CPABC: Housing affordability a major challenge to business success in B.C.
11 Julio 2024 - 1:24PM
According to
BC Check-Up: Live, an annual report
by the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia
(CPABC) on demographic and affordability trends across the
province, B.C. added more than 162,000 new residents between July
1, 2022, and July 1, 2023, marking a new record high.
“Population growth kept accelerating in 2023, thanks to record
immigration levels,” said Lori Mathison, FCPA, FCGA, LLB, president
and CEO of CPABC. “That growth was heavily concentrated in the
province’s largest cities, even more so than last year.”
B.C. welcomed 175,024 (net) residents arriving from other
countries in 2023, a 64.8 per cent increase from the number who
arrived in 2022. International migration accounted for all
population growth province-wide, while other components of
population change detracted from the total. Natural growth (births
minus mortalities) was negative for the second year ever, and
people leaving B.C. for other provinces outnumbered people coming
in for the first time in a decade; net interprovincial migration
reduced the population by 8,228 residents in 2023.
“One of the most concerning trends over the last year was the
exodus of B.C. residents relocating to other parts of Canada,”
continued Mathison. “We’ve historically been able to attract more
than we lose. High housing costs are a major reason for that
reversal. Younger people in particular are looking elsewhere to
build a future.”
When the Bank of Canada started raising interest rates in March
2022, housing prices initially fell. However, housing prices have
now stabilized. In May 2024, the benchmark price for the average
B.C. home was $965,100, up 1.2 per cent compared to May 2023. That
represents an 8.2 per cent pullback from the March 2022 high, but a
staggering 43.3 per cent increase compared to May 2019. The average
rental cost for a 3+ bedroom apartment in B.C. was $2,146 a month
and $1,558 for a 1 bedroom, up 3.8 per cent and 8.8 per cent
respectively from 2022.
Compounding the issue, new housing supply did not keep up with
new housing demand, particularly in the province’s large urban
centres. In B.C.’s seven Census Metropolitan Areas, there were
30,621 housing units completed in 2023, a meagre 1.0 per cent
increase from 2022. That translated to just 0.21 new housing units
completed per new resident.
“Immigration isn’t causing the housing crisis, as we have had
long-standing housing shortages in the province,” noted Mathison.
“The strain placed on households is evident, as is the impact the
housing crisis is having on businesses and their talent pool.”
According to the BC Check-Up: LIVE member survey conducted in
April 2024, CPAs identified poor housing affordability as the
biggest obstacle to business success in the province, with 86 per
cent of respondents calling it a major challenge. Respondents also
shared a pessimistic outlook when asked if they expected any
improvement within the next year. Nearly two-thirds (61 per cent)
expected housing affordability to worsen in their region in
2024.
“Our members have consistently identified poor housing
affordability as a major obstacle to business success,” concluded
Mathison. “To improve affordability, we need to support policies
that significantly boost the housing supply, encourage investment,
and increase real incomes of B.C. residents.”
Learn more about the BC Check-Up: Live report.
About CPA British Columbia
The Chartered Professional Accountants of British
Columbia (CPABC) is the training, governing, and regulatory
body for over 40,000 CPA members and 6,000 CPA candidates and
students. CPABC carries out its primary mission to protect the
public by enforcing the highest professional and ethical standards
and contributing to the advancement of public policy.
CPABC Media Contact:
Jack Blackwell, Economist
604.259.1143
news@bccpa.ca