Tag Archives: Short term rentals

Housing, Poverty

What the Cortes Housing Survey Says: Problems And Possibilities

Two hundred and sixty-five people (265) filled out responses to the Cortes Island Housing survey which was carried out by the Cortes Community Housing Society and Regional Director Mark Vonesch. While this is only about 30% of the adult population, their answers provide a clear picture of the current housing situation, as well as specific areas where the majority of the population appear to support change.

“Other housing surveys they’ve done in the past have just broken over 100, so people are really engaged around this issue,” explained Vonesch. “40% of the people who responded to the survey have been here for over 20 years, which is significant.  The people that have been here for a long time and seen a lot of changes over the years and seen the way that Cortes is going and where it’s at now and where it has been.” 

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Housing

Cortes Island’s First Housing Forum

About 100 people came together for Cortes Island’s first Housing Forum on Saturday, December 2, in Mansons Hall.   

There were break-out sessions devoted to tiny homes, rental housing, short term rentals, worker housing, empty homes, landlord-tenant relations, home upgrades and making land and home ownership more affordable. A session devoted to environmental issues was added at the last minute. 

The Forum began with opening addresses by Regional Director Mark Vonesch and Sadhu Johnston, Executive Director of the Cortes Community Housing Society.  

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Housing, Politics

Mark Vonesch: How A Little Government Can Address The Housing Crisis

At 9:30 AM on Dec 2, Regional Director Mark Vonesch will be joining the Cortes Housing Society to host a community forum in Mansons Hall.* In today’s interview, he gave a sampling of how a little government could help make housing more affordable 

“We are in a housing crisis. Housing is expensive to build and we don’t have enough of it. What can we do as a community in Cortes to get more affordable housing done? Like a lot of issues, we have to approach this from multiple angles. There’s not one thing that’s going to  solve the problem. It’s basically three things.”

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Housing

Number of Tri-Cities properties cashing in on short-term rentals spikes 45% in year

Editor’s note: To what extent are we looking at a province wide trend? Is this spike happening in our area, or is it a more urban phenomenon?

By Patrick Penner, Tri-Cities Dispatch, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The number of landowners in the Tri-Cities using their properties for short-term rentals spiked 45 percent in one year. 

In August, sites like Airbnb and Vrbo posted 807 active listings for Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, according to data provided by AirDNA, a market research provider.

That’s up from 446 total listings in August 2022. Despite the number of active listings being halved during the COVID-19 pandemic, overall rental growth still jumped 35 percent since 2018.

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Housing, Poverty

A remote Canadian island makes history in fight for affordable housing

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A remote Canadian island is breaking ground on a new way to buffer the negative effects short-term vacation rentals have on the housing crisis facing small, rural tourism-based communities. 

B.C.’s Cortes Island is making housing history as the first community in the province to tax short-term holiday rentals and have all the funds directed to affordable housing projects, said Mark Vonesch, the area’s Strathcona Regional District director. 

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