With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1332052
the pandemic is driving demand for larger living spaces, which come at a premium in Metro Vancouver. "If you are going to be largely housebound for several months, or if you can now work remotely, it makes sense that you might want more space for a home office or a yard to do socially dis- tanced entertaining." Data from BC Assessment confirms Og mundson's obser vations. The top markets for residential sales through the first three quarters of 2020, relative to their population size, were (in order) Parksville, Whistler, Courtenay, Sechelt, Langford, Vernon, Sidney, West Kelowna, Penticton and Kelowna. The least active markets: Vancouver, Burnaby, the District of North Vancouver, Delta, Saanich, Daw- son Creek, Coquitlam, Mission, Surrey and Richmond. The housing markets with the greatest demand include some of the province's youngest cities, like Langford, where families are finding some of the most affordable housing in an increasingly expensive Capital Region. But retirees looking to relocate also appear to be driving demand in cities such as Parks- ville, Sidney and Sechelt, which have the highest share of seniors in the province. "An aging populace is going to mean tra- ditional retirement communities see an influx," Ogmundson notes. Families in search of affordability also appear to be fuelling the market dynamics of the Lower Mainland. Here, sales have been highest in demographically young communities outside the core cities of Metro Vancouver, including Chilliwack, Squamish, Maple Ridge and the Langleys. By comparison, cities like Vancou- ver, Richmond, Burnaby and Sur- rey have relied more heavily on new international residents to fuel growth in recent years. A COVID-induced slowdown in immigration could hinder their growth, but may also improve their affordability for local buyers. In general, the real estate sector's resilience during the pandemic has been surprising. "Looking at recent data in the housing market, it would be difficult to tell there was a recession at all," Ogmundson says. "The COVID-19 recession, however, has been anything but typical." LOOKING AHEAD As we stand at one of the most pivotal socio- economic junctures of the past century, 2021 RANK COMMUNITY FIVE-YEAR POPULATION GROWTH (10% WEIGHT) SHARE OF POPULATION AGED 65+ (5%) HOUSEHOLD FINANCIAL VULNERABILITY (15%) SHARE OF WORKFORCE IN PUBLIC ADMINIS- TRATION (5%) IMMIGRANT COMPONENT OF GROWTH (5%) 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 1 11 40 20 4 46 42 26 13 23 37 35 45 27 9 43 2020 RANK SQUAMISH 10.6% 11.3% 2.0% 114 5.4% CITY OF NORTH VANCOUVER 8.8% 17.0% 7.8% 104 4.3% NEW WESTMINSTER 11.4% 16.2% 5.3% 114 5.3% SURREY 10.2% 15.1% 7.8% 111 4.0% DIST. OF NORTH VANCOUVER 3.4% 18.5% 3.8% 97 4.6% WILLIAMS LAKE 2.7% 19.8% 1.8% 114 5.4% CRANBROOK 4.1% 22.0% 1.1% 116 5.3% PORT COQUITLAM 7.8% 14.0% 3.5% 121 5.1% COQUITLAM 10.1% 15.1% 7.5% 110 4.3% TERRACE 3.5% 16.3% 1.3% 111 7.0% VANCOUVER 4.3% 16.0% 6.2% 87 3.4% RICHMOND 5.0% 18.2% 8.0% 100 3.0% PORT ALBERNI 3.9% 25.6% 0.5% 136 4.3% DAWSON CREEK 3.1% 13.5% 4.1% 113 5.1% PRINCE RUPERT 2.6% 16.0% 1.4% 118 8.3% QUESNEL 4.3% 20.8% 0.7% 131 4.1% 52 BCBUSINESS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 BEST CITIES FOR WORK IN B.C.