Editor:
I’m not against my city growing, but things are out of control in Burnaby.
I’m talking about the tsunami of Burnaby high-rise condo tower projects that are spreading like a wave over us regular folks who will never be able to afford them. The only people who can seem to afford them are speculators looking to flip them.
I’m a young Burnaby resident still living at home because I can’t even afford the skyrocketing rental prices in my own city, let alone the places that are for sale.
And it’s only getting worse.
I read a story in the NOW about how Metro Vancouver home sales had “reached an all-time high, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV). For Burnaby, from January to December 2021, 5,644 resident units were sold, soaring past the 2020 total of 3,372. But the average price for a detached house also soared to $1,790,000 from the 2020 mark of $1,525,000.”
I know that is for detached houses, but the prices of condos I presume have jumped along with them.
All I hear about are new condo towers being approved that will come with hefty price tags and will mean the destruction of low-rise rental buildings that I think will hurt the rental market as well.
I read a phrase used in another NOW opinion piece that mentioned “tower fatigue” and that sums up what I am feeling. Our local politicians accept money from developers and then approve all of their projects.
I don’t see affordability coming anytime soon and it makes me anxious about my future in the city I have always called home.
Scott Felder, Burnaby
