UW Research Symposium: Can Improved Understanding of Home Buyer, Seller, and Developer Interactions Address Intensification Goals?

We are living in interesting times here in Kitchener-Waterloo! The new LRT corridor is buzzing with construction, both transit-related and new developments. Around the corner from my house, the local tattoo, pizza, and all-night massage parlours are being replaced by an upscale mix-used development with a large underground parking garage. The real estate market has taken a surprising turn, with a high buyer-seller ratio driving both sales and prices. Planning is occurring around station areas, including a vision for new community development and zoning to support it.

These changes likely bring many questions to your mind. What is driving housing market prices currently? How do home buyers make trade-offs between accessibility to core activities and suburban amenities? How are developers responding to changing market conditions? How well do their plans and market perception match those of local home buyers and renters? How does the ION Light Rail Transit system matter to our changing communities, and how is it influencing land and housing market dynamics? How might all of these pieces come together to shape our community post-LRT?

Our Urban Growth and Change research group in the School of Planning is conducting research to shed light on these questions. Our activities include a research partnership with representatives from regional and municipal governments and the real estate industry. As we approach the mid-point of this research partnership, we would like to invite you to an open public research symposium, presenting our research to date that addresses questions such as: how can a better understanding of open space preferences, job accessibility, travel behaviour, and home value influences help meet intensification goals? Can this new understanding improve our communities for buyers, sellers, renters, and developers?

The symposium will take place on Tuesday November 22, 2016 from 4:30pm to 8:00pm in Environment 3, first floor. Discussion and exchange will be encouraged during the session and reception. Light refreshments will be available throughout the event.

The schedule of planned activities:

4:30-5:25: Reception, posterboard viewing, and Q and A with research team (EV3 atrium)

5:30-5:40: Dawn Parker, Professor, School of Planning, UW: Introduction, highlights of previous research on job accessibility, travel behaviour and open space preferences. (EV3 1408)

5:40-6:10: Robert Babin, BES and MA Planning, UW; Data Analyst, Assessment Standards & Mass Appraisal Division, Municipal Property Assessment Corporation – Estimating Homebuyer Preferences under Intensification (EV3 1408)

6:10-6:40 PM: Jinny Tran, BES Planning, UW; Land Use Planner, Aird & Berlis LLP – Understanding Developer’s Decision Making in the Region of Waterloo – Survey results and analysis

(EV3 1408)

6:40-7 PM: Dawn Parker – Overview of current activities (renter survey, buyer and seller survey, model development) & Monitoring the Central Transit Corridor Project Overview (Regional of Waterloo) (EV3 1408)

7-8 PM: Posterboard viewing, and Q and A with research team (EV3 atrium)

Please book your free ticket athttps://www.eventbrite.ca/e/waterloo-urban-growth-change-research-group-symposium-tickets-28867529558 no later than November 18 at 4:30pm to reserve your seat and let us plan for refreshments. We look forward to your attendance!

Please feel free to come for part of the symposium, as suits your interests and schedule. If you can’t attend the symposium, additional information and updates on our projects are available at:

WARM Project

PDG Project