Central London

Property values in central London are:

-doubling every ten years

-in the Kensington-Chelsea area, a record price for a home was set in 2014: 8,500 pounds per sq ft, 20 times the national average

To put that number ($11,135 USD per sq ft) in perspective, it costs about $220 per sq ft CAD to build a new home in Ottawa (excluding land) and around $150 USD in the US (source, https://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/architects-and-engineers/build-a-house/). Or you can purchase an existing home in Ottawa for about $215 per sq ft, all-in (source, https://obj.ca/article/ottawa-ranks-highly-housing-affordability-century-21-survey).

This is why people in places like London, Boston, Toronto (even downtown Ottawa) are digging out their basements to unprecedented levels; here’s a 2014 BBC documentary about what’s going on in London: 

This is what happens when governments do not set the right conditions for expansion of the housing supply–they create an artificial shortage and price spike.

It’s happening everywhere governments are restricting expansion of their urban boundaries and not letting folks build up (as well as down).

It’s not rent control or more government subsidies (for affordable housing) we need–it’s a huge expansion of supply that’s needed… more land and more density as well as intensity.

Bruce M Firestone, B Eng (civil), M Eng-Sci, PhD, Ottawa Senators founder, Real Estate Investment and Business coach, ROYAL LePAGE Performance Realty broker, 1-613-762-8884 bruce.firestone@century21.ca twitter.com/ProfBruce profbruce.tumblr.com/archive brucemfirestone.com

MAKING IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE