Walkability: it sounds like a straightforward concept, but when you consider the diverse landscape within major Canadian cities, it’s not quite an apples-to-apples comparison.

Francesca Johnson, a realtor with Century 21 based in Calgary (which has a Walk Score* of 39), grew up in Manitoba. The difference between the two cities when it comes to defining walkability is indicative of each area’s respective urban areas — despite Winnipeg technically having a higher Walk Score (of 48).

“It takes half an hour to an hour to even get to the city from where a lot of people live because it’s very agricultural,” Johnson explains about Winnipeg.

She compares walkability to her current experience living and working in Calgary:

“I would break it open to three pieces: amenities, accessibility and safety,” she comments. “Are they taking good care of the sidewalks in the winter time, or are you going to be terrified that you’ll break your back on the way to work because they haven’t started it or they haven’t travelled it?”

Place-making and pedestrianization in Vancouver

On the West Coast, Vancouver (with a Walk Score of 80) is addressing its own questions about walkability with the City’s launch of the Water Street Pedestrian Zone pilot project over the summer in the popular Gastown area. The pilot converted a section of the street, formerly open to vehicle traffic, into a pedestrian-only area with public seating, market stalls and a free bike valet.

Nathan Hawkins, an urban planning student at the University of British Columbia, is involved with Vision Zero Vancouver, a non-profit organization that advocates for transportation systems that put safety first. He closely watched the pilot project in Gastown unfold throughout July and August.

“I love it,” Hawkins shares. “I think any change of use and pedestrianization of streets is fantastic from a safety and place-making perspective.”

Some businesses dissatisfied but pilot & walkability factor could help — not hinder — sales

Not everyone shares his sentiments, however. Some local businesses affected by the project have expressed their dissatisfaction with the changes, citing negative impacts on sales.

Having previous experience as a real estate project manager for a retail start-up in Canada, Hawkins takes an analytical approach in assessing any brick-and-mortar business’ sales success. This involves metrics such as month-over-month revenue, daily revenue, year-over-year revenue and basket size per sale/transaction. He believes that the pilot project, and subsequent walkability factor that comes with it, should actually help, not hinder, these businesses. 

“No business has the resources to be able to say this specific pedestrian pilot accounted for 80 per cent of their loss of sales this month versus last month. There’s just no way,” he adds.

Toronto: ‘So hard to get downtown’ and every commute minute matters

Adam Jacobs, PhD, the national head of research with Colliers, adds his insights into how walkability impacts the real estate market in Toronto (which has a Walk Score of 61), where he’s based:

“It’s so hard to get downtown here,” comments Jacobs. “It’s a difficult commute, there’s a lot of construction, there’s a lot of traffic and it’s getting harder and harder to get employees downtown.”

For businesses with offices in downtown Toronto, every minute matters. A Q1 2024 report from Colliers indicated that “an average lower commute time of 10 minutes is correlated to a two-percentage point lower market vacancy.” 

So how do these businesses decide on their next office space?

“(They think,) ‘Let’s make this as frictionless and easy as possible. I’ll pay top dollar to rent the building right next to the main train station’,” Jacobs explains.

Walkability impacting the market: A ‘wholly Canadian issue’

Whether you’re in Calgary, Winnipeg, Vancouver or Toronto, walkability plays a key factor in the real estate market. And while there are differences between each city, Hawkins sees this as a wholly Canadian issue.

“We as a country are very unwilling to invest deeply and make bold moves. Canada as a whole really approaches governance as, ‘We need to see somebody else do it successfully for 10 years and then we’ll do a milder version of what they did,’ and that’s exactly what’s happened with the Gastown pedestrian pilot,” he points out.

“I don’t think the City went far enough with it. They’re very averse to taking risks and doing things boldly, the way that other cities, like Paris, are willing to really invest in public spaces.”

Montreal: A potential source of inspiration

Widely known as one of the most walkable cities in Canada, garnering comparisons to other European cities like Paris, Montreal may be poised to serve as an inspiration point for the rest of the country.

With a Walk Score of 65 — lower than Vancouver’s — Montreal is one example of how numbers alone can’t tell the whole story or paint the full picture of a city’s accessibility and walkability.

Lea James, originally from Paris, lived in Montreal before eventually moving to Vancouver and currently advocates alongside Hawkins at Vision Zero Vancouver.

James believes that Paris and now Montreal increasingly becoming among the most walkable and bikeable cities taught us in the last few years that, “Without determined political powers and citizens pushing for healthier and safer cities, change will not happen.”

“A walkable city is the best advocacy for living in a sustainable way, connecting with our communities and enjoying healthier living, and that’s the winning recipe to make our cities durable and equitable,” James adds.

* Walk Scores sourced from walkscore.com

Overlooking the horizon in Palm Springs, California, you would think that finding solar power for a residential real estate project wouldn’t be an issue.

But Kevin Lesowski, asset coordinator at Gatehouse Design and Developments, based in Chilliwack, British Columbia, and his team faced exactly that with their project in the California city of La Quinta. This experience highlights the need for alternative energy solutions in housing, both here in Canada and south of the border.

No power available, $20 million price tag for substation upgrade

An average home requires about 200 amps of electricity to be fully functional, yet, after about a year of dealing with the Imperial Irrigation District, the organization that deals with energy service in the area, they were told that there was no power — period. 

