooking the horizon in Palm Springs, California, you would think that finding solar power for a residential real estate project wouldn’t be an issue.

But Kevin Lesowski, asset coordinator at Gatehouse Design and Developments, based in Chilliwack, British Columbia, and his team faced exactly that with their project in the California city of La Quinta. This experience highlights the need for alternative energy solutions in housing, both here in Canada and south of the border.

No power available, $20 million price tag for substation upgrade

An average home requires about 200 amps of electricity to be fully functional, yet, after about a year of dealing with the Imperial Irrigation District, the organization that deals with energy service in the area, they were told that there was no power — period. 

“Power was always known as an issue in the area, but it definitely caught us by surprise,” admitted Lesowski.

Gatehouse, along with other developers in the surrounding Palm Springs area, were advised that they’d need to upgrade a substation to service the homes, at a price tag of $20 million. 

Creating a smaller project of 34 single-family homes, the team at Gatehouse knew that it would take some unorthodox thinking to solve this problem.

A solution: Solar panels linked to batteries add power to communal grid

A year after they were given the condition, while also working alongside a consortium of developers in the surrounding area, Lesowski found a third-party company called Block Energy that specializes in creating residential micro-grid communities.

“They have solar panels on the roof that go into batteries in the garages,” he explains. “Then the whole community is linked on a communal grid — once the batteries in the garage are full, they dump power into a community battery bank.”

Vancouver: Environmentally sustainable project turning profits for residents — too good to be true?

While Vancouver may not get as much sunlight as our southern California counterparts, that didn’t stop Graham Carter, co-founder of Vertex Developments, from also exploring alternative energy solutions that would work for development projects in B.C.

For Carter, this led to more research into geothermal energy: in essence, energy derived from the Earth’s crust.

“If you could have a little utility running into your building, like a geothermal system, potentially there’s an income stream for the strata corporation long-term,” says Carter.

An environmentally sustainable real estate development project that could also actually make money for its future residents? Sounds too good to be true. And as Carter and his team discovered, it was.

“What we found with everything we looked at is (it) was cost prohibitive, especially in Vancouver with the cost of building buildings. We can’t be competitive and add an extra ‘nice to have’,” he shares.

Actual and hidden costs: A huge factor all around

Carlos Gamez Ruiz, associate partner at Berry Architecture, while now based in Kelowna, B.C., previously lived and worked in Alberta. From his experience, cost also appears to be a significant factor for clients deciding on energy options for their projects.

“Either here in B.C. or in Alberta is the same situation — the cost. Also, what (will) be the hidden costs that are required to have that system in place?” Ruiz adds. “In terms of investments, talking about multi-residential types of dwelling units, we always try to see if the investment makes sense.”

Alberta: Wind energy being explored

Wind energy is currently being explored in parts of Alberta, in large part due to the topography of the region that suits this option well.

“They’re trying to make the most of the open scenarios, as there are quite a few areas there where the land is pretty flat,” notes Ruiz. “So you open the opportunity for higher winds more. In Medicine Hat, (there’s) a wind farm that they’re trying to bring on as an alternative energy solution for communities back in Red Deer.” (Medicine Hat is about 410 kilometres southeast of Red Deer.)

Bioenergy: More research & education needed for long-term traction

Another alternative energy source that could potentially garner more attention in the future? Bioenergy.

“Garbage generates some gasses,” explains Ruiz. “And they take those types of gasses to generate energy in a clean way.”

Bioenergy can be produced from multiple renewable, biological sources such as by-products from industrial forest processes or construction and demolition waste. But according to Ruiz, for this energy source to gain more traction as a long-term viable option, more research and education are needed.

Discovering, studying and eventually implementing alternative energy solutions into residential real estate projects will not be an easy task or overnight success. But despite the challenges Lesowski faced in Palm Springs, he’s optimistic about the potential for Canada’s future development landscape.

“It’s really, really great to be on the crest of that pioneering wave,” he adds. ”I think that our project aside, just the fact that everything is changing is super cool.”

The term “missing middle” has become as common in today’s real estate vocabulary as “a hot market” or “location, location, location.” Cliches often have some truth in them — and in the case of the “missing middle,” it’s gaining traction in the Canadian real estate market in part due to the rise of a newer property type: multiplexes.

Changes in B.C. and Toronto

Multiplexes are residential homes that consist of multiple separate units within what would have traditionally been a lot designated for a single detached home. They can generally vary from two to eight units.

