Michael Ruge's Waterfront Condos: Vancouver Island

The First Condos on the Water Side

While Michael Ruge is famous for solving the housing crisis with Rent-to-Own, he also has a fun, high-end project up his sleeve that proves he knows how to have fun, too. He is currently developing a 32-unit condo project on the water in the Duncan area of Southern Vancouver Island.

Here is the crazy part: These are the first condos ever built on the water side of the road in that valley. Michael was so shocked by this fact that he drove the entire coast looking for a catch. He couldn’t find one. This project is for the “missing middle” on the higher end—proof that you can adapt in real estate.

A Decade of Development

Michael is playing the long game. While he works on his billion-dollar master plan community (2,000 units in the pipeline), these waterfront condos are the “cherry on top.” But even here, his ethos remains the same.

He is adapting to the market. He knows that to solve the housing crisis, you have to build density. You have to build where people want to live. And frankly, everyone wants to live on the water. By proving that high-quality, desirable housing can be built without cutting corners (no gold toilets, but solid construction), Michael is setting an example for the next generation of builders. Whether it’s a zero-deposit Rent-to-Own unit or a waterfront condo, Michael Ruge is showing us that the Canadian dream of home ownership isn’t dead—it’s just waiting for the right developer to build it.

Video courtesy of The 5 Questions Podcast with Mario Lamarre