Kelowna housing affordability gap highlighted by national report

[Castanet News]

Kelowna’s difficult housing market is being highlighted in a national report by Ratesdotca, an online mortgage rate comparison website. "Kelowna, once more...

[Davis_Kyle]

Economic performance between cities in the same province has so much to do with the tax, planning, permitting, and zoning systems. So frustrating to see local leadership asleep at the wheel.

[isaiahpaget]

We are really strapped for new housing and Kelowna keeps increasing DCCs and refuses to remove parking minimums, both together add close to $100,000 to the cost of a new home(which gets passed onto the consumer). Do we really value more roads and parking lots over the ability of young people to afford to own a home or have reasonable rent?

[Sicamous_Sue]

BC is the retirement mecca of choice. Every Tom, Dick, and Albertan moves here after they have made their millions. Plus, the mass influx of immigrants ( and money launderers) to the lower Mainland displaced many to the Okanagan and Vancouver Island.

[MBO17]

welcome to post capitalism. homes are a commodity, and the rich get richer off the backs of average Canadians every single day. it's only going to get worse, people.

[Donna Fauna]

Would it be possible to build rent-to-apartments? Pride of ownership would encourage people to hope for a better outcome. Renter mentality can lead to the misery of failure and struggle but with rent to own you don’t feel like all of your hard earned money is going down the drain

[online buy]

Renters only recently started getting credit for paying rent….uh huh.

[Jamz]

It's always been the globalist agenda to bankrupt countries! Liberals of course are the w e f infested party of Canada!

[westsider49]

welcome to post capitalism. homes are a commodity, and the rich get richer off the backs of average Canadians every single day.

When you look at cities and take into account areas that have resort type amenities there are literally thousands of them in the world that are extremely expensive. Yes, in the world of "capitalism" that's is what you have. You also opportunity to choose what you want to do and how hard you want to work for it. You also have the freedom to choose where you want to live and spend your money. Lastly, you also have the right to choose a different city or a different country if the weight on your "back" is too heavy! Maybe consider Russia, China or Iran!

[wing_nut1970]

While there is an affordability gap and issue and the facts of the story are accurate. Some facts have been passed by. Currently in Kelowna / West Kelowna there are 1058 ACTIVE listings (not including private listings) between $100,000 and $800,000, and no they are not all tear downs or dumps. So you can find a property to live in as long as you live within your means and don’t need the biggest and the best.

[streetuser]

While there is an affordability gap and issue and the facts of the story are accurate. Some facts have been passed by. Currently in Kelowna / West Kelowna there are 1058 ACTIVE listings (not including private listings) between $100,000 and $800,000, and no they are not all tear downs or dumps. So you can find a property to live in as long as you live within your means and don’t need the biggest and the best.

Again, they're not talking about the specifics. But a person making minimum wage full time with $10,000 downpayment and no debt would only be able to afford $103,000 towards a house. Double those numbers and it only rises to $230,000. At that point those 1058 active listings become 45. Two adults with kids would be hard pressed to find anything that could house them. It's still better at $1190 for the mortgage payment vs a 2-bedroom at over $2000/month for rent.

No, it's not a matter of someone giving up their avocado toast in the morning.

[vicky82]

I don't believe the intention of minimum wage was ever to purchase a home. Even waaaaaay back in the day i guarantee you people in the position to buy a home were making well above minimum wage. I think a huge part of the problem is the entitled idea that many are not willing to start in a crappy fixer upper or a run down duplex. They want to have new cars, fancy phones, and walk in closets. I do think that a program can and should be put in place for 1st time home buyers, but not in the form of free money. The provincial focus should have been on building extremely cookie cutter 800 sqft, 2 bedroom homes for new home owners only, no investors. Yet the focus was put on rentals being built and that only helps corporations and makes the cities infrastructure issues even worse.

[wing_nut1970]

Again, they're not talking about the specifics. But a person making minimum wage full time with $10,000 downpayment and no debt would only be able to afford $103,000 towards a house. Double those numbers and it only rises to $230,000. At that point those 1058 active listings become 45. Two adults with kids would be hard pressed to find anything that could house them. It's still better at $1190 for the mortgage payment vs a 2-bedroom at over $2000/month for rent.

No, it's not a matter of someone giving up their avocado toast in the morning.


Homeownership and minimum wage are not to be used in the same sentence. When homes were cheap back in the 90's and I was on minimum wage I did not try to buy a home.

[MBO17]

*removed*