Skeptics doubt fed-provincial plan to buy up BC condos is worth it
“If the question is, ‘Are we helping out first-time homebuyers?’ I would attack the qualification process,” he said. “Stress test first and look at a downpayment matching program,” he said. “I haven’t had a single person yet say to me, ‘I think this is a good idea.’ No one, not a single person.”
The plan is just one part of a wider federal strategy to turbocharge the pace of home construction and availability in the next decade, a broader scheme that lawmakers estimate will cost about $5 billion.
But McFadyen sees little chance that the program alone will move the needle for new buyers in the province anytime soon.
“Based on the limited information that was provided to us and what we know about it so far… I would say not meaningfully, no,” he said. “I don’t see it meaningfully changing the market. I think you’re just manipulating the markets.”
Some will argue that the initiative is better than sitting still, but McFadyen questioned that logic. “Is it better than doing nothing? I would say no,” he said, “because there are many more things that could be done with taxpayer money.”
