November 6, 2020 MLA SPOTLIGHT CAMBIE CORRIDOR

In 2017, the Cambie Street Corridor was one of the hottest pre-sale markets in the Lower Mainland. Like all other parts of the housing market over the past 24 months, both demand and supply have pulled back.  In our analysis, we uncovered three key insights worth noting about where it is today and where the Cambie Corridor is headed in the future. 

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The past decade has been kind to Cambie Street. A transformation, unlike any other community in Metro Vancouver. Cambie Street has benefited from excellent infrastructure investments and significant changes in its Official Community Plan (OCP). A primary benefactor of the taxation policies aimed at driving affordability towards the local home buyer, while cashing in on international demand for world-class real estate. 

Before 2014, the single-family home dominated this neighbourhood—an interesting afterthought considering the recent completion of Rapid Transit Stations. Today, Cambie Street is awash with construction along its backbone due to the Phased Community Plan drafted nearly a decade ago. The outcome, density for a neighbourhood that needed it. Four storeys and 6 storeys along Cambie Street, and townhomes for growing families, adjacent to them.  

The Canada Line ushered in a new era, but due to bandwidth and shortsighted planning, the post-Olympics' OCP adjustments created a modern-day gold rush-like environment. All the while, it was happening during a period of one of the most aggressive price expansions in Vancouver's history.    

As the development community set to work on re-imagining the corridor in anticipation of growth and Floor Space Ratio (FSR), very few locations like Cambie Street offered the potential and the promise it heralded. As the BC immigration platform continued to expand, accounting for 34K- 39K new residents per year, demand for YVR accessibility, rapid transit, and affordable housing, all played critical factors in price escalation.  

Three key insights on the Cambie Corridor:

1. The Supply of New Inventory runs out in 2021
   The average annual transactions per year within the Cambie Corridor hovers between 525-550 units. This includes presale and resale. Over the last 12-18 months, inventory has been outpaced by demand.  
    
2.  Increased Resale inventory levels will fuel demand for Presale
   90% of the 2800 units sold, or currently offered for sale along the Cambie Street Corridor will complete within the next 12-14 months. As the number of units available to buyers rises and falls over the coming year, the cliff of new home development behind it will reshape pricing for the corridor, and force home buyers towards presale.  
    
3. Future Development is contingent on higher PPSF’s 
   Current resale values hover around $1150 PPSF. Buyer demand has paused momentarily due to Covid related challenges that include a lack of the following: international travel, international students, and international buyers. Cambie Street values are at its bottom as of today. Expect a strong demand curve as primary buyer demographics return in 2021.  

Watch the video for further insights on the Vancouver real estate sub-market, Cambie Corridor.