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Strata Mafia! — Houses Consolidated Into 4-Storey Developments

461 views · Published 16 December 2016 · 3:04 · Indexed 4 November 2026

Channel: Mike Martins · 2016 · News & Politics

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In this video, I’m taking you boots on the ground in Vancouver to show you something that is becoming increasingly visible around the city: older detached homes being consolidated into larger parcels and redeveloped into four-storey mixed-use buildings.

Instead of just talking about Vancouver real estate from behind a computer, I wanted to actually show you what these developments look like while they’re being built—and what the finished product looks like across the street.

Several individual properties can be assembled together, the existing houses removed, and the land redeveloped into a much denser project. What I find interesting about these developments is the combination of commercial space on the ground floor with residential units above. In the right locations, I actually think this can be a good way of adding housing while bringing new stores and businesses into a neighborhood.

But there’s another question hanging over these projects in late 2016: what happens now that Vancouver’s housing market is changing?

Some of these developments were planned, sold and started before British Columbia introduced its new 15% foreign buyer tax in August 2016. If market conditions continue changing, what happens to buyers who already placed deposits? Do projects continue at the same pace? Do purchasers follow through at the original prices? And will developers continue assembling detached properties for redevelopment?

Walking around the neighborhood, I'm still seeing construction everywhere, so from street level Vancouver certainly still looks like it's booming. At the same time, I'm also noticing a lot of houses for sale, including individual properties as well as areas where consolidation and redevelopment could eventually occur.

I also came across something interesting during the walk: a garage that appears to have been converted into additional living space. With Vancouver housing becoming so expensive, people are finding increasingly creative ways to use the space they already have.

This is another boots-on-the-ground look at Vancouver in 2016—construction is continuing, density is increasing, and neighborhoods are changing right before our eyes.

What do you think? Is this kind of four-storey mixed-use development the right way for Vancouver to increase its housing supply?

#vancouverhousingmarket  #vancouverrealestate  #housingcrisis  #vancouver  #realestate  #housingmarket  #VancouverDevelopment #ForeignBuyerTax #urbandevelopment  #mikemartins

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