“Power was always known as an issue in the area, but it definitely caught us by surprise,” admitted Lesowski.

Gatehouse, along with other developers in the surrounding Palm Springs area, were advised that they’d need to upgrade a substation to service the homes, at a price tag of $20 million. 

Creating a smaller project of 34 single-family homes, the team at Gatehouse knew that it would take some unorthodox thinking to solve this problem.

A solution: Solar panels linked to batteries add power to communal grid

A year after they were given the condition, while also working alongside a consortium of developers in the surrounding area, Lesowski found a third-party company called Block Energy that specializes in creating residential micro-grid communities.

“They have solar panels on the roof that go into batteries in the garages,” he explains. “Then the whole community is linked on a communal grid — once the batteries in the garage are full, they dump power into a community battery bank.”

Vancouver: Environmentally sustainable project turning profits for residents — too good to be true?

While Vancouver may not get as much sunlight as our southern California counterparts, that didn’t stop Graham Carter, co-founder of Vertex Developments, from also exploring alternative energy solutions that would work for development projects in B.C.

For Carter, this led to more research into geothermal energy: in essence, energy derived from the Earth’s crust.

“If you could have a little utility running into your building, like a geothermal system, potentially there’s an income stream for the strata corporation long-term,” says Carter.

An environmentally sustainable real estate development project that could also actually make money for its future residents? Sounds too good to be true. And as Carter and his team discovered, it was.

“What we found with everything we looked at is (it) was cost prohibitive, especially in Vancouver with the cost of building buildings. We can’t be competitive and add an extra ‘nice to have’,” he shares.

Actual and hidden costs: A huge factor all around

Carlos Gamez Ruiz, associate partner at Berry Architecture, while now based in Kelowna, B.C., previously lived and worked in Alberta. From his experience, cost also appears to be a significant factor for clients deciding on energy options for their projects.

“Either here in B.C. or in Alberta is the same situation — the cost. Also, what (will) be the hidden costs that are required to have that system in place?” Ruiz adds. “In terms of investments, talking about multi-residential types of dwelling units, we always try to see if the investment makes sense.”

Alberta: Wind energy being explored

Wind energy is currently being explored in parts of Alberta, in large part due to the topography of the region that suits this option well.

“They’re trying to make the most of the open scenarios, as there are quite a few areas there where the land is pretty flat,” notes Ruiz. “So you open the opportunity for higher winds more. In Medicine Hat, (there’s) a wind farm that they’re trying to bring on as an alternative energy solution for communities back in Red Deer.” (Medicine Hat is about 410 kilometres southeast of Red Deer.)

Bioenergy: More research & education needed for long-term traction

Another alternative energy source that could potentially garner more attention in the future? Bioenergy.

“Garbage generates some gasses,” explains Ruiz. “And they take those types of gasses to generate energy in a clean way.”

Bioenergy can be produced from multiple renewable, biological sources such as by-products from industrial forest processes or construction and demolition waste. But according to Ruiz, for this energy source to gain more traction as a long-term viable option, more research and education are needed.

Discovering, studying and eventually implementing alternative energy solutions into residential real estate projects will not be an easy task or overnight success. But despite the challenges Lesowski faced in Palm Springs, he’s optimistic about the potential for Canada’s future development landscape.

“It’s really, really great to be on the crest of that pioneering wave,” he adds. ”I think that our project aside, just the fact that everything is changing is super cool.”

The term “missing middle” has become as common in today’s real estate vocabulary as “a hot market” or “location, location, location.” Cliches often have some truth in them — and in the case of the “missing middle,” it’s gaining traction in the Canadian real estate market in part due to the rise of a newer property type: multiplexes.

Changes in B.C. and Toronto

Multiplexes are residential homes that consist of multiple separate units within what would have traditionally been a lot designated for a single detached home. They can generally vary from two to eight units.

In 2023, British Columbia made amendments to their Housing Statutes (Residential Development) Amendment Act — more commonly referred to as “Bill 44.” That same year, Toronto’s city council adopted its own Official Plan Amendment and Zoning Bylaw Amendment to allow multiplexes throughout the city.  

Jasmine Cracknell-Young, vice president of market advisory at Zonda, saw that the rise of multiplex listings in Toronto jumped dramatically since these amendments. According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), in 2023 there were 115 listings and in 2024, 168 listings — a 46.1 per cent increase.

“I think because housing has become such a hot topic, we have all levels of government finally talking about it because they realize the crisis that we’re in,” she comments. 

A ‘tiny part of the market’: Legislation may not go far enough

Chris Spoke, builder and developer with Toronto Standard, has seen firsthand the impact of these legal changes on housing projects. Personally, he doesn’t believe the legislation goes far enough. 

“So we have five residential zones in Toronto. Two of those residential zones do support multi-unit housing, but the zoning bylaws paired with the city’s Official Plan and the language of it is if there’s any new development within the neighborhood’s designation, it has to respect and reinforce the existing physical character.

(This) means that even if the zoning technically allows for multi-unit housing, if it’s not consistent with the existing physical character, then you’re not going to get past this test,” Spoke explains. “We’ve still not seen a lot of activity because I think the multiplex bylaw doesn’t go far enough in terms of the permissions. So it’s still like a tiny part of the market.”

