A commentary by an urban ­planner, land economist, and principal at Aryze Developments.

Two recent Times Colonist commentaries — one claiming Victoria’s land values make “vacancy chains” irrelevant, the other arguing for only “affordable” homes — reflect real anxieties about housing.

But both misunderstand how the system works. Victoria’s challenge isn’t choosing between market and affordable housing — it’s building enough of the right homes quickly, and allowing people to move up so others can step onto the first rung.

Understanding affordable housing

“Affordable housing” refers to non-market homes built by government agencies like B.C. Housing and the Capital Region Housing Corporation (CRHC), or non-profits such as the Greater Victoria Housing Society, the Aboriginal Coalition to End Homelessness, and Makola Housing.

These organizations do vital work. CRHC alone has more than 1,000 homes underway, housing about 1% of the region’s population.

I grew up in CRHC housing, so I know firsthand the stability this kind of housing provides. We need much more of it.

But even with major new federal and provincial investments, non-market homes would still make up only a small share of the region’s total supply — less than 5%. That means more than 95% of homes remain market-based.

Since 2022, Victoria has approved every non-market project proposed, representing about 20% of total approvals. Even if all were built, and governments tripled their funding,........

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