Owen
@oweninvan.bsky.social
The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men gang aft agley, an' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain, for promis'd joy!
Vancouver, BC
Vancouver, BC
It's Blake Friday! What are you watching?
November 28, 2025 at 4:31 PM
It's Blake Friday! What are you watching?
The Libs big "infrastructure budget" will increase infra spending by less than one-fifth the increase in OAS by 2029!
November 24, 2025 at 8:01 PM
The Libs big "infrastructure budget" will increase infra spending by less than one-fifth the increase in OAS by 2029!
10 million tonnes more of domestic consumption (early 2000 levels) would make up for losing about 1/3 of 2023 exports, which have also been on a long decline.
November 16, 2025 at 8:40 PM
10 million tonnes more of domestic consumption (early 2000 levels) would make up for losing about 1/3 of 2023 exports, which have also been on a long decline.
OTOH, did something happen with the building code in 2017 that caused plywood/OSB consumption to suddenly double or triple?
November 16, 2025 at 8:23 PM
OTOH, did something happen with the building code in 2017 that caused plywood/OSB consumption to suddenly double or triple?
Canadian softwood lumber consumption was almost 60% higher 20 years ago.
We're not mass timbering very hard.
We're not mass timbering very hard.
November 16, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Canadian softwood lumber consumption was almost 60% higher 20 years ago.
We're not mass timbering very hard.
We're not mass timbering very hard.
So few Canadians are reading printed newspapers now that, according to Natural Resources Canada, newsprint is turning back into trees.
November 16, 2025 at 8:15 PM
So few Canadians are reading printed newspapers now that, according to Natural Resources Canada, newsprint is turning back into trees.
City of Vancouver continues to use the horrendously misleading comparison of property taxes for the "median single family home" as their headline number despite that only 14.6% of homes are single family (per CMHC, & I believe that includes laneways), averaging $2.8M.
November 11, 2025 at 10:05 PM
City of Vancouver continues to use the horrendously misleading comparison of property taxes for the "median single family home" as their headline number despite that only 14.6% of homes are single family (per CMHC, & I believe that includes laneways), averaging $2.8M.
"Could a rise in Indigenous-led developments move the needle on Canada's housing shortage?"
Sort of? Many see "13k homes @ Jericho" & forget that that's over 30 years. Senakw is great, but the Squamish are going to have win a lot more court cases to make a big dent...
Sort of? Many see "13k homes @ Jericho" & forget that that's over 30 years. Senakw is great, but the Squamish are going to have win a lot more court cases to make a big dent...
November 11, 2025 at 12:53 AM
"Could a rise in Indigenous-led developments move the needle on Canada's housing shortage?"
Sort of? Many see "13k homes @ Jericho" & forget that that's over 30 years. Senakw is great, but the Squamish are going to have win a lot more court cases to make a big dent...
Sort of? Many see "13k homes @ Jericho" & forget that that's over 30 years. Senakw is great, but the Squamish are going to have win a lot more court cases to make a big dent...
In a rare confluence, BC Policy Solutions & the chamber of commerce people seem to be on the same page that corporate taxes aren't the major issue. I think, from left or right, the budget strikes as unambitious considering the rhetoric leading up to it...
November 10, 2025 at 6:55 PM
In a rare confluence, BC Policy Solutions & the chamber of commerce people seem to be on the same page that corporate taxes aren't the major issue. I think, from left or right, the budget strikes as unambitious considering the rhetoric leading up to it...
Oof! Here's a big red flag for housing delivery in Vancouver. A 114'-wide assembly in a TOA (Cambie) is listed for about the low end of 2.5x a lone 50' lot. The lowest listing I could find nearby was $2.9M. Basically, apartment land values are unfeasibly low already.
November 8, 2025 at 12:58 AM
Oof! Here's a big red flag for housing delivery in Vancouver. A 114'-wide assembly in a TOA (Cambie) is listed for about the low end of 2.5x a lone 50' lot. The lowest listing I could find nearby was $2.9M. Basically, apartment land values are unfeasibly low already.
Is there enough chip fab investment planned for all the AI datacenters in the works?
November 7, 2025 at 6:34 AM
Is there enough chip fab investment planned for all the AI datacenters in the works?
Paul Kershaw in the G&M: OAS is a pretty lavish subsidy for high income seniors that is dramatically more generous to higher incomes than the Canada Child Benefit. And it's THE rapidly growing problem for the Federal deficit over the next 4 years.
November 6, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Paul Kershaw in the G&M: OAS is a pretty lavish subsidy for high income seniors that is dramatically more generous to higher incomes than the Canada Child Benefit. And it's THE rapidly growing problem for the Federal deficit over the next 4 years.
$20B more (+33%) in mortgage loans for multi-family rental housing. I haven't looked how this compares to other CMHC programs but off the top of my head I think it's similar to the increase in the Apartment Construction Loan Program last budget?
