Much talk continues
around urban density and it's critical role in Calgary's future, but who
controls urban density... the builder-developer community, the
government or the marketplace?
In today’s
marketplace, the smart builder builds based on demand. The builder
running in the red builds on speculation. Buyer demand, unfortunately,
does not currently exist in Calgary’s urban centre. There’s a large
amount of “urban” product on the market and absorption levels are slow
in comparison to new, single-family communities on the outskirts of the
city centre and beyond.
The buyer culture
needs to shift and begin demanding more homes downtown or regional
government must intervene and provide incentive for the building and
development industry and prospective purchasers interested in buying a
home in the downtown core.
Multi-family
builders are attempting to pick up lost momentum in the beltline and
city core. 2008 saw a record number of project starts in Calgary’s
downtown condo market. Many speculative buyers are still scrambling to
resell or rent and finding it difficult to do either.
Builder
organizations are homebuilder’s first and service organizations second.
The before build, build and after build service is extensive for new
homebuilders. In the age of the service-oriented business, it would
appear builders’ priorities are in the right place.
The benefits of
avoiding urban sprawl cannot be argued, savings in infrastructure
spending/ maintenance and creating a greater sense of community
downtown; however, a broader culture shift needs to occur amongst home
buyers as opposed to pointing the finger at the service-oriented builder
organizations.
--allan
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