Optimism and opposition: Major Streets Study

However, Spoke is optimistic that multiplexes will continue to rise in popularity in Toronto, particularly with the momentum surrounding the Major Streets Study which “focuses on permitting gentle density — missing middle housing — on major streets in low-rise neighbourhoods across Toronto.”

“These are the major arterials in the city that have bus routes on them,” adds Spoke. “So this also opened up a new scale of development in parts of the city where it was not legal before.”

However, these policies are met with some opposition. When it comes to the Major Streets Policy, traffic is a big concern among current residents.

“It’s always traffic,” shares Cracknell-Young. “They just think it’s taking up road space.”

Bill 44 in B.C. addresses these concerns by eliminating new vehicles from entering neighbourhoods altogether in some cases: if a housing project is within 400 metres of a transit stop, no minimum parking is required. Transportation accessibility is poised to play a significant role in the development of multiplex housing.

Ottawa: Multiplex increases expected post-bylaw approval in 2025

Nachiket Kulkarni, an architectural designer with Architrix Studio, has worked on multiplex projects both in Vancouver and Ottawa, where he now lives.

“Ottawa would be two or three years behind Vancouver when it comes to that change,” he says. “So whatever happens in Vancouver right now, the same change would be in Ottawa two or three years down the line in terms of multiplexes.”

While Kulkarni has seen a big shift towards more multiplex development over the past couple of years in Ottawa, he anticipates that to increase even further after December 2025, when the new zoning bylaw is expected to have final approval.

“In Ottawa, they’ve consolidated the number of zones into just six zones now, just like Vancouver did,” adds Kulkarni.

In October 2023, the City of Vancouver implemented a new zoning designation, “R1-1,” otherwise known as “Residential Inclusive.” This was put in place to replace and simplify the previous zoning structure, which included various RS (One-Family Dwelling), RT (Two-Family Dwelling) and RM (Multiple Dwelling) designations.

And similar to Toronto and Vancouver, Ottawa’s changes will also aim to reduce parking requirements.

‘Citizen developers’ on the rise

Spoke believes that with these new changes, multiplexes will open the door towards something he refers to as “citizen developers:” where those such as home builders, general contractors and even everyday homeowners can actively participate in building up new housing opportunities.

“Multiplexes offer a form of development that’s accessible to people who haven’t worked professionally as developers,” Spoke says.

While multiplexes will likely not solve all of our housing problems overnight, they provide an opportunity to think of density in a more nuanced manner. 

“I think it’s a really great product form. You can have multiplexes go into existing communities and have people of different incomes and demographics able to access some of the best communities that we have,” says Cracknell-Young. “To stop the sprawl and have more people in our existing communities where it’s possible … I hope that we will see more of them.”

Image: ShapeYourCity.ca

25 per cent. 

That’s the percentage of mortgage applications that Perch, a mortgage brokerage based in Toronto, receives from prospective homeowners who are single. That means about three-quarters of their applicants are coupled up, in some form or another. 

“People have to aggregate to survive”, shares Alex Leduc, founder and CEO of Perch. “Whether it’s intergenerational living, couples, siblings, and so on, there are so many trends towards needing to pool multiple incomes or down payment sources to make ends meet to get into the housing market.”

Qualifying separately for first-time homebuyer incentives

Michael Son, a realtor since 2022 with G&E Realty Group, previously lived and worked in Montreal before moving to Vancouver. He’s seen first-hand how people’s romantic choices influence their real estate transactions.

A client of his in Ontario recently had a wedding ceremony, but didn’t sign on the dotted line … yet. 

“They’re going to sign the papers a bit later down the line so that they can apply for their first-time homebuyer credits and incentives separately, so that they can even pull property together,” Son explains.

Why wait? One of them had already previously purchased a property and used the First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit and incentives. Therefore, if they “officially” married, the other wouldn’t have been able to use the credit themselves. 

“They’ve recently moved into a very large townhouse, so they’ll have to wait a little longer before they certify their marriage,” Son adds.

How cultural values around relationships align with real estate transaction practicalities

A study by The Vanier Institute of The Family showed that common-law unions are most common in Quebec and Nunavut. Being French-Canadian with Korean ethnicity, Son has experience with how different cultural values around relationships align with the practicalities of real estate transactions.

“We see a lot of common-law partnerships and based on my experience so far, the majority of my clients like to keep a lot of things separate from their spouse,” comments Son.

For better or for worse, many societal conventions tend to operate in favour of couples, such as hotel room bookings with double occupancy. Homeownership in Canada appears to be no exception. Two people tend to equal two incomes, especially in more urban areas of the country, based on Perch’s data.

“If I have two people making $100,000 per year each or one person making $200,000 a year, lenders will look at it very similarly,” says Leduc. “I think it’s more around the continuation of that mortgage, or the ability to not go into default.”

Buyers need to stand out: Personal touches can pay off

Mortgage brokers might not be the only ones swayed by someone’s relationship status when it comes to buying a home. When Tania Perizzolo and her fiance, Nick Raposo, a couple in their 30s from Metro Vancouver, bought their home together, it was during a highly competitive market.

