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Vancouver shouldn’t boast about new rental housing: real estate consultant

Click to play video: 'Developers criticize the City of Vancouver’s red tape'
Developers criticize the City of Vancouver’s red tape
WATCH: While the City of Vancouver is touting its newly approved rental units, developers are criticizing the numbers. John Hua explains why it only takes a quick comparison to see why they're calling it disgraceful – Jan 4, 2017

Prospective tenants looking for a place to live often complain about the lack of rental housing in Vancouver.

Developers aren’t happy about it either.

The City of Vancouver has touted the fact it signed off on 1,800 new rental units in 2016. But real estate consultant Michael Geller pointed out that Seattle, meanwhile, approved 14,000 units last year.

READ MORE: Vancouver home sales drop 5.6 per cent in 2016

“Given the number of developers who are trying to build rental housing right now and have applications held up at city hall for a variety of reasons, I don’t think the city should be boasting,” he said.

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Geller said developers often complain of bureaucratic red tape.

“The developers are pointing out how it’s taking them three years or more to build purpose-built rental housing,” he said. “It is alarming that it is taking that long.”

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There is also concern that only some of the approved projects will actually be built.

“[There are a] number of developers who’ve said they won’t work in the city of Vancouver at the moment,” Geller said. “That’s no secret.”

– With files from John Hua

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