Ownership, occupancy, and rentals

While much has been studied and celebrated regarding the urban design and the influx of residential density in the downtown core, remarkably little is known about the actual occupancy of this housing. [...] This sample was chosen to be geographically representative of the development in Downtown Vancouver and was age representative, with the major of units built in the 1990s and the 2000s. [...] This latter estimate is similar to a June 2004 estimate and memorandum by the City of Vancouver of the 8 to 9% of downtown condo units which used a 1,100 Kw/h a year threshold -- the low electricity definition used by BC Stats. [...] The majority of condominium units in the sample were not owner occupied and this suggests the strong role of real estate investors and secondary/vacation homeowners behind residential demand in Downtown Vancouver. [...] Based on the 2008 BC Assessment and the 2008 Home Owner Grant (HOG) databases, 52 to 61% of the units in the study were non-owner occupied while 39 to 48% of units were owner occupied.