Study: Where Land Values Soar, Houses Come Down

Soaring land values are leaving an indelible mark on the building stock of Vancouver, British Columbia.

1 minute read

June 21, 2018, 1:00 PM PDT

Davide Calabresi / Shutterstock

"In the first three months of this year, residential land sales in Metro Vancouver dominated real estate investments, with $1.14 billion in transactions, according to a survey by Altus Group," reports Frank O'Brien. "Land sales accounted for 57% of the entire real estate investment market in the first quarter, noted Paul Richter, an Altus Group director."

That means a lot of deals where "owners of older townhouse or condominium projects vote to sell the entire complex for the land value." Also, most of the homes sold for land value will then be torn down.

"In the past 30 years, 26,700 Vancouver detached houses, or 40% of the all houses, were demolished and replaced, according to a teardown index study from the University of British Columbia (UBC) school of architecture," adds O'Brien. "UBC architectural professor Joseph Dahmen, co-author of the teardown study, estimated that one-quarter of the Vancouver houses being sold today will be demolished."

FULL STORY: Land values beckon bulldozers

Wednesday, June 20, 2018 in Business Vancouver

Housing Land Use Urban Development British Columbia Vancouver land values Real Estate Real Estate Market Demolitions Teardowns Studies View More

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Start Learning

Advertise with us

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.