Creo Developments is borrowing a page from the federal government, offering its own "tax break" for first- and second-time homebuyers at its Morrison Walk community in northern Vancouver.

In light of tepid housing market sales activity, the Vancouver-based developer hopes the rebate will help it overcome the slump. The idea borrows from and builds on the Canadian government’s proposed GST/HST rebate on purchases of new housing.

The incentive is aimed at young families in need of a bigger dwelling, but who are locked out from accessing the federal incentive. It is being offered at Creo’s expense, and the developer plans to roll it out even if the nationwide rebate is not implemented by the Canadian government.

The developer’s goal is to help “people overcome the objections to them actually getting into the market,” Creo’s president Harald Sinow said in an interview with RENX Homes.

Creo has been developing townhome communities in northern Vancouver since 2015. Its focus is on missing middle projects, Sinow said, referring to affordable medium-density housing.

A 70-unit development, Morrison Walk is the third and final piece of Creo’s collection of townhome communities around Moodyville Park. Morrison Walk will join The Morrison and Morrison on the park. Altogether, the projects will total over 170 units.

'Livable' housing backed with an 'inclusive' rebate

The tax break will be offered not just to first-time buyers, but also to qualifying second-time buyers. Creo found many second-time buyers bought a studio or one-bedroom unit as their first home, but had to sell it because of rising interest rates during the COVID pandemic.

The purpose of the rebate is “to allow people with confidence to move forward today, secure their home for the future, and also be inclusive,” Sinow said.

Morrison Walk will consist of primarily two and three-bedroom units, each comprising approximately half of the offerings in the community.

The two-bedroom units will range from 1,380 square feet to 1,863 square feet. Starting prices will vary from $1.2 million to almost $1.4 million.

For the three-bedroom units, the floor space will range from over 1,500 square feet to just under 2,000 square feet. Prices for a three-bedroom unit are expected to start at $1.36 million up to $1.55 million.

Creo plans to include a lone one-bedroom unit at Morrison Walk, starting from $788,900 with 880 square feet of space.

Amid an industry trend of developers favouring smaller housing, Creo is “really focused on how livable we can make our spaces as opposed to how small we can make them,” Sinow said. “We need to keep the homes livable for families. It’s not necessarily an investor product.”

Currently in the pre-sale stage, Sinow said sales for Morrison Walk have “moved along quite well” - such that Creo is commencing the third release for the project.

Creo expects to finish construction on Morrison Walk in the late summer of 2026.

Morrison Walk geared toward young families

Creo is targeting Morrison Walk at young professionals with a growing family, or a plan to start one, Sinow said. Prospective customers tend to be upsizers from Vancouver living in a studio or one-bedroom unit who have recently married and want to settle in a family-friendly neighbourhood.

With the family-oriented nature of the project in mind, the parking spaces at Morrison Walk will be placed underground to enhance the safety of the community for children.

Buyers are also expected to be interested in an outdoors lifestyle. Morrison Walk is located near the North Shore Spirit Trail and adjacent to Moodyville Park.

To the east of Morrison Walk, there will be retail stores and restaurants available via a short drive. To its west will be The Shipyards District, a hip neighbourhood with retail, dining, grocery and entertainment options.

Prefabrication being used for construction

To assist with the construction of Morrison Walk, Creo has enlisted Surrey, B.C-based prefabricated building company NuFrame Group. The wall panels for the community will be made off-site at NuFrame’s factory in Chilliwack.

The benefits of that decision are many and varied.

“It helps us to accelerate the project and have quality control and less wastage, too . . . and then when they bring it to site, you’re able to have it go up much quicker,” Sinow said.

For example, the construction team was able to build five buildings at once using prefabricated panels, as opposed to constructing one at a time using a stick-built method. The construction will also be less impacted by the weather and less disruptive to neighbours, Sinow added.

It is not the first time Creo has used prefabrication; the construction method was also used for The Morrison.

Creo is devoting most of its attention to delivering Morrison Walk, but the company is actively searching for more development opportunities, Sinow said.