the rennie landscape Fall 2024 | Vancouver

housing

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE

The pre-sale market has changed a lot since the framework governing new-home consumer protection was introduced two decades ago. It's time for a change.

The Real Estate Development Marketing Act (REDMA) is a useful consumer protection tool. It dictates how developers can market and sell pre-sale properties in BC, including requiring disclosure statements, then selling enough homes within 12 months to trigger a construction financing commitment. It also sets out the terms by which a buyer can rescind their purchase. Since this came into effect in 2004, it has been amended—in 2014, 2021, and 2023—with some notable changes including extending the pre-sale period from nine to 12 months, and allowing disclosure statements for individual phases in a development, among others.

If we compare projects today with those of 2010 (as far back as the data goes), the average size of a project in Metro Vancouver has grown by 46% in the number of homes and 60% in height. More than one-third of projects launched with at least 200 homes—more than double that of 2010. Each new project today requires financial commitments from home buyers that are 212% greater than they were just over a decade ago, along with more complex financing that requires additional

time to obtain. Simply put, REDMA's 12-month early marketing period no longer suits the size of projects today.

A CHANGING DEVELOPMENT LANDSCAPE

PROJECT FEATURE

 LAUNCH

 LAUNCH

Number of Storeys

10

16

Number of Homes

116

169

Price per Square Foot

$467

$1,090

Unit Size (sq ft)

820

752

Unit Price

$383,085

$819,941

Project Volume

$44,425,860

$138,664,655

Share of Projects with 200+ Units

14%

35%

Typical City

Vancouver

Surrey

DATA: AVERAGE NEW HOME PROJECT STATISTICS, METRO VANCOUVER

SOURCE: ZONDA URBAN

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