BCBusiness

I n 1999, my wife and I bought our irst house, a ixer-upper off Main Street in Vancouver. Like the young couples in Fran- ces Bula's "Property Lines" (p.30), we had a toddler; for us, home ownership felt like the next step toward becoming grownups. The price of admission: $252,000, a fortune for two working people with less than $20,000 to put down. The day we got the keys to what would become the home reno version of The Blair Witch Project, we promptly Žed to a bar to drown our buyers' remorse. How silly that regret seems now—and how grateful we are for dumb luck. Thanks to an accident of birth, we've climbed the Vancouver real estate escalator as prices surged beyond the reach of doctors, lawyers and executives, let alone teachers and "re"ghters. (If there is a crash, no one should feel sorry for us.) Mean- while, renters have become nomads, living under constant threat of eviction in a region where the benchmark price of a detached home is almost $1.5 million, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. This situation isn't just unfair; it could gore the economy by driving young people away from the Lower Mainland. No wonder a™ordable housing was a hot topic in the recent provincial election campaign, where the B.C. Liberals appeared to side with "rst-time buy- ers while the NDP and the Green Party championed renters. In our cover story, Bula tackles one of her favourite subjects, per- sonal "nance, by looking at how the property market has divided British Columbians. The split between real estate haves and have-nots has left the "rst group with what might be an exaggerated sense of net worth—and those in the second feeling hard done by, even if they make a good living. This dynamic is especially notice- able in the Vancouver area, but the so-called wealth e™ect is playing out across the province as people spend more than they probably should. We couldn't have done this piece without research partner Environics Analytics, whose trove of data on Canadians' "nances shows that B.C. beats the rest of the country for household wealth but falls short in pension assets. On a brighter note, "Taking On the World" (p.38) previews #TradeTalks, a new event presented by the BC Chamber of Commerce. For this feature, I interviewed two 18-year- old entrepreneurs with big plans to go inter- national, plus "ve B.C. companies that are exporting their products or are about to take the plunge. It also marks the launch of what I hope will be a long and productive partner- ship with the BC Chamber. Together, we will deliver stories that hit home for you. 10 BCBUSINESS JUNE 2017 PORTRAIT: ADAM BLASBERG B U S I N E S S P A R T N E R S Nick Rockel, Editor-in-Chief bcb@canadawide.com / @BCBusiness editor's desk Who's up, who's down, and who's out of business? Find out in our annual Top 100 feature IN JULY/AUGUST Home Truths BCBusiness is pleased to announce a new partnership with the BC Chamber of Commerce. Since taking charge of the BC Chamber last year, president and CEO Val Litwin has emphasized listening closely to its 36,000 members, an effort that includes conducting in-depth surveys. After meeting with Litwin, the BCBusiness team saw an opportunity to break out of the Lower Mainland bubble and connect with businesses throughout the province. Through our alliance, which kicks off with the feature on page 38, we'll regularly collaborate on stories that tap into the BC Chamber's vast network and share the insights gleaned from its data-driven approach. We want to better reflect the reality of doing business here, give entrepreneurs from Comox to Dawson Creek a stronger voice, and bring you coverage you won't find anywhere else. "The BC Chamber has rearticulated its purpose, to know what's on B.C.'s mind," Litwin says. "The purpose of this content partnership—but even more importantly, brand partnership—is to help drive greater economic success in British Columbia."

• Cover