In 2023, British Columbia made amendments to their Housing Statutes (Residential Development) Amendment Act — more commonly referred to as “Bill 44.” That same year, Toronto’s city council adopted its own Official Plan Amendment and Zoning Bylaw Amendment to allow multiplexes throughout the city.  

Jasmine Cracknell-Young, vice president of market advisory at Zonda, saw that the rise of multiplex listings in Toronto jumped dramatically since these amendments. According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), in 2023 there were 115 listings and in 2024, 168 listings — a 46.1 per cent increase.

“I think because housing has become such a hot topic, we have all levels of government finally talking about it because they realize the crisis that we’re in,” she comments. 

A ‘tiny part of the market’: Legislation may not go far enough

Chris Spoke, builder and developer with Toronto Standard, has seen firsthand the impact of these legal changes on housing projects. Personally, he doesn’t believe the legislation goes far enough. 

“So we have five residential zones in Toronto. Two of those residential zones do support multi-unit housing, but the zoning bylaws paired with the city’s Official Plan and the language of it is if there’s any new development within the neighborhood’s designation, it has to respect and reinforce the existing physical character.

(This) means that even if the zoning technically allows for multi-unit housing, if it’s not consistent with the existing physical character, then you’re not going to get past this test,” Spoke explains. “We’ve still not seen a lot of activity because I think the multiplex bylaw doesn’t go far enough in terms of the permissions. So it’s still like a tiny part of the market.”

Optimism and opposition: Major Streets Study

However, Spoke is optimistic that multiplexes will continue to rise in popularity in Toronto, particularly with the momentum surrounding the Major Streets Study which “focuses on permitting gentle density — missing middle housing — on major streets in low-rise neighbourhoods across Toronto.”

“These are the major arterials in the city that have bus routes on them,” adds Spoke. “So this also opened up a new scale of development in parts of the city where it was not legal before.”

However, these policies are met with some opposition. When it comes to the Major Streets Policy, traffic is a big concern among current residents.

“It’s always traffic,” shares Cracknell-Young. “They just think it’s taking up road space.”

Bill 44 in B.C. addresses these concerns by eliminating new vehicles from entering neighbourhoods altogether in some cases: if a housing project is within 400 metres of a transit stop, no minimum parking is required. Transportation accessibility is poised to play a significant role in the development of multiplex housing.

Ottawa: Multiplex increases expected post-bylaw approval in 2025

Nachiket Kulkarni, an architectural designer with Architrix Studio, has worked on multiplex projects both in Vancouver and Ottawa, where he now lives.

“Ottawa would be two or three years behind Vancouver when it comes to that change,” he says. “So whatever happens in Vancouver right now, the same change would be in Ottawa two or three years down the line in terms of multiplexes.”

While Kulkarni has seen a big shift towards more multiplex development over the past couple of years in Ottawa, he anticipates that to increase even further after December 2025, when the new zoning bylaw is expected to have final approval.

“In Ottawa, they’ve consolidated the number of zones into just six zones now, just like Vancouver did,” adds Kulkarni.

In October 2023, the City of Vancouver implemented a new zoning designation, “R1-1,” otherwise known as “Residential Inclusive.” This was put in place to replace and simplify the previous zoning structure, which included various RS (One-Family Dwelling), RT (Two-Family Dwelling) and RM (Multiple Dwelling) designations.

And similar to Toronto and Vancouver, Ottawa’s changes will also aim to reduce parking requirements.

‘Citizen developers’ on the rise

Spoke believes that with these new changes, multiplexes will open the door towards something he refers to as “citizen developers:” where those such as home builders, general contractors and even everyday homeowners can actively participate in building up new housing opportunities.

“Multiplexes offer a form of development that’s accessible to people who haven’t worked professionally as developers,” Spoke says.

While multiplexes will likely not solve all of our housing problems overnight, they provide an opportunity to think of density in a more nuanced manner. 

“I think it’s a really great product form. You can have multiplexes go into existing communities and have people of different incomes and demographics able to access some of the best communities that we have,” says Cracknell-Young. “To stop the sprawl and have more people in our existing communities where it’s possible … I hope that we will see more of them.”

Image: ShapeYourCity.ca

25 per cent. 