“Buying a home together was exciting and stressful. Exciting because our relationship was fresh with the promise of the future, having recently moved in together,” Perizzolo recalls. 

When they did eventually find a home they loved, she knew that they’d have to stand out if they wanted to land that dream home.

“To add a personal touch to our offer, we decided to submit a short letter to the seller,” she continues. “To be honest, it felt uncomfortable to be so vulnerable with a stranger, but with such a large and meaningful purchase on the line we got over that discomfort pretty quickly. ”

The letter included a photo of the couple with their love story, what they hoped for the future and how that particular home would fit that vision. Fortunately, it paid off, as it was a contributing factor in the seller’s decision to choose them as the new owners.

Decision of where to put down roots: Partly influenced by real estate market dynamics 

Perch’s data indicates that of clients ages 18 to 39 who closed a mortgage with them, 65 per cent were married or common law. Rosa Sasages, a homeowner based in Chilliwack (a Metro Vancouver suburb), and her husband Sean got married when they were 22. By the time they were 28, they were able to put a down payment on their first home together. But it wasn’t exactly a honeymoon phase going into homeownership.

“We got married without any savings or anything to even think about buying,” she shares. “During that first year of marriage in 2009, we were very much affected by the recession that trickled into our honeymoon phase of life.”

The decision of where to put down roots was in part influenced by the dynamics of the real estate market. While they were initially concerned about leaving the city behind for a quieter lifestyle in Chilliwack, it’s a decision they don’t regret.

“We thought we would hate it here. Too quiet. Too lonely,” Sasages confesses. “Buying real estate is a gamble. It’s a gamble on what price you pay, where you buy and what you gain. But we love it here. It takes courage, hard work and, in some cases, timing to succeed in this market.”

Divorce: The ‘leading cause of unexpected defaults or homes that must liquidate’

Despite divorce rates declining in Canada since the 1990s, it’s not always a happy ending for everyone.

“I remember one of my old bosses would always joke, ‘If somebody could just build a divorce prediction model it would trump any other one,’ because that’s the leading cause of unexpected defaults or homes that have to go into liquidation,” Leduc adds.

So, if your clients are a couple looking to jump into a different kind of long-term commitment with homeownership, what can they do to ensure success both in real estate and in their relationship?

“It’s just all about planning, period,” shares Son. “Budget realistically and (get) some professional guidance from mortgage brokers or real estate brokers. Have a long-term forecast and plan for the future a little bit more compared to the immediate now.”

Close proximity to transportation = desirable housing

A classic equation for property valuation in any real estate market. But how does this model stand in today’s changing world, with the rise of remote work and growing concerns about energy sustainability?

Toronto: The ‘worst transit infrastructure for its class and size’

Peter Jordon, a real estate broker with Century 21 based in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), shares what he’s currently noticing with clients:

“I’m definitely seeing more interest in properties with close proximity to public transit like the GO station, and that will always be the case, I think,” he says. “Who wouldn’t want access to good transit infrastructure?”

But not all transportation options are built equally.

“Toronto probably has the worst transit infrastructure, for its class and size, that I’ve seen,” continues Jordon. “It was built for a population of 500,000, and now we have over six million people in the GTA. It’s not a well-functioning system; it’s gridlocked. If you were to break the city into quadrants to get from one section to the other, it would take hours, maybe all day.”

A reason for unprecedented unaffordability: We weren’t ready for it

With Canada’s population expected to grow anywhere from about 25 to 40 per cent by 2046, a variety of transportation options will need to be readily available to service this influx. And with more people, naturally, comes more need for housing. 

Lee Haber, founder of Cambria Consulting, has spent much of his career on policy research and messaging when it comes to issues around transportation and urban planning.

“I think one of the reasons we’re experiencing an unprecedented lack of affordability is because we weren’t ready for it,” comments Haber. “We didn’t have the systems in place to allow for more housing and infrastructure to be built at the pace required.” 

350 km B.C. rail network could facilitate housing for 25% of region’s expected growth

Through his work with Mountain Valley Express, a non-profit group that aims to bring a regional rail network to southern British Columbia, Haber is hopeful that we can put better systems in place than the ones laid out by previous generations.

“The second best time to plant a tree is today,” he reflects. “The province (of British Columbia) is putting in place policies that will allow for much more housing and we can put in place mechanisms where we can accelerate transit expansion by leveraging the value of development around new stations using similar mechanisms as those employed in Asia.”

An analysis conducted by Haber’s team determined that if British Columbia’s Transit Oriented Areas (TOA) policy were applied to their proposed 350 km regional rail system, around 440,000 people could be housed near these stations —  addressing at least 25 per cent of the region’s expected growth.

“Regional rail has the opportunity to enable sustainable, compact development at a meaningful scale,” says Haber.

Public transit use highest in areas with balance between ‘moderately affordable housing and moderately good transit’

From a municipal transit perspective, after a decade of working for TransLink, Denis Agar is now tackling these issues as the executive director of Movement, a non-profit organization advocating for better transit in Metro Vancouver.

A 2022 study from the University of British Columbia explored the impact of rapid transit expansion on housing prices. It found that expanding rapid transit benefits households of all income levels, but the group that benefited the most was high-income earners.

