Needy families are getting a small boost in their efforts to become homeowners in one of the country’s most expensive housing markets.
The province yesterday announced it’s providing Habitat For Humanity Canada (HFHC) with $500,000 toward new homes for 24 families.
The money will be used for building materials in a region where house prices are at historic highs. The average bungalow in Vancouver costs more than $500,000.
Jim Lippert, director of HFHC, said families who qualify for the program help build the home they will move into.
“We probably added 50 per cent to our capacity to build this year because of the funding,” he said, adding that HFHC has built 162 new homes in Canada this year.
Randy Forrester will be moving into a new HFHC home and said the program “gives hope and pride back to the working class people of B.C.”
Construction of the homes will begin in 2009.