That’s the percentage of mortgage applications that Perch, a mortgage brokerage based in Toronto, receives from prospective homeowners who are single. That means about three-quarters of their applicants are coupled up, in some form or another. 

“People have to aggregate to survive”, shares Alex Leduc, founder and CEO of Perch. “Whether it’s intergenerational living, couples, siblings, and so on, there are so many trends towards needing to pool multiple incomes or down payment sources to make ends meet to get into the housing market.”

Qualifying separately for first-time homebuyer incentives

Michael Son, a realtor since 2022 with G&E Realty Group, previously lived and worked in Montreal before moving to Vancouver. He’s seen first-hand how people’s romantic choices influence their real estate transactions.

A client of his in Ontario recently had a wedding ceremony, but didn’t sign on the dotted line … yet. 

“They’re going to sign the papers a bit later down the line so that they can apply for their first-time homebuyer credits and incentives separately, so that they can even pull property together,” Son explains.

Why wait? One of them had already previously purchased a property and used the First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit and incentives. Therefore, if they “officially” married, the other wouldn’t have been able to use the credit themselves. 

“They’ve recently moved into a very large townhouse, so they’ll have to wait a little longer before they certify their marriage,” Son adds.

How cultural values around relationships align with real estate transaction practicalities

A study by The Vanier Institute of The Family showed that common-law unions are most common in Quebec and Nunavut. Being French-Canadian with Korean ethnicity, Son has experience with how different cultural values around relationships align with the practicalities of real estate transactions.

“We see a lot of common-law partnerships and based on my experience so far, the majority of my clients like to keep a lot of things separate from their spouse,” comments Son.

For better or for worse, many societal conventions tend to operate in favour of couples, such as hotel room bookings with double occupancy. Homeownership in Canada appears to be no exception. Two people tend to equal two incomes, especially in more urban areas of the country, based on Perch’s data.

“If I have two people making $100,000 per year each or one person making $200,000 a year, lenders will look at it very similarly,” says Leduc. “I think it’s more around the continuation of that mortgage, or the ability to not go into default.”

Buyers need to stand out: Personal touches can pay off

Mortgage brokers might not be the only ones swayed by someone’s relationship status when it comes to buying a home. When Tania Perizzolo and her fiance, Nick Raposo, a couple in their 30s from Metro Vancouver, bought their home together, it was during a highly competitive market.

“Buying a home together was exciting and stressful. Exciting because our relationship was fresh with the promise of the future, having recently moved in together,” Perizzolo recalls. 

When they did eventually find a home they loved, she knew that they’d have to stand out if they wanted to land that dream home.

“To add a personal touch to our offer, we decided to submit a short letter to the seller,” she continues. “To be honest, it felt uncomfortable to be so vulnerable with a stranger, but with such a large and meaningful purchase on the line we got over that discomfort pretty quickly. ”

The letter included a photo of the couple with their love story, what they hoped for the future and how that particular home would fit that vision. Fortunately, it paid off, as it was a contributing factor in the seller’s decision to choose them as the new owners.

Decision of where to put down roots: Partly influenced by real estate market dynamics 

Perch’s data indicates that of clients ages 18 to 39 who closed a mortgage with them, 65 per cent were married or common law. Rosa Sasages, a homeowner based in Chilliwack (a Metro Vancouver suburb), and her husband Sean got married when they were 22. By the time they were 28, they were able to put a down payment on their first home together. But it wasn’t exactly a honeymoon phase going into homeownership.

“We got married without any savings or anything to even think about buying,” she shares. “During that first year of marriage in 2009, we were very much affected by the recession that trickled into our honeymoon phase of life.”

The decision of where to put down roots was in part influenced by the dynamics of the real estate market. While they were initially concerned about leaving the city behind for a quieter lifestyle in Chilliwack, it’s a decision they don’t regret.

“We thought we would hate it here. Too quiet. Too lonely,” Sasages confesses. “Buying real estate is a gamble. It’s a gamble on what price you pay, where you buy and what you gain. But we love it here. It takes courage, hard work and, in some cases, timing to succeed in this market.”

Divorce: The ‘leading cause of unexpected defaults or homes that must liquidate’

Despite divorce rates declining in Canada since the 1990s, it’s not always a happy ending for everyone.

“I remember one of my old bosses would always joke, ‘If somebody could just build a divorce prediction model it would trump any other one,’ because that’s the leading cause of unexpected defaults or homes that have to go into liquidation,” Leduc adds.

