Vancouver housing at "breaking point"

Drew Atkins

Drew Atkins Jul 6, 2025

Jan 12, 2018

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                <h1>Vancouver housing at "breaking point"</h1>
                <h2><p>Due to real estate speculation, the increasing popularity of the city, and other factors, Vancouver housing has reached an average price of $1 million in the past year. Mayor Gregor Robertson sat down with local weekly The Tyee for an interview on the issue, and how the city might "</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/drewatkins1-gmail-com/">Drew Atkins</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Jan 12, 2018</time></p>
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            <p>Due to real estate speculation, the increasing popularity of the city, and other factors, Vancouver housing has reached an average price of $1 million in the past year. Mayor Gregor Robertson sat down with local weekly The Tyee <a href="http://thetyee.ca/News/2015/07/27/Vancouver-Breaking-Point/?ref=dev.cascadepbs.org">for an interview </a>on the issue, and how the city might "create a more level playing field" in the housing market. The ideas discussed include a luxury tax on high value properties, a "flipping tax" to allow the city to benefit from real estate speculation, and the potential merits of a foreign ownership tax, given interest in the market from China and other countries.</p>
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Due to real estate speculation, the increasing popularity of the city, and other factors, Vancouver housing has reached an average price of $1 million in the past year. Mayor Gregor Robertson sat down with local weekly The Tyee for an interview on the issue, and how the city might "create a more level playing field" in the housing market. The ideas discussed include a luxury tax on high value properties, a "flipping tax" to allow the city to benefit from real estate speculation, and the potential merits of a foreign ownership tax, given interest in the market from China and other countries.

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By Drew Atkins

Drew Atkins is a journalist and writer in Seattle, and the recipient of numerous national and regional awards. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Seattle Times, The Oregonian, InvestigateWes