Chunk of Vancouver homes could be at risk of being torn down

An architecture at the University of British Columbia, Joseph Dahmen is warning that a segment of homes in Vancouver could torn down in the next ten years as a result of increasing cost of land.

Dahmen came up with the “tear-down index” which compares the value of a property to that of the overall property to determine if a property is to be torn down.  This process is most commonly called the relative building value (RBV) and the lower a property’s RBV the higher the chances of it being torn down.

According to Dahmen, figures from the municipal and British Columbia Assessment records of homes transactions between 2005 and 2015 has being the most relevant indicator on whether a home should be torn down or not.

High cost of land over the years has led for this situation to become prominent which makes the city to have a frequent cycling of homes.

As real estate home values continue to increase in the city, half of single-family homes have RBVs less than 7.5 which according to Dahmen is a healthy value for a property. But properties under a 50% RBV have the likelihood of been leveled even if it’s a new building.

Von Bergnann, who moved from Germany to work and school in Calgary and Vancouver, expressed his amusement at how scruffy homes in Vancouver are being sold at high prices.

But demolishing and rebuilding homes in the city can be economically and environmentally challenging. The cost involved in building new homes is huge hence Vancouver residents should come up with alternative measures to improve on their property RBV.