Over 100 homes in Victoria being sold at affordable prices for middle incomes
Home ownership at affordable prices in Victoria is being made possible with the major helping hand of the provincial government.
Chard Development partnered with BC Housing to dedicate all 104 homes at its new six-storey building at 1109-1115 Johnson Street to individuals, seniors, and families with middle-class incomes.
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In order to qualify, prospective buyers must have a combined household income of no greater than $118,440 for studio and one-bedroom units, and an income of no more than $168,310 for homes with two bedrooms or more. Furthermore, buyers must commit to making the home their primary residence for the first five years.
The building, currently under construction, is set to reach completion in early 2024. As of today, 70% of the units are sold, with studios starting at $325,000 and one-bedroom units starting at $432,000. All two-bedroom units are already sold.
Artistic rendering of Haven at 1109-1115 Johnson Street, Victoria. (Chard Development)
Affordability is created by providing buyers with no interest and no monthly payment on a second mortgage to support their purchase. The second participating mortgage assists the buyer with the equity portion of their acquisition, helping them reduce the income required to obtain a first mortgage and reduce monthly payments.
BC Housing is enabling this model of affordable home ownership through its Housing Hub initiative of the Affordable Home Ownership Program. They will administer the interest- and payment-free second mortgages for all units, and buyers will not be required to repay the mortgages until the 25-year-term limit expires or if they sell their unit. Upon repayment, the homeowner must repay the proportionate share of the current market value of the unit.
For example, if the unit was purchased with a 10% mortgage through the program, the homeowner must repay 10% of the current fair market value at the time of repayment. The value from the investment is then returned to the municipal government to re-invest in affordable housing.
“As a long-standing, family-owned developer, we take our role in the fight to improve housing affordability seriously,” said Byron Chard, president and CEO of Chard Development, in a statement.
“Haven is our second affordable homeownership offering in partnership with BC Housing and is a reflection of our commitment to creating a diversity of housing in Victoria.”
To make affordable home ownership feasible for private for-profit and non-profit developers, BC Housing’s program provides low-cost construction financing and/or access to land, and no or low-capital equity.
Artistic rendering of Haven at 1109-1115 Johnson Street, VIctoria. (Chard Development)
Haven is just one part of Chard’s larger development, which includes market housing, a childcare facility, and commercial space. The development site in the Fernwood neighbourhood is just east of downtown Victoria.
Housing Hub, which focuses on building affordable homes for middle-class households across the province, was first launched in 2018 under the broader $7 billion housing plan over 10 years. In April 2021, the provincial government provided Housing Hub with an additional $2 billion.
To date, the program has supported thousands of homes, completed or underway, for households with an average annual income of $75,000.