Dear Editor,
At the recent public hearing at city hall, after developers rhetorically asked what “affordable housing” is in today’s market, one resident suggested that a nice, livable $1.1 million older house is realistically the “new affordable housing.”
Perhaps that is not ideal, but it is nonetheless correct. Unfortunately, a young family who scrapes together a down payment from working hard, saving up and possibly getting some help from the “bank of mom and dad,” still has one major obstacle in the journey to achieving this.
They may wish to view a house only to discover that it has sold to a developer in less than a day. Or they may put an offer on a home only to be outbid by a developer with deeper pockets.
A developer, who rather than live in the house with their family and become part of the community, will raze this “affordable home” and build one that will now be sold for almost three times the original value.
This is happening at such a rapid rate, the “new affordable housing” market is quickly shrinking in size.
What is the solution?
A two-week period before developers can make an offer on a property?
Perhaps. Whatever it is, if the mayor and councillors are really serious about affordable housing in Richmond, they need to act before it’s too late.
Michael Seidelman
Richmond