“It’s no secret that housing is more expensive in places with better public transit access,” comments Agar. “When choosing a home, you have to decide whether to spend more on housing so you can save money by driving less, or vice versa. The average cost of even a used car in B.C. has surpassed $40,000, so more people than ever are trying to reduce their (vehicle) use.”

Agar has been keeping a close eye on the correlation between public transportation and real estate prices in the Metro Vancouver area.

“What we’re seeing is that ridership is growing fastest in the parts of the region that have frequent bus connections to SkyTrain. These are likely places where people are finding a balance between moderately affordable housing and moderately good transit. But these frequent buses like the 49 and 323 are overcrowded, unreliable and often leaving people behind.”

Bus-priority streets and rail lines connecting to majority of homes: ‘Governments assume voters don’t want it’

Is there a solution to this transportation conundrum? With the upcoming provincial election in October, Agar believes that the ball is in the government’s court.

”When governments provide funding to expand frequent, fast, reliable transit to more places, it increases transit-friendly options for home hunters. Imagine a future with an expansive network of bus-priority streets and rail lines connecting to a majority of homes in the region. The only reason this hasn’t been funded yet is because governments assume that the voters don’t want it. We need to tell them otherwise.”

The classic equation of “close proximity to transportation = desirable housing” still appears to hold strong, despite the challenges faced in today’s current market. It requires, however, an openness to new opportunities in order to find more viable long-term solutions. 

“If you open up transportation to new places, it opens up those places for population growth and housing development,” notes Jordon. Because no matter how you solve the equation, a more accessible world is also a more connected one.

When Gord Downie, lead singer of the Tragically Hip, first heard the story of Chanie Wenjack, he wondered why he didn’t learn about residential schools when he was in school himself, shares Kayleigh O’Connor, who works for the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund and comes from a family of Cree heritage.

At 12 years old after spending three years at a Kenora, Ont. residential school, Wenjack escaped to reunite with his family 600 km away. A week after fleeing, his body was found near railway tracks. He had died from starvation and exposure.

“It was from a place of humility wondering why (Downie) hadn’t heard about Chanie Wenjack before, why he wasn’t taught about residential schools when he was growing up in Kingston, Ontario,” shares O’Connor. “And so he realized that if there was such a lack of knowledge on his part, this must be contributing to a lot of division and inequity for other people who also don’t know the real story of residential schools.”

The fund’s aim is to “build cultural understanding and create a path towards reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.”

Partnerships and projects committed to reconciliation

In June 2023, the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund in partnership with TAS Impact, an impact company based in Toronto, and the Walmer Road Baptist Church, located in the Annex neighbourhood of the city, launched their community “Legacy Space”: 38 Walmer Road.

“They had a mural installed outside, working closely with an Indigenous artist,” O’Connor adds. “They planted medicines and food in the garden out front that they were sharing and donating to Community Food Services. It’s a really special space.”

TAS Impact continues on the path towards reconciliation with Indigenous communities as they recently released their Reconciliation Action Plan in June 2024. For Mazyar Mortazavi, president and CEO of TAS Impact, this was a long time coming.

“We have been exploring our relationships with our Indigenous partners for quite a number of years,” he comments. “(But) we believe that in the absence of measurement, it’s hard to actually measure progress and outcomes. So we felt that for us to really make a meaningful difference around the reconciliation initiatives, we needed to have a plan in place.”

Reconciliation Action Plan: Integrating Indigenous principles, worldviews & languages into real estate development 

TAS Impact worked alongside Creative Fire, a 100 per cent Indigenous-owned consulting and communications firm, over the course of a year to define the framework. Rather than a path that’s set in stone, they view the Action Plan as a living document.

Sean Willy and Aiden Mauti of Creative Fire are excited about moving forward with next steps now that the Action Plan has finally been released. One of the six pillars, Stewardship and Placekeeping, has a focus on integrating Indigenous principles, worldviews and languages into real estate development projects. 

“Indigenous architects in the country right now are starting to put their stamp on projects and you’re seeing more things like shared rooms, shared spiritual rooms, shared round rooms, shared smudging rooms,” reflects Willy. 

Mauti also anticipates a growing demand for Indigenous architects in Canada as reconciliation practices become more commonplace in development spaces. 

“What we heard from the Indigenous architects we were working with is that there’s demand for about 500 Indigenous architects in Canada right now, and we have about five, so we have so little capacity,” Mauti comments.

The ‘why’ and being well-grounded in intentionality: A big principle for many Indigenous groups

Another pillar of the Action Plan is Ceremony, which can include components such as site activations, land ceremonies, storytelling and cultural events on development sites.

“To me, it’s a feeling, right?” adds Willy, who is also a band member of the Deninu Kųę́ First Nation of the Northwest Territories. “I’ve gone to some places that are very institutional, very cold, very 90-degree angles. But here when we’re doing our development plan, there’s a flow to it. It’s a holistic flow. Then you have these spaces. Safe spaces for ceremony, safe spaces for quiet time, safe spaces for connecting.”

Incorporating this pillar should go beyond aesthetic or visual appeal, in Mauti’s opinion.

“We really shouldn’t be doing this just for the sake of it,” Mauti says. “There’s a lot of intentionality behind (what we do), which is a big principle to a lot of Indigenous groups — making sure it’s well grounded in why we’re doing this.”

What does this mean for the city’s real estate development?

