The proof that the cost of home ownership is going up ... Vancouver was named the "most severely unaffordable" city in the world to live in. Kelowna wasn't far behind, named 38th in Demographia International report released last week.

You have probably noticed your houses value decreased since last years assessment. Even if you are down 50,000 or 100,000 dollars you are still way ahead of housing prices in Kelowna 5 years ago.

There have been many ideas suggested to combat the financial pressure of the increasing cost of living and Vancouver has come up with a plan for future development, made popular in other countries, called a "micro loft". The idea is of course smaller place smaller mortgage.

The idea is simple, shrink the size of your total living space to a mere 270 square feet. That's right ... about the size of your bedroom; to sleep, eat, entertain, and bath in. The lofts are being developed as rental suites ... but I am sure if developers can sell the tiny units in the future they will.

Would you buy one if they were to be built in Kelowna, Vernon or Penticon? Make sure to leave your comments below. See the story for your self here at the CTV web sight here. make sure to check out the pictures too.

The shocking part of the study is the average Kelowna home would take 5.9 years salary (if all your income was used) to pay off, almost twice that of the Canadian average of 3.9 years. By comparison Vancouver is almost double that! This makes me wonder how one could argue that home ownership is a good financial decision for anyone one looking to buy in Vancouver.

For a Kelowna perspective check this link from Kelowna.com

Study ranks Kelowna 38th most expensive place to live world-wide. For the third year running, Kelowna has been counted among the least affordable places to put down roots across the globe....

What is bad news for affordable spacious housing is good news for the environment. The move to more compact accommodations could mean less building materials, less furniture to decorate, and smaller yards to keep up and a simple lifestyle.

This is good news to me ... less grass to mow. In this case less is actually more!

Mike Hassard Kelowna

CTV link can be found here

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100125/bc_micro_lofts_100125/20100125?hub=BritishColumbiaHome

Kelowna.com link can be found here:

http://www.kelowna.com/2010/01/26/study-ranks-kelowna-38th-most-expensive-place-to-live-world-wide/