So, if your clients are a couple looking to jump into a different kind of long-term commitment with homeownership, what can they do to ensure success both in real estate and in their relationship?

“It’s just all about planning, period,” shares Son. “Budget realistically and (get) some professional guidance from mortgage brokers or real estate brokers. Have a long-term forecast and plan for the future a little bit more compared to the immediate now.”

Close proximity to transportation = desirable housing

A classic equation for property valuation in any real estate market. But how does this model stand in today’s changing world, with the rise of remote work and growing concerns about energy sustainability?

Toronto: The ‘worst transit infrastructure for its class and size’

Peter Jordon, a real estate broker with Century 21 based in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), shares what he’s currently noticing with clients:

“I’m definitely seeing more interest in properties with close proximity to public transit like the GO station, and that will always be the case, I think,” he says. “Who wouldn’t want access to good transit infrastructure?”

But not all transportation options are built equally.

“Toronto probably has the worst transit infrastructure, for its class and size, that I’ve seen,” continues Jordon. “It was built for a population of 500,000, and now we have over six million people in the GTA. It’s not a well-functioning system; it’s gridlocked. If you were to break the city into quadrants to get from one section to the other, it would take hours, maybe all day.”

A reason for unprecedented unaffordability: We weren’t ready for it

With Canada’s population expected to grow anywhere from about 25 to 40 per cent by 2046, a variety of transportation options will need to be readily available to service this influx. And with more people, naturally, comes more need for housing. 

Lee Haber, founder of Cambria Consulting, has spent much of his career on policy research and messaging when it comes to issues around transportation and urban planning.

“I think one of the reasons we’re experiencing an unprecedented lack of affordability is because we weren’t ready for it,” comments Haber. “We didn’t have the systems in place to allow for more housing and infrastructure to be built at the pace required.” 

350 km B.C. rail network could facilitate housing for 25% of region’s expected growth

Through his work with Mountain Valley Express, a non-profit group that aims to bring a regional rail network to southern British Columbia, Haber is hopeful that we can put better systems in place than the ones laid out by previous generations.

“The second best time to plant a tree is today,” he reflects. “The province (of British Columbia) is putting in place policies that will allow for much more housing and we can put in place mechanisms where we can accelerate transit expansion by leveraging the value of development around new stations using similar mechanisms as those employed in Asia.”

An analysis conducted by Haber’s team determined that if British Columbia’s Transit Oriented Areas (TOA) policy were applied to their proposed 350 km regional rail system, around 440,000 people could be housed near these stations —  addressing at least 25 per cent of the region’s expected growth.

“Regional rail has the opportunity to enable sustainable, compact development at a meaningful scale,” says Haber.

Public transit use highest in areas with balance between ‘moderately affordable housing and moderately good transit’

From a municipal transit perspective, after a decade of working for TransLink, Denis Agar is now tackling these issues as the executive director of Movement, a non-profit organization advocating for better transit in Metro Vancouver.

A 2022 study from the University of British Columbia explored the impact of rapid transit expansion on housing prices. It found that expanding rapid transit benefits households of all income levels, but the group that benefited the most was high-income earners.

“It’s no secret that housing is more expensive in places with better public transit access,” comments Agar. “When choosing a home, you have to decide whether to spend more on housing so you can save money by driving less, or vice versa. The average cost of even a used car in B.C. has surpassed $40,000, so more people than ever are trying to reduce their (vehicle) use.”

Agar has been keeping a close eye on the correlation between public transportation and real estate prices in the Metro Vancouver area.

“What we’re seeing is that ridership is growing fastest in the parts of the region that have frequent bus connections to SkyTrain. These are likely places where people are finding a balance between moderately affordable housing and moderately good transit. But these frequent buses like the 49 and 323 are overcrowded, unreliable and often leaving people behind.”

Bus-priority streets and rail lines connecting to majority of homes: ‘Governments assume voters don’t want it’

Is there a solution to this transportation conundrum? With the upcoming provincial election in October, Agar believes that the ball is in the government’s court.

”When governments provide funding to expand frequent, fast, reliable transit to more places, it increases transit-friendly options for home hunters. Imagine a future with an expansive network of bus-priority streets and rail lines connecting to a majority of homes in the region. The only reason this hasn’t been funded yet is because governments assume that the voters don’t want it. We need to tell them otherwise.”