For Toronto’s real estate development space, this could mean taking a more holistic approach when it comes to designing both residential and commercial spaces.

“Our work is guided by a core belief that an ecosystem is far stronger than an isolated sort of element,” comments Mortazavi. “As we look at our buildings, when we can create a diversity of tenancies, we can allow them to collaborate and work together.”

Today, a year later, O’Connor still sees the positive impact at 38 Walmer Road. “People are really excited to have this in the community to learn from it and expand their view of Indigenous people,” she shares.

She sees a bright future ahead when it comes to creating more spaces that invite dialogue around reconciliation and hopes that can carry forward into future Indigenous-led projects throughout Canada.

It’s sometimes hard to decide what Vancouver is better known for: its ever-prevalent and in-demand real estate market, or its well-earned reputation as Hollywood North.

For Canadians looking to break into the film and television industry, Metro Vancouver would seem the logical place to be if you want to pursue a career in acting but aren’t interested in heading south of the border. The region and its competitive markets also offer plenty of opportunities for motivated realtors.

Actors turned realtors

Tyler Burrows, now a realtor with Oakwyn Realty, didn’t originally move to Vancouver from Kamloops to pursue a life in real estate. With Christopher Reeves and Jim Carrey as some of his earliest inspirations, he realized early on in life that he wanted to become an actor. 

“In high school, I got into theatre and acting class there and really developed a love for it,” he shares. “So I decided that was what I was going to pursue.”

Lucas McCann, another realtor with Oakwyn Realty, also moved to Vancouver with acting aspirations. 

“I had no clue what I wanted to do and spent six months in college. I realized it was just not for me”, says McCann.

A friend of his invited him to a workshop in Victoria, where he’s originally from, where his interest in acting first developed. Two years later, after completing an acting program, he made the leap and moved to Vancouver. 

So how did Burrows and McCann find themselves where they are today, as realtors in arguably the hottest real estate market in Canada?

A deep curiosity about the real estate process; a desire to ‘control my own fate’

For Burrows, it was a case of life imitating art. He and his partner, a dancer, purchased their first home together in Vancouver in 2018. As two self-employed creative professionals, the process was a little bit more complicated for them. The learning curve he experienced during this time inspired him to dig deeper into the real estate industry.

“I didn’t know these nuances back then … I was thinking, like, what else do I not know about this industry?” Burrows confesses. “I never got off the real estate track after that.”

In McCann’s case, he found himself motivated to try a different career path after years of grinding it out at auditions and long days on set:

“I wanted to be able to control my own fate. I need to be in a profession that I could put however much hard work I put into it, I’m actually getting out of it,” he adds. “As an actor, I felt like it didn’t matter how good you were. You may be the best in the room. But it didn’t come down to that.”

A passion reignited

On the flip side, Sean Gartland, a realtor with Angell Hasman & Associates, finds himself now pursuing his passion as an actor. Growing up in Vancouver, he was part of the theatre program and acted in several productions in high school. Yet he decided to pursue a more conventional career path in business, and eventually real estate.

“Society can sometimes squash those dreams,” reflects Gartland.

Coincidentally, it was through meeting Burrows one day at an open house that reignited Gartland’s interest in acting. While he still maintains a healthy and robust real estate practice, he is now also exploring the acting profession by working with a coach and taking classes.

“I do enjoy real estate professionally, but it doesn’t do anything for me creatively,” he says.

More in common than meets the eye

One thing that Burrows, McCann and Gartland have in common is their belief that being an actor and being a realtor have more in common than meets the eye.

It just takes one look at Burrows’ social media channels, particularly his video tours, “Touring With Tyler” which are growing in popularity, to see how years of working in film and television have translated well into his current realtor marketing game.

“For my social media, I’ll go out in one day and shoot 10 different places, or two or three days and shoot a bunch of different places,” explains Burrows. “Then I’ll edit them all in one night and do all the voiceovers in one night. I took my film career and blended it into my real estate career.”

If he was approached by any actor interested in becoming a realtor, the first question McCann would ask them would be, “Have you ever worked in the restaurant industry?”

“If you ever served somebody as a bartender, or just talked to people in a common conversation, that’ll help … It’s about building a relationship with your clients,” he shares.

Gartland echoes this sentiment, albeit from an inverse perspective: 

“If you don’t put in the work to truly connect with people during a scene, it’s going to fall flat. And if you don’t connect with people in real estate, they’re not going to trust you.”

Whether you’re getting ready to watch the next blockbuster or you’re carefully watching the real estate market activity in Vancouver, be sure to get the popcorn out this summer.

For Brenda Knights, CEO of BC Indigenous Housing Society, the recent announcement from the City of Vancouver about a land transfer agreement at 990 Beatty Street was a long time coming.

“It was really hard to keep to ourselves because we’ve known about it for a while,” she now enthusiastically shares with us.

The agreement will facilitate the creation of over 670 affordable rental homes across three sites.

Project is about housing ‘in proximity to culture and community services access’

Knights is a member of Kwantlen First Nation. The ancestors of its members were guided by their seven traditional laws: health, happiness, generations, generosity, humbleness, forgiveness and understanding.

In a similar fashion, Knights believes in four areas which Indigenous people need support for healthy communities. “There needs to be good governance, access to community services, access to culture and some form of an economy,” she says.

