Coriolis' report says single-stair on single lots isn't viable even at 1.75 fsr, but 1.2 FSR townhouses may be in some places. Not a good sign for building SES in general.

People in Alberta are crowded, whereas people in BC just have a cultural affinity for spending at least 50% of household income on housing.

Maybe not saying much, but this is now Vancouver's longest period of slow (>~1 S.D.) resale housing market conditions this century. Looks like it will still take a while to make up for the extremity of the 2008 crash though, or even 2012. www.nbc.ca/content/d...

The economics team at the same bank produced both of these charts.

I missed this before. The CPPIB has lost $100B of Canadian's money since they switched to active management 20 years ago (vs. an equivalent passive portfolio). Their costs are high compared to smaller pensions.

Long-term US bond ETFs are pretty much even since Sept/Oct 2023 (price-only, not including payments). Doesn't seem like a big blow-up in the bond market yet. It's surprising to me that inflation-protected is almost lockstep with nominal bonds, even recently.

🚨 PUBLIC HEARING ALERT 🚨 Tonight #NewWest council will hold a public hearing to allow four- and six-plexes on 3,000 properties. Gentle density, good! Unfortunately every single letter sent in is in opposition. Bad!

enjoying the nithya raman vertical drama ads so much

This was the impetus for me to sell Vanguard VTI/VUN for Dimensional's DFAC. Possibly not that big of a deal on its own, but I don't like getting scammed.

Why does the Rona on Grandview seem to have much less selection than North Van? Isn't it bigger? Practically everything I search has most options "available nearby".

Topical: the intro clearly describes the residential gas cost spiral that has already begun. Heat pumps outsell gas furnaces 4:1 (in the US no less), so a dwindling customer base has to support fast increasing infrastructure maintenance costs.

CPP's board trailed their own benchmark by a whopping 5.4pp this year, 7.8% vs. 13.2%. One year of underperformance isn't so bad, but I fear there will be a reckoning between the valuations of many private holdings & their realizable market value.

Twice as many senior administrators as 10 years ago, some getting paid much more. It's hardly unique to school boards or even government, but I think it's certainly a reason funding (tax dollars) doesn't go as far as it used to. thetyee.ca/News/2026...

I spoke to Vancouver council tonight in opposition to this motion. ABC can't claim that allowing methane in homes is a pro-housing measure, then immediately move to savage multiplexes to cater to quell specious aesthetic concerns. Part of my remarks:

Nice summary of a great vacancy chain study first-authored by my great UBC colleague Limin Fang.

Anyone ever notice that Australia & Canada have very similar economies, w/ Australia doing significantly better lately, despite that Australia does not have a United States bolted to it? They have more options for ports, I guess.

A reminder that building more homes at SkyTrain stations has the same benefit as building new SkyTrain lines (ie. Increasing # of people near SkyTrain). One earns the government money, the other costs the government money. We should aggressively be doing both. I'm looking at you Nanaimo Station.

While the rest of Metro Vancouver's housing permitting rate has fallen pretty fast, down ~4500 homes annually compared to last year, City of Vancouver's building permits have actually increased, by ~2600 homes. (both #s subject to revision) 1/2

YTD in 2026, Metro Vancouver housing permits are down 38%! Led by townhouses! (but not duplexes, which are way up from a small base). N.B.: only 2 months of data & subject to revisions. (graphic is for all of BC) catalogue.data.gov.b...

The Ontario system I experienced wasn't totally straightforward, landlords would still say "no pets" even though it was unenforceable. But that's a lot better than they very sad lack of protection BC has.

Just a reminder that AHV's monthly happy hour is tonight--Thursday May 14!

If academics can assert that "these policies work" without any nuance whatsoever in the newspaper...what are we even doing here? Academia doesn't deserve the culture war shit it's getting...but in the planning world, gah, it's just frequently so far from evidence-based.

A 1% restaurant tax to fund social housing is an interesting idea (not that Bula is proposing that here). Similar to how the sales tax won judges over in Movement's recent transit funding competition.

Unlike housing, local transit decision-making works better?