The classic equation of “close proximity to transportation = desirable housing” still appears to hold strong, despite the challenges faced in today’s current market. It requires, however, an openness to new opportunities in order to find more viable long-term solutions. 

“If you open up transportation to new places, it opens up those places for population growth and housing development,” notes Jordon. Because no matter how you solve the equation, a more accessible world is also a more connected one.

When Gord Downie, lead singer of the Tragically Hip, first heard the story of Chanie Wenjack, he wondered why he didn’t learn about residential schools when he was in school himself, shares Kayleigh O’Connor, who works for the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund and comes from a family of Cree heritage.

At 12 years old after spending three years at a Kenora, Ont. residential school, Wenjack escaped to reunite with his family 600 km away. A week after fleeing, his body was found near railway tracks. He had died from starvation and exposure.

“It was from a place of humility wondering why (Downie) hadn’t heard about Chanie Wenjack before, why he wasn’t taught about residential schools when he was growing up in Kingston, Ontario,” shares O’Connor. “And so he realized that if there was such a lack of knowledge on his part, this must be contributing to a lot of division and inequity for other people who also don’t know the real story of residential schools.”

The fund’s aim is to “build cultural understanding and create a path towards reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.”

Partnerships and projects committed to reconciliation

In June 2023, the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund in partnership with TAS Impact, an impact company based in Toronto, and the Walmer Road Baptist Church, located in the Annex neighbourhood of the city, launched their community “Legacy Space”: 38 Walmer Road.

“They had a mural installed outside, working closely with an Indigenous artist,” O’Connor adds. “They planted medicines and food in the garden out front that they were sharing and donating to Community Food Services. It’s a really special space.”

TAS Impact continues on the path towards reconciliation with Indigenous communities as they recently released their Reconciliation Action Plan in June 2024. For Mazyar Mortazavi, president and CEO of TAS Impact, this was a long time coming.

“We have been exploring our relationships with our Indigenous partners for quite a number of years,” he comments. “(But) we believe that in the absence of measurement, it’s hard to actually measure progress and outcomes. So we felt that for us to really make a meaningful difference around the reconciliation initiatives, we needed to have a plan in place.”

Reconciliation Action Plan: Integrating Indigenous principles, worldviews & languages into real estate development 

TAS Impact worked alongside Creative Fire, a 100 per cent Indigenous-owned consulting and communications firm, over the course of a year to define the framework. Rather than a path that’s set in stone, they view the Action Plan as a living document.

Sean Willy and Aiden Mauti of Creative Fire are excited about moving forward with next steps now that the Action Plan has finally been released. One of the six pillars, Stewardship and Placekeeping, has a focus on integrating Indigenous principles, worldviews and languages into real estate development projects. 

“Indigenous architects in the country right now are starting to put their stamp on projects and you’re seeing more things like shared rooms, shared spiritual rooms, shared round rooms, shared smudging rooms,” reflects Willy. 

Mauti also anticipates a growing demand for Indigenous architects in Canada as reconciliation practices become more commonplace in development spaces. 

“What we heard from the Indigenous architects we were working with is that there’s demand for about 500 Indigenous architects in Canada right now, and we have about five, so we have so little capacity,” Mauti comments.

The ‘why’ and being well-grounded in intentionality: A big principle for many Indigenous groups

Another pillar of the Action Plan is Ceremony, which can include components such as site activations, land ceremonies, storytelling and cultural events on development sites.

“To me, it’s a feeling, right?” adds Willy, who is also a band member of the Deninu Kųę́ First Nation of the Northwest Territories. “I’ve gone to some places that are very institutional, very cold, very 90-degree angles. But here when we’re doing our development plan, there’s a flow to it. It’s a holistic flow. Then you have these spaces. Safe spaces for ceremony, safe spaces for quiet time, safe spaces for connecting.”

Incorporating this pillar should go beyond aesthetic or visual appeal, in Mauti’s opinion.

“We really shouldn’t be doing this just for the sake of it,” Mauti says. “There’s a lot of intentionality behind (what we do), which is a big principle to a lot of Indigenous groups — making sure it’s well grounded in why we’re doing this.”

What does this mean for the city’s real estate development?

For Toronto’s real estate development space, this could mean taking a more holistic approach when it comes to designing both residential and commercial spaces.

