As a parent of two kids in their early 30s who would someday like to live in a residence that they own and is not a condo, I got to thinking...

First of all, most B次元官网网址渒idsB次元官网网址� like mine would have to partner up; one average income is not going to cut it. If two people with average incomes pooled their resources, came up with at least $50,000 as a down payment and the bank maxed them out at 40% debt ratio, they could afford a house priced at $750,000 with payments of $3,780 a month. I searched townhouses in Saanich and they range from $900,000 to $1.2 million.

What about this?

A house in our Saanich neighbourhood sold recently for $1,040,000. If the district had bought it and recycled it, they could have built two side-by-side duplexes on the 6,000-square-foot lot. Residential building costs in B.C. start at $275 a square foot. If the duplexes were each 1,200 sq. ft. and Saanich kept the building costs down, they could have likely built the 4800 sq. ft. for $325/ft. or less at a cost of $1,560,000. Add in the original purchase price of $1,040,000 for a total cost of about $2.6 million. If each of the units was sold for $650,000 and the municipality waived development and permit costs and the province waived the property transfer tax, this plan breaks even. Or, if they sold each unit for $700,000, there is a $200,000 profit/budget for overruns and hiring a retired private-sector contractor to run the program.

Voila! Truly affordable housing that's not a condo.

Two rules: Buyers must live in them and not own other property in B.C.

I'm sure this idea breaks dozens of rules. Change the rules. The province just bought the old ICBC building in Vancouver and plans to demolish it and build affordable housing. Clearly, governments can be in the business of real estate. Why not municipal governments? They have so many advantages. They can change zoning, building codes and waive development costs. They have the inspectors.

The strategy outlined here could be used over and over and likely all over the province with properties priced at or near the average for the jurisdiction involved.

My favourite part: Truly affordable housing with yards and your own front door, with minimal or no strata fees. This is huge when taking on your first mortgage! No four-storey towers overlooking neighbours and shading solar panels. Minimal boulevard tree loss.

Hundreds, if not thousands of properties across the province could be transformed this way.

Dave Secco

Saanich