The Town of Banff plans to continue tackling its housing crunch in the face of the high cost of housing.
Sales data indicates residential sales and prices were up in 2013, with seven homes selling for more than $1 million, while a provincial government survey indicates Banff had a zero rental vacancy rate last year and some of the highest rental rates in the province.
Banff Housing Corporation (BHC) is gearing up for redevelopment in 2015 of three residential lots on Banff Avenue, and, as part of its 2014 business plan, commits to continue to scout for land and housing opportunities.
“I believe the need in the community is beyond critical in terms of housing needs. People cannot find housing and housing is extremely overpriced … it’s severely unaffordable,” said Councillor Stavros Karlos at a BHC shareholders meeting on Monday (April 28).
“It means getting units on the ground and built because the private sector to date has failed in that. We need housing yesterday. We needed it well over 10 years ago, to be frank. This is not good for the community.”
Coun. Chip Olver said a zero vacancy rate is a concern, noting that a healthy rental market typically maintains an ongoing vacancy rate of between three and five per cent.
“We all know people who have left town, long-term residents, because they didn’t find a place to live,” she said.
A survey released earlier in the year by Alberta Municipal Affairs indicated Banff had a housing vacancy rate of zero and sat at the highest end of the rental range for two-bedroom and four-bedroom units.
Average rental rates in the province for a two-bedroom are $816 and for a four bedroom $1,256 – but Banff was well beyond that.
The survey showed Banff’s vacancy rate was 1.2 per cent in both 2011 and 2012, compared to the provincial average of eight per cent in 2011 and 4.5 per cent in 2012. Banff’s vacancy rate dropped to zero last year.
In addition, the price of buying a home in Banff is also going up.
According to sales data provided to the Town of Banff from their independent assessor, the overall number of sales in 2013 was up 42 per cent over the previous year, from 90 homes to 128 homes.
The volume of sales for properties identified as residential (anything that is not a condo) was up 67 per cent, from 52 in 2012 to 87 in 2013, and accounts for almost all of the increase to the overall volume of sales.
For properties characterized as residential, the average sale price increased to $683,379 from $618,399 the year before, or 10.51 per cent, while the median sale price increased to $633,000 from $568,750, or 11.30 per cent.
Condos, on the other hand, saw the average sale price decrease to $350,649 from $359,811 in 2011, a decrease of 2.55 per cent, and the median price decreased to $337,000 from $351,400 the year before, a 1.38 per cent decrease.
Last year, seven of 87 properties sold for more than $1 million, compared to four the previous year.
According to the business plan, BHC will continue to pursue the availability of Parks Canada lands, including lots on Cave Avenue, which previously fell through, but “remain of keen interest to the BHC.”
The plan indicates the board will continue working to acquire developable land or existing properties in 2014 and determine the style of housing development the BHC could produce that will best suit the needs of the community.
“That’s an overarching approach,” said Dougal Forteath, BHC’s chief administrative officer. “We’re not necessarily limited to only doing something with what we own now. We are always looking at what sort of opportunities are out there.”
BHC also plans to redevelop in 2015 three properties on Banff Avenue. It bought the property last year for $1.3 million.
The properties at 338-340 Banff Avenue were acquired with an existing tenancy agreement for the single-family home with the Banff Hockey Academy –and the lease does not expire until June 30, 2015.
“We have some obligations to the tenants, but the goal is to be ready to go in 2015,” said Forteath.
Banff’s most recent housing study, prepared by Calgary-based Housing Strategies Inc., concluded a shortage of available and affordable rental options appears to be Banff’s most pressing housing need.
The $54,000 assessment’s conservative estimate on the current housing shortfall in Banff is about 170 units, and that’s projected to be a total conservative shortfall of 455 units within the next eight years. The shortfall could be as high as 750 by 2022.
The BHC board has directed administration to prepare a request for proposal for design services for the project at 338-340 Banff Avenue, which is zoned residential and allow for high- density apartment buildings.
Forteath said the BHC board will assign a strong value to the recommendations of the 2012 housing study and has also reviewed an interim document form the community housing strategy committee. That document has not yet been released to the public.
“These documents will help the board determine how best to develop the site,” said Forteath.
Since it was established in 1993, BHC has built 173 family housing units for home ownership in the Middle Springs area, with the last of their developments being Middle Springs 2G in 2007 and 2008.
In addition, BHC has also acquired 10 already-built apartment-style condominium units at Peyto Place above Nester’s in the downtown core in 2009, and sold them the following year in 2010.
