BCBusiness

But they feel poor, for the same reason they have money in the bank or investment accounts. Even with their relatively good incomes, they can't get into the property market—or at least not into any house, townhouse or condo that is roomy enough and close enough to where they work in Vancouver. That makes them cash rich and equity poor, in a city where real estate hys- teria prevails. And all three couples, who have started families and are struggling with the dif- ferent demands that makes, are enraged and frustrated about it. "On every front, it's all impossible," says Anderson, who runs a video game development business. "We have zero debt, four university degrees between us and no security in anything at all." Anderson and his wife, Tila, pay $2,500 a month for a two-bedroom condo in the West End just big enough for them and their two-year-old, with a cramped o†ce on the enclosed balcony. If that rental were ever to be yanked out from under them, their house of cards—complicated childcare arrangements, quick commutes to work—would collapse. But buying anything would mean more than doubling what they pay for housing, a piece of math that seems untenable. "Obviously, there are people who are truly ˆoundering in lived poverty out there," says Anderson, trying to put his situation into per- spective. He's right. Many British Columbians are truly poor, without any of the three pil- lars of household wealth: company pensions, investments and real estate. Half of all single B.C. seniors get by on less than $25,000 a year, according to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. About 450,000 people in the prov- ince are still considered to live below the pov- erty line, even though 40 per cent of that group is working. But there's also hardship among his cohort, Anderson contends. "For everyone in the middle, there's nothing for us," he says. "For young people, the deck is stacked against us." Digital designer Harriman and her hus- band, Eduardo Rabago, who works in software design, live in an 850-square-foot West End two- bedroom with their toddler for a modest $1,700. The only thing that seems to be available to them, if they don't want to spend way over 30 per cent of their income on shelter, is "a house in East Van where someone died," Harriman says. Jacobsen is equally stymied. He and his wife, Golriz Fattahi, pay $3,000 a month for a ˆoor of an older house near Vancouver City Hall, a roomy place they need for themselves and their two-year-old. They face having to pay double that amount if they want to buy even a small coach house in their area. One they looked at recently was selling for $1.5 million. "It's kind of stressful," says Jacobsen, who at this point can't stomach the idea of investing in such an out-of-whack real estate market. It's made him especially resentful about the specu- lation and capital ˆight from overseas distorting Vancouver's housing fundamentals, dynamics that make his everyday life uncertain. "You're dealing with a landlord who you don't know what his intention is," he says. "My son has friends in the neighbourhood, and it would be hard to move." 32 BCBUSINESS JUNE 2017 SOURCE: ENVIRONICS ANALYTICS, WEALTHSCAPES 2016 $1,000,000 – $800,000 – $600,000 – $400,000 – $200,000 – $0 – Canada B.C. Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba Ontario Quebec Atlantic Territories In 2015, B.C. led the country in growth of household net worth +4.3% +6.3% -0.7% +1.1% +2.0% +5.2% +5.0% +3.0% +2.6% "On every front, it's all impossible. We have zero debt, four uni- versity degrees between us and no security in anything at all.... For everyone in the middle, there's nothing for us. For young people, the deck is stacked against us" ++ N E L S A N D E R S O N 2014 2015

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