If you’ve even remotely followed the real estate trends of BC in the last decade (and we’re betting more than a few of our readers have) you know Vancouver has become completely unaffordable to most young people.
The Millennial Generation, which encompasses most younger people between 15 and 35, is finding it hard to purchase property in Vancouver. This is significant because this is the generation that fuels the tech sector – a tech sector which Kelowna has laid the foundation to thrive in.
Bloomberg breaks down the shrinkage of Millennials in Vancouver.
Bloomberg recently dug through the stats to find that most of these young tech savvy individuals are finding work, and a home, in Victoria and Kelowna.
“Kelowna is another city seeing a recent flow of millennial housing refugees from British Columbia’s biggest city. The town of 123,000 is in the midst of building a six-story innovation center for startups and Accelerate Okanagan, an organization that supports local tech companies.”
It’s great to see the efforts of Kelowna’s leaders in providing a safe haven for tech companies paying off. The Kelowna lifestyle is very appealing the Millennials – the difficult part has always been finding work. Tech companies are wising up to value Kelowna has to offer and as the Bloomberg article points out, the real estate game has made it easier to attract these individuals:
“Karen Olsson, chief operating officer for Kelowna-based software company Community Sift, says it’s getting easier to recruit people from bigger cities because they’re drawn to the lifestyle that includes farm-to-table dining, hand-roasted organic coffee and local beer.”
It’s true that Kelowna’s median age has grown from 41 to 43 from the 2006 census to the 2011 census. However, population in all age groups has grown. Young people are flocking to Kelowna – just not as fast as retirees. It’s just one more reason Kelowna’s housing market remains strong and at record levels.
Courtesy of Realestaterookie
