Article content continued

“When we did move over here, we were looking at houses as well. At that point in our lives, we were just out of school and getting our careers established and looking at student loans we had to pay off, and we figured that would take us about four years.”

Because they were planning on having another child they wanted something with three bedrooms.

“So at that time, we were looking at houses in Lynn Valley that were $800,000 fixer-uppers, and I’m a bit of a handyman, and we thought we could save up for a down payment for five years, and then we could fix it up ourselves and that would be good. But today, that $800,000 in Lynn Valley will only get you a two-bedroom apartment. And now a three-bedroom apartment down the street is a million bucks. So our expectations have definitely changed.”

They became resigned to not owning a single-family home.

“And even if we do come up with $200,000 or $250,000 for a down payment, we were probably going to be saddled with a million-dollar mortgage pretty much for the next 25 years and committing ourselves to working 80 hours a week. And that’s not how we want to raise a family.”

His housing difficulties began to inform his politics. Bond has become the unofficial voice for a generation — on the North Shore, at least — that can no longer afford to own a home there.

“One goal that I had when I ran for council was to provide a different perspective. In looking at previous councils, I saw a lot of people not under the age of 40, that didn’t necessarily have a background in transportation and urban studies. (In addition to his engineering degree, Bond has his certificate in sustainable urban development.)