November 5, 2025 at 1:35 AM
$20B more (+33%) in mortgage loans for multi-family rental housing. I haven't looked how this compares to other CMHC programs but off the top of my head I think it's similar to the increase in the Apartment Construction Loan Program last budget?
Has anyone estimated how much poverty rates are about to go up because of cancelling the consumer carbon price? The last rebate went out in April.
November 4, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Has anyone estimated how much poverty rates are about to go up because of cancelling the consumer carbon price? The last rebate went out in April.
Great article, but again, i think the "shoebox" era is far from over, 'cuz people want them.
We should build nice narrow-lot apartments anyway though; maybe some singles will choose to have roommates instead of being forced to by zoning!
We should build nice narrow-lot apartments anyway though; maybe some singles will choose to have roommates instead of being forced to by zoning!
November 2, 2025 at 11:40 PM
Great article, but again, i think the "shoebox" era is far from over, 'cuz people want them.
We should build nice narrow-lot apartments anyway though; maybe some singles will choose to have roommates instead of being forced to by zoning!
We should build nice narrow-lot apartments anyway though; maybe some singles will choose to have roommates instead of being forced to by zoning!
"Jays win world series" is unfortunately pretty representative of the "news" Google chooses to share with me.
November 2, 2025 at 10:09 PM
"Jays win world series" is unfortunately pretty representative of the "news" Google chooses to share with me.
www.theglobeandmail....
Why do we need small homes? There are a lot of new & newly small households!
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Why do we need small homes? There are a lot of new & newly small households!
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November 2, 2025 at 6:21 PM
www.theglobeandmail....
Why do we need small homes? There are a lot of new & newly small households!
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Why do we need small homes? There are a lot of new & newly small households!
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Townhouses even had weaker sales than condos last month, which I admit has not generally been the case lately. But generally I don't think people decrying the lack of multi-bedroom condos are considering how much low-rise zoning there is specifically for multi-bedroom homes.
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November 2, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Townhouses even had weaker sales than condos last month, which I admit has not generally been the case lately. But generally I don't think people decrying the lack of multi-bedroom condos are considering how much low-rise zoning there is specifically for multi-bedroom homes.
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The narrative is more "people don't want shoebox condos" than ever but I think many saying that would consider 500sf a "shoebox" & apparently condos over 540sf aren't selling.
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November 2, 2025 at 6:21 PM
The narrative is more "people don't want shoebox condos" than ever but I think many saying that would consider 500sf a "shoebox" & apparently condos over 540sf aren't selling.
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The good news is that Metro Vancouver housing permits (total units, all types) are running above starts recently, not crashing. In the City of Vancouver things are, as usual, just muddling along in neutral. The question I suppose is how many permits will ever lead to completions.
November 1, 2025 at 8:12 PM
The good news is that Metro Vancouver housing permits (total units, all types) are running above starts recently, not crashing. In the City of Vancouver things are, as usual, just muddling along in neutral. The question I suppose is how many permits will ever lead to completions.
According to this analysis of the Household Survey, seniors 75+ had a markedly higher savings rate, & that's despite that there are proportionally many more of them with low income who, on average, don't save. The difference has to be made up by the high incomes. www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/75...
October 29, 2025 at 10:20 PM
According to this analysis of the Household Survey, seniors 75+ had a markedly higher savings rate, & that's despite that there are proportionally many more of them with low income who, on average, don't save. The difference has to be made up by the high incomes. www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/75...
Important context from @sustainabletall.bsky.social.
There is no point in talking about embodied emissions in concrete towers without considering the counterfactual, holistically.
There is no point in talking about embodied emissions in concrete towers without considering the counterfactual, holistically.
October 26, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Important context from @sustainabletall.bsky.social.
There is no point in talking about embodied emissions in concrete towers without considering the counterfactual, holistically.
There is no point in talking about embodied emissions in concrete towers without considering the counterfactual, holistically.
I finally watched A Nightmare on Elm Street. So good. Must refreshing compared to movies today: it's only 90 minutes!
October 19, 2025 at 6:22 PM
I finally watched A Nightmare on Elm Street. So good. Must refreshing compared to movies today: it's only 90 minutes!
OTOH, go at your own pace competency-based programs sound not bad.
October 17, 2025 at 12:03 PM
OTOH, go at your own pace competency-based programs sound not bad.
Building permit stats look surprisingly not bad for BC and Canada (Ontario excluded, naturally). We still have a structural housing shortage, but the bottom falling out due to the slow market isn't showing up in the stats... yet.
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October 16, 2025 at 3:12 AM
Building permit stats look surprisingly not bad for BC and Canada (Ontario excluded, naturally). We still have a structural housing shortage, but the bottom falling out due to the slow market isn't showing up in the stats... yet.
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