To Knights, the delivery of affordable rental homes through this new project goes beyond just housing, as it touches on some of these areas: “The housing announcement is much more than just providing housing for Indigenous people,” she explains. “It’s having housing in proximity to access to culture, having housing in proximity to access to community services.”

Keeping families together: A key priority

Kelly Lin, partner at Terra Social Purpose Real Estate, has also been involved in this project through work with Brightside Community Homes Foundation. While she has worked in the real estate development sector for almost two decades, she’s the first to acknowledge that she still has a lot to learn. Lin firmly believes that all Indigenous projects should have a subject matter expert involved. 

“As a non-Indigenous person, I don’t know what’s best for the community,” she explains.

The 990 Beatty Street project will also bring a new child-care facility and firehall to the community. Keeping families together was a key priority for Knights in helping develop the residential unit mix.

“The first thing we want to try is to get in as many larger units because we look at our waitlist and we’re needing more family units. Unfortunately, the economics of the site, sometimes with land costs, don’t always work out that way,” Knights explains.

Creating spaces to share culture, gather, set up for success

Knights says the next way to keep families together is to work with them on applications. “So, we could have an elderly couple staying in a one-bedroom and then have a family in a two- or three-bedroom. They’re in the same building, at least, so that they can support one another.”

Childcare programs such as Head Start also serve as safe spaces; community hubs for Elders to pass on culture and stories to the next generation. The benefits can carry over well beyond the sandbox, in Knights’ opinion. This is reinforced by the Public Health Agency of Canada’s 2022 research that shows highly positive feedback and evaluation findings from participants in the Aboriginal Head Start in Urban and Northern Communities Program.

“We’ve seen success in my own community, where we have more people going into post-secondary than we’ve ever seen, so we want to bring some of those things to the urban environment for our tenants, and help them be set up for success. I think it starts with their youth having a safe place where they can come and gather, where Elders can come and they can share their culture.”

The Indigenous perspective in their own communities ‘hasn’t always taken first precedence’

These differences in culture are apparent even at the earliest stages of the development process itself, according to Lin’s years of experience as a development manager. When working on projects that involve Indigenous communities, she’s found that their perspective hasn’t always taken first precedence.

“How we typically work with development is thinking through a non-Indigenous lens,” says Lin, “But Indigenous people have very different processes; there are multiple levels of detail. We need to build the capacity for Indigenous people, build their confidence and capacity in the development industry.”

How the industry can do better and truly help

Education is the first path she recommends for anyone in the real estate development sector looking to work more closely with Indigenous communities.

“I get more and more people chatting with me about the question, “How can I really help?” … The very first thing one can do is try to educate yourself and open your mind,” Lin advises.

Indigenous-led developments seem poised to continue making a major impact in shaping the future of Metro Vancouver. But Knights knows there’s still a long way to go.

“My Nation name, Kwantlen, translates to “Tireless Runner,” says Knights. “I’ve been taught intergenerationally that when there’s a job to do, the job’s never done. So we’re just going to continue to try and get as much housing until we no longer have waitlists.”

Photo credit: Vancouver.ca

Every year, May marks Asian Heritage Month in North America. Here in Canada, it’s an opportunity to learn and reflect on the contributions of Asian Canadians throughout the country.

We’ve come a long way towards diversity, equity and inclusion since the days of Japanese internment during WWII and the Komagata Maru incident, but there are still racist stereotypes, cultural tropes and common misconceptions that exist in some shape or form.

The real estate industry is no exception. 

Anti-Asian sentiment and Metro Vancouver’s housing crisis

In 2018, an Asian realtor in British Columbia received a racist, threatening letter that blamed Asians for Metro Vancouver’s housing crisis.

As was reported by CTV News, the “open letter to all Asian realtors” was sent to Winnie Wu’s realty office in Coquitlam:

Source: CTVnews.ca

This anti-Asian sentiment only seemed to worsen during the pandemic.

Sonia Wang, managing broker of 1NE Collective Realty, has lived in Canada since 1998 when she first moved here after studying in the United States. She shares her experience of what it was actually like during this turbulent time: 

“Something that was surprising to some was that during the pandemic, even with the travel restrictions, the market was going crazier than ever,” says Wang. “We saw it was mostly local Canadians that were buying and not actually foreigners, because no foreigners could even travel.”

Ryan Zhang, managing broker at YouLive Realty, provides some more insight into the current post-pandemic market.

“We use an online tool to summarize and categorize our data,” Zhang explains. “We see that many of our clients are newcomers; they’re either looking for a home for themselves or they’re seeking a career in real estate to help them get knowledge on the industry. About 70 to 80 per cent of our clientele are buying a home for themselves.”

Misconception: ‘Asian doesn’t mean it’s only a certain group or ethnic background’

With Statistics Canada projecting that immigrants from Asia will make up between 55.7 and 57.9 percent of all immigrants by 2036, now is a critical time for the industry to deconstruct the misrepresentations of what being an Asian realtor, home buyer or seller means in our country.

“Super rich influencers you’ve seen, even some of them are realtors, on social media floating about their luxury lifestyle, cocktail parties, supercar shows … these are bad influences,” notes Zhang. “That’s not like most of the people we work with — the majority are hardworking people.”