“Our work is guided by a core belief that an ecosystem is far stronger than an isolated sort of element,” comments Mortazavi. “As we look at our buildings, when we can create a diversity of tenancies, we can allow them to collaborate and work together.”

Today, a year later, O’Connor still sees the positive impact at 38 Walmer Road. “People are really excited to have this in the community to learn from it and expand their view of Indigenous people,” she shares.

She sees a bright future ahead when it comes to creating more spaces that invite dialogue around reconciliation and hopes that can carry forward into future Indigenous-led projects throughout Canada.

It’s sometimes hard to decide what Vancouver is better known for: its ever-prevalent and in-demand real estate market, or its well-earned reputation as Hollywood North.

For Canadians looking to break into the film and television industry, Metro Vancouver would seem the logical place to be if you want to pursue a career in acting but aren’t interested in heading south of the border. The region and its competitive markets also offer plenty of opportunities for motivated realtors.

Actors turned realtors

Tyler Burrows, now a realtor with Oakwyn Realty, didn’t originally move to Vancouver from Kamloops to pursue a life in real estate. With Christopher Reeves and Jim Carrey as some of his earliest inspirations, he realized early on in life that he wanted to become an actor. 

“In high school, I got into theatre and acting class there and really developed a love for it,” he shares. “So I decided that was what I was going to pursue.”

Lucas McCann, another realtor with Oakwyn Realty, also moved to Vancouver with acting aspirations. 

“I had no clue what I wanted to do and spent six months in college. I realized it was just not for me”, says McCann.

A friend of his invited him to a workshop in Victoria, where he’s originally from, where his interest in acting first developed. Two years later, after completing an acting program, he made the leap and moved to Vancouver. 

So how did Burrows and McCann find themselves where they are today, as realtors in arguably the hottest real estate market in Canada?

A deep curiosity about the real estate process; a desire to ‘control my own fate’

For Burrows, it was a case of life imitating art. He and his partner, a dancer, purchased their first home together in Vancouver in 2018. As two self-employed creative professionals, the process was a little bit more complicated for them. The learning curve he experienced during this time inspired him to dig deeper into the real estate industry.

“I didn’t know these nuances back then … I was thinking, like, what else do I not know about this industry?” Burrows confesses. “I never got off the real estate track after that.”

In McCann’s case, he found himself motivated to try a different career path after years of grinding it out at auditions and long days on set:

“I wanted to be able to control my own fate. I need to be in a profession that I could put however much hard work I put into it, I’m actually getting out of it,” he adds. “As an actor, I felt like it didn’t matter how good you were. You may be the best in the room. But it didn’t come down to that.”

A passion reignited

On the flip side, Sean Gartland, a realtor with Angell Hasman & Associates, finds himself now pursuing his passion as an actor. Growing up in Vancouver, he was part of the theatre program and acted in several productions in high school. Yet he decided to pursue a more conventional career path in business, and eventually real estate.

“Society can sometimes squash those dreams,” reflects Gartland.

Coincidentally, it was through meeting Burrows one day at an open house that reignited Gartland’s interest in acting. While he still maintains a healthy and robust real estate practice, he is now also exploring the acting profession by working with a coach and taking classes.

“I do enjoy real estate professionally, but it doesn’t do anything for me creatively,” he says.

More in common than meets the eye

One thing that Burrows, McCann and Gartland have in common is their belief that being an actor and being a realtor have more in common than meets the eye.

It just takes one look at Burrows’ social media channels, particularly his video tours, “Touring With Tyler” which are growing in popularity, to see how years of working in film and television have translated well into his current realtor marketing game.

“For my social media, I’ll go out in one day and shoot 10 different places, or two or three days and shoot a bunch of different places,” explains Burrows. “Then I’ll edit them all in one night and do all the voiceovers in one night. I took my film career and blended it into my real estate career.”

If he was approached by any actor interested in becoming a realtor, the first question McCann would ask them would be, “Have you ever worked in the restaurant industry?”

“If you ever served somebody as a bartender, or just talked to people in a common conversation, that’ll help … It’s about building a relationship with your clients,” he shares.

Gartland echoes this sentiment, albeit from an inverse perspective: 

“If you don’t put in the work to truly connect with people during a scene, it’s going to fall flat. And if you don’t connect with people in real estate, they’re not going to trust you.”

Whether you’re getting ready to watch the next blockbuster or you’re carefully watching the real estate market activity in Vancouver, be sure to get the popcorn out this summer.