renovation loan

August 29, 2025

BC housing: Standard designs to speed up builds

The BC government is hoping a new approach will help encourage people to build new homes.

The province’s Standardized Housing Design Project lays out standard home designs that will enable builders to cut down on design costs and approval times.

“We’re trying to get the building process moved faster so that anyone, whether they’re a new building or a very experienced builder, can take a set design and get it straight through the local government to get it approved,” Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon explained Thursday.

Kahlon says the program is similar to the post-war CMHC Catalog of Homes, adding BC

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Canada housing plans: Explaining new plan to tackle housing crisis

The federal government has unveiled what it is calling their “plan to solve the housing crisis,” outlining both steps they intend to take, as well as issuing a callout to other levels of government and homebuilders to roll up their sleeves.

The 28-page plan includes billions of dollars in spending commitments and is divided into three pillars: building more homes, making it easier to own or rent a home, and helping Canadians who can’t afford a home.

“Today we are releasing the most comprehensive and ambitious housing plan ever seen in Canada. It builds on the sizeable investments we’ve made

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Brooklyn Couple Colorfully Renovates Townhouse on a Budget

As Giovanni Botta and Amanda Pinegar began planning their renovation of the house they bought in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn, they knew one thing for sure: The kitchen would have to be pink.

“We had already decided on the refrigerator, which is pink,” said Ms. Pinegar, 44, a ceramic artist. “And we wanted a kitchen that would enhance that.”

To complement the pink kitchen, they considered lots of other bright colors, too.

“Amanda wanted it really bold,” said Mr. Botta, 42, a software engineer at Waymo, the driverless car company owned by Alphabet. This was nothing new: In their previous home,

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