Another misconception? Being an Asian realtor means being of Chinese descent.

Both Zhang and Wang have diverse teams at their brokerages, with members from the Philippines, Korea, Vietnam and India — as well as Canadian-born realtors.

“It actually brings out different kinds of perspectives, which is a good thing for us to learn (from) because of cultural diversity,” shares Wang. “Asian doesn’t mean it’s only a certain group or ethnic background.”

Part of the solution is bridging the gap between cultures

With the theme of Asian Heritage Month in 2024 as “Advancing Leaders Through Innovation”, along with the already highly-competitive nature of Vancouver’s market, there are opportunities for all real estate professionals to elevate the industry for the better.

Zhang believes that part of the solution is bridging the gap between different cultures. 

“What I’ve observed with some Asian cultures is it’s more well-rounded, whereas Western culture seems very straightforward. So we kind of have to bridge them in the middle and find out the best way to help our immigrant clients settle into their homes.”

Wang also looks hopefully to future opportunities for Asian professionals in real estate, especially other women.

“Back in Asia, there were so many limitations that were put on female professionals — the glass ceiling, things like that,” she adds. “But Canadian culture is more open and accepting of diversity, either ethnic background-wise or gender-wise. So you have that capacity to explore and do things that you want.”

As an Asian-Canadian woman myself (my maiden name being Barroso, of Filipino descent), women in positions of power, like Wang, serve to give me both joy for the current state of the real estate industry as well as hope for what the future can hold for Asian-Canadian community members, whether immigrated to or born in Canada. 

Photo source: Canada.ca

Did you know that April 24th is Administrative Professionals’ Day this year? If you’re a busy realtor, chances are you have (or have had) an administrative assistant supporting your day-to-day business operations.

Today we honour the real estate administrative professionals in our lives, often the unsung heroes of any real estate brokerage.

We spoke with Ashley Wilson from Abundance Haven Real Estate Services and Rachel Wakaluk from Garbutt + Dumas Real Estate Team, based in British Columbia, to get a glimpse into the day in the life of a real estate administrative professional. 

Morning

“Usually my mornings consist of getting up and taking my dogs out. Truthfully, I’ve probably already looked at my phone and replied to some emails from bed. It’s truly an industry that never sleeps,” shares Wilson. “There’s always lots to do. I’ll go to the gym, or go to a coffee shop and work. I really like working from anywhere.” 

With remote work rising in popularity, real estate agents who have administrative professionals could consider how to make remote or asynchronous work, well … work. 

Wilson believes that building a relationship based on trust is crucial to making remote work possible. She’s a big believer in creating systems and processes that work well for both the realtor and administrator. 

“It should be a very seamless process,” she adds. “I think that the most untrusting people that I’ve seen over the years with their assistants are the people who are chaotic and don’t have systems or processes in place.”

Afternoon

“My afternoons are usually quite busy,” says Wakaluk. “I have an opportunity to work on things like social media postings or making a listing.”

Wakaluk is also an advocate for structure and organization when it comes to working with realtors:

“I have tried my best to ‘train’ the realtors on what my structure is in order to better serve them, to help ensure they’re always in compliance and that they have what they need ahead of time,” she adds. “I don’t like to be behind the eight ball — I like to be ahead of the game as much as I can.”

Evening

While 5:00 pm might mean quitting time for some industries, in the real estate world this is when the real work begins.

“Evening is when the offers happen and you have to be ready for it,” Wilson states. “If you’re not, and the offer comes in, then what? It’s typically (about) being prepared and knowing what’s going on.” 

But this doesn’t mean you’ll be drowning in paperwork every evening. Wilson emphasizes the importance of acknowledging burnout and how to address it as a real estate administrative professional.

“I think the biggest thing in this industry that can happen especially for admins is the burnout,” she admits. “We are so focused on doing whatever they ask of us and whatever is needed, and it has to get done. If we don’t, then the Docusign deal doesn’t happen. If we don’t check the email, there might be an offer in the inbox. There are all these things they’re relying on us for, 24/7.”

After almost 20 years of working in the industry, Wakaluk agrees with this sentiment.

“I think there’s always a wish that we can maintain boundaries better, but working in real estate, it always goes back to being a little flexible,” she explains. “It’s not strictly a Monday to Friday, 9-5 job and anyone who goes into it thinking otherwise is sorely mistaken.”

Advice for real estate administrators

Wilson’s biggest advice for real estate administrative professionals? Take the breaks when they do come. “Anytime you can get that chance to just take a little break (for) yourself and give yourself that balance that we lack in this industry is so important.”

For Wilson, that’s catching up on the latest episode of Love is Blind. Whatever your outlet, she advises taking it when the opportunity presents itself.

Advice for realtors

Real estate administrative professionals are not required to be licensed, although many of them have done so to make work more seamless for their employers. Brokerages should be mindful of the responsibilities and limitations that come with each individual administrator based on their education, experience and/or credentials.

When it comes to her advice for realtors, Wakaluk sums it up quite simply:

“Pay them well. Treat them well.” She points out that assistants are an investment, not a cost, to the business. ”They are there to help you make more money. The only time a realtor really makes money is when they’re in front of a client — not when they’re filing paperwork.”