These homes could hit the market at 25% below value

Housing for twenty families available at 25 per cent below market value.

That is the starting goal for a new housing model pitched for Kelowna.

The non-profit behind the project is called YeYe Housing. It’s spearheaded by Norm Letnick – who is acting as a private citizen and not a Liberal MLA for Kelowna-Lake Country.

“We are trying to provide entry-level housing with a hand up, not a handout,” he said at a press conference Monday morning announcing the plan.

The idea is simple: have a non-profit oversee the project, rather than a developer, removing the need to turn a profit. This means the potential buyer will pay 100 per cent of the costs.

The buyers will also not pay for the land. The parcel is being turned over to the non-profit by owners who are willing to defer payment for the property.

They’ll make their money back when the new owners sell the unit. The sellers will only receive 75 per cent of what it goes for, with the rest directed towards the person who provided the land for the housing project.

“[The landowner] doesn’t get the money right away, which gives the first-time home buyer a hand up,” he explained. “When they sell the home, the land partner will realize the financial return.”

The non-profit is also open to donated land from church groups, municipal governments, or other organizations. However, Letnick said they are targeting private citizens who are looking to upgrade a chunk of property and can afford to wait 5, 10 or 20 years to realize the investment.

The first project, located at 1030 Houghton Road in Rutland, is considered a prototype for the model to see if it will work in British Columbia.

The project is not government subsidized, it is entirely privately funded, he said.

And while new to Kelowna, the model is considered tried, tested, and successful in Banff since the 1990s – and Letnick had a key role there, too.

In 1992, Letnick was elected to Banff town council. The bustling tourist town in the Rocky Mountains was facing a housing shortage. A symposium was held, inviting people from across Western North America and similar resort communities to find a solution.

As the developers at the time were building homes catered to wealthier people, public officials recognized they needed to play a role in building starter homes for first-time buyers.

Within a year, the Banff Housing Corporation was formed. Over the next five years, Letnick said over 200 homes were built, each selling for around 20 to 25 per cent below market value.

“It worked and still does work,” Letnick said. “A lot of the people who bought those homes are still living in them in Banff and that means their kids have grown up there and enriched the community.… We want to replicate that as much as we can here in B.C.”

While some details still need to be ironed out, the units will be available to first-time buyers with a family income of less than $150,000. As demand will likely exceed supply, a draw may be held to assign the units. The prospective buyers will need to have lived in Kelowna for at least one year and filed taxes in B.C. for the previous six.

Those interested are encouraged to visit yeyehousing.com.