A pair of Port Moody councillors want the city to get assurances from developers that the homes they’re building will actually be occupied by the people who purchase them.
Couns. Amy Lubik and Samantha Agtarap will introduce a motion at council’s meeting on Jan. 28 directing staff to report back on a potential policy that would require or encourage developers to prioritize new strata unit sales or presales to purchasers who would use them as their primary residence. They also want current Port Moody residents to get priority consideration for such sales.
In a report, Lubik and Agtarap said Statistics Canada reports more than a third of new condos built in British Columbia in 2022 were sold to investors.
That drives demand and raises prices for the new units, they said, especially studio and one-bedroom apartments.
Lubik and Agtarap said it’s difficult to first-time buyers, and people who are downsizing or trying to get into the market to compete.
“Statistics show that much of this market is being targeted by investors who have more capital/equity and can outbid those with less capital,” said the councillors in their report. “There are still opportunities for municipal interventions to make sure that the people who want to live in our community are prioritized for stable homes.”
Some developers building projects in Port Moody have implemented rent-to-own and resident-first programs on their own.
A rent-to-own program at Panatch Group’s 50 Electronic Avenue project on Murray Street attracted more than 700 applicants for 30 units.
The program allowed qualified first-time buyers to rent their new homes at below-market rates for two years, with all the money going towards their unit’s initial purchase price. They also had to commit to live in their unit for a set period of time.
Panatch president Kush Panatch said the program allowed purchasers to hit pause in their quest to save enough to buy a home.
“This is a game-changer in their life,” said Panatch.
One of the successful purchasers said he couldn’t agree more.
Christian Fracchia, a 30-year-old software developer, said he never would have been able to afford his own home at the Electronic Avenue project without the savings he was able to accrue through the rent-to-own program.
“It’s not a problem you can save your way out of,” he said of the housing affordability crisis that affects so many young buyers like himself.
Other projects by developers like Bold Properties have given advance purchase opportunities to people who already live or work in Port Moody.
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