Michael Mortensen

Back to School! I'm running City 755: "Real Estate Development From the Inside Out" again for the Simon Fraser University Continuing Studies: 6 evenings starting September 16th. We begin with a plan and a basic MS Excel Proforma that you construct. No design without economics; no economics without design! We look at real estate through the lens of those developing it ... from preacquisition to occupancy. sfu.ca/continuing-studies/co…

@JasJohalBC your Jan 13th guest Patrick Condon was spreading 100% misinformation about the cost of Co-op or Below-Market Housing. * Any Co-op or Low Income Rental apartment today requires c. $300K / unit up-front public subsidy. * Land is NOT the biggest cost. * Increasing the Intensity of land use REDUCES land cost. * Canadians cannot afford to have our government house everybody. Below-market housing does not grow on trees. All levels of government (Fed, Prov, Regional, City) need to reset housing policy and fees to make market ownership and rental housing less expensive to produce. A sample budget below. Please invite people with real housing knowledge and experience to your show.

Rob Bruno's letter to METRO Vancouver Board Deserves amplification. Governments need to reverse massive increases in fees immediately. METRO needs a more equitable funding model for essential infrastructure. Federal funds have been promised. Where are they?

City of Vancouver Council today approved a suite of commonsense measures to bring down the cost of developing rental and ownership housing. Kudos to all those on council who voted to show some sensible leadership. council.vancouver.ca/2025121…

Other Cities take note!!! City of Vancouver unveils sweeping changes to address the housing cost of delivery crisis. * 2-year Rental Development Relief Program (RDRP) * Attainable Home Ownership Pilot Rezoning Policy (AHOPRP) * Below Market Rents set to CMHC Average (vs 20% below) * Temporary 20% cut to building development fees * Design Flexibility (shared light/ventilation inboard beds) * Modest Density & Height relaxations * Simplified Development Requirements Policy Here: council.vancouver.ca/2025121… @CBCVancouver @fumano @fabulavancouver @globeandmail

What BUILDING CODE changes, material and labour drivers have MORE THAN DOUBLED THE HARD COST OF CONSTRUCTION in less than 10 years? Interested in feedback from folks who really understand the building code & construction cost impacts. What could we rationalize to bring costs down My recent case study of a Vancouver highrise 2005 vs 2025 showed overall development cost up >3.2X in last 20 years; government fees and levies up 7.5X but household incomes only up 1.7X. Let's zero in on HARD CONSTRUCTION COSTS that also drive design fees, insurance, finance and development management costs.

GUESS what Vancouver Political Party this applies to ...

My next once-weekly 6-week beginner course starts next month. Guaranteed to inform your understanding and perspective on development. I use a pro-forma as the table of contents for the weekly class. sfu.ca/continuing-studies/co…

How do we break this impasse? Housing affordability is a systemic challenge so we need to attack it on all fronts. Let's flip this on it's head. Over the past 20 years, housing development costs increased >3X* but incomes increased only 1.7X*. First order of business: Canadians have to become more productive; earn more; and keep more of what they earn. Government needs to get fit; get lean; and tax less. Our Canadian political and social culture needs to embrace and celebrate people who take risks and start businesses. We need a national Canadian advantage that attracts people with new ideas and people who create new wealth. We need more working citizens, creating more, exporting more, earning more, paying less tax. Plenty to do on the delivery side. Intensify land use where it makes sense to drive down land costs (Transit Oriented Development; properly zone land). Design modest sized homes that will still be liveable, rentable, sellable in the longer term (reduce land + construction cost). Drive down construction costs (smart design, more sensible code requirements, prefab, perhaps modular where possible). Rationalize + Reduce Government Fees, Levies Taxes (fastest growing component of development cost up >7.5X in last 20 years*). Marketing is a good target for tech disruption to lower sales/rental transaction costs while de-risking development. CMHC and Canadian banks need mandates and incentives to create stable low-interest mortgage options for ownership and rental (lowering finance costs). Leave no stone unturned! @MarkJCarney @gregorrobertson @udibc

Reshare if you think HBC Caretakers should step up and do this!

Status Quo ... plenty of fragmented small munis

A good debate topic for those of us who live in the 21 municipalities that comprise Metro Vancouver? What do you think?

The problem in one picture. We can address land cost with +Intensity but the other challenges are harder to solve! We need a new Federal-Provincial deal to fund pipes and transit in the Canadian cities that receive new immigration. More skilled trades. More capital (domestic + international) to build homes. @MarkJCarney @gregorrobertson @christineeboyle @CMHC_ca

Honoured to teach as an Adjunct Professor at the UBC Sauder School of Business (and also SALA). Looking forward to hearing some of my colleagues' insights on Oct 23. sauder.ubc.ca/event/future-m…

Benjamin Tal is a smart person. renx.ca/tal-and-others-expre…

Plenty of critics who don't appear to have any experience with real development ...