Vancouver thin homes provided diversity and affordability: Historian

A local historian says Vancouver's thin homes are agreat value because they offerdiversity in housing stock in an otherwise bland market.

Last week, one of the city's rare thin homes sold for $1.35 million. The Point Grey home is one of only60to go up on half-sized lots during the 70s and 80s. Most are in the range of 12 feet wide and are typically less than 1,000 square feet.

• 'Thin home' sells for $1.35M in Vancouver's Point Grey

MichaelKluckner, author of Vanishing Vancouver, says the origins of the city's thin homes comes from whenoriginalsettlers subdivided land west ofTrafalgarStreet with their own surveys.

"Some of the surveys don't quite lineup and some of the blocks aren't in a standard size ... so you have that anomaly of half lots," said Kluckner.

"In cases of people who owned a lot and a half ... they'd sell it off to somebody and they'd build a thin house."

Klucknerwishes the city had allowed more thin homes at the timebecause they providea somewhat affordable option for homebuyers.

"In the case of the thin house you get your own property. A lot of others you get strata title and that's a really big difference for a lot of people," saidKluckner.

Klucknersays the city'sreluctanceto the subdivisions of lotshas resulted in unimaginative housing.

"Part of the delight of living in a city ought to be that you go around the corner and you find something different from what you saw on the previousstreet," saidKluckner.

"I would argue from my point of view that houses built since the Second World War have become progressively uglier and bigger."

To hearto the full interview with Michael Kluckner, listen to the audio labelled History of Thin Homes.