Kits Highschool turf, which is too small for a regulation sized soccer field, is hosting more users on a Tuesday evening, just counting the non-school use, than the langara golf course which is more than 65 times its size.

Our monthly happy hour is this Thursday, May 14, starting at 5pm. Drop in whenever you can make it! Conveniently located at Rogue Wetbar inside Waterfront Station. There are some major items coming up, even before the October election. Lots to talk about!

OT1H, the current forward p/e ratio is scary in historical context. OTOH, the equity risk premium doesn't look *that* bad. The secular rise in P/E seems to have some explanatory power here. People want that extra 3-4% yield. www.yardeni.com/char... www.apolloacademy.co...

For 45 years, Berkeley built virtually no new housing. By the mid-2010s, it was one of the most expensive college towns in America. Around that time, YIMBYs took over and kicked off a building boom. Today, rents are below 2018 levels in nominal terms—a remarkable case of progress on affordability.

Wouldn't this make more sense in Edmonton where they can use a lot more waste heat? Seems like an ominous sign for the future vibrancy of downtown; I'm not celebrating even though I think AI sovereignty is a legit concern.

The City of Ottawa posted the raw speed data from before and after Doug Ford banned speed cameras and the effect is so obvious it's not even necessary put a line marking when that happened. This chart shows the percentage of drivers going 15km/h or more over the posted limit.

Work it, make it, do it, makes it: Taller, denser, faster, stronger

Like when Los Angeles realized that ED 1 (fast tracking affordable housing projects) was actually working, and of course quickly killed it.

I wanted to take a moment to say a few things as directly as I could. Wanting to legalize apartments in the West Side of Vancouver isn't radical. A status quo built on exclusion is. If we want to move the needle at all, we'll need councillors committed to big ideas and real change.

vancouver's west end healed me as an entire district of medium + high density housing on a network of low-car streets (with some car-free treatments!) pleasant, quiet, but convenient to walk, bike and take transit. perfect. and illegal to recreate across most canadian cities 💔

In 2023 we did a quick rendering sketch for council motion by @christineboyle.bsky.social @onecityvan.bsky.social aiming to unlock new housing options in Shaughnessy... it didn't pass at the time, but here's the 2026 version to keep the dream alive.

My semi-strategic list for the OneCity council nominations (remember, members only get one vote, not 4): 1-2. Peter Waldkirch / Russil Wvong 3. Caitlin Stockwell 4. Azeem Ali 5. Armor Valor 6. Iona Bonamis And of course you need Krista Sigurdson on school board!

I think Vancouver's become too reliant on using unrelated roadwork as an opportunity to build bike lanes. I argue that it doesn't save that much money, does little to quell local opposition, and often fails to create network effects.

If I were the Premiere of a province with a horrific housing shortage & falling lumber demand, I would simply legalize 18-storey mass timber apartments in the urban core of major cities. www.cbc.ca/news/cana...

It's May 3rd, so for all you OneCity members...it's time! Time to vote...PETER FOR COUNCIL! I think Vancouver Council needs a committed pro-housing voice with a demonstrated track record of fighting for the housing we need. To help get us there, rank me #1 on your ballot!

2 years ago with @pwaldkirch.bsky.social. Get out for some Jane’s walks this weekend people.

The iron-ish law of YIMBYism: Markets that spend decades below 6% rental vacancy are almost always expensive. Markets that maintain healthy vacancy rates are usually cheap

Why can’t we do this EVERYWHERE?

The reverse purge: on this day, laws are enforced

Check out my latest opinion piece! Public transit can save someone up to $15,000 per year. There is no other cost saving tool at any government’s disposal as powerful as public transit. @movementyvr.bsky.social

Astonishingly, this ALWAYS happens. Always. The Gastown BIA could stand to listen to people that keep telling them this.

Why is City of Vancouver paying for a service that can’t even do what plenty of free services can?

I think that the last couple years of computering has been the ones in my life where the most computer things just don’t work or are buggy as shit or wholly unsatisfying. What have we done?

A busy intersection in Utrecht: a daily reminder that when cycling is safe and convenient, it becomes a natural part of how a city moves.

the skytrain network if it was actually good