Detached home ownership in Metro Vancouver becoming 'more of a unicorn,' according to report
A new report from Re/Max shows it's becoming increasingly unrealistic for most people to buy a detached home in Metro Vancouver.
“What we found was that the single-family detached is becoming more and more of a unicorn,” said Christopher Alexander, president of Re/Max Canada.
“Especially considering the investment that homeowners that are in them already have made to improve the properties.”
Alexander says factors including densification and gentrification have also contributed to the rising costs.
According to the report, detached homes in Metro Vancouver saw nearly a 38% increase in value from 2019 to 2023.
Experts say the detached housing supply is likely going to take another hit due to new provincial rules pushing for more density. In recent months, more and more signs advertising "land assembly opportunities" have popped up in neighbourhoods close to transit centres. These signs are linked to new zoning rules allowing people to build multiple units on land previously zoned for a single-family detached home.
“As we knock down those older homes that are in, you know, we'll call it a more affordable price range than what a brand new construction in the same location would be, it ends up giving us a lower supply out there for people,” said Tim Hill, a real estate advisor based in Vancouver.
Tsur Somerville, a housing and economics professor at UBC, suggests the region’s landscape and population boom have put the province in a tough spot.
“B.C. is a challenging place to do a sprawl because we've got mountains and water and that kind of limits where you can sprawl,” said Somerville, adding that building up instead of out is the more practical solution.
“And now it's increasingly the richer people who are ending up in that single-family housing, and that accelerates the price increase there. And so you get more affordable housing, but less affordable single-family housing.”
Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley believes the province’s housing policies lack balance.
“I think the signal from the province is detached homes are on the way out,” Hurley told CTV News. “I think if you look around Burnaby, we haven’t shied away from building. But it needs to be done in an organized fashion.”
The Re/Max report suggests that maximizing square footage and density on existing lots will continue to be a growing trend.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Back on air: John Vennavally-Rao on reclaiming his career while living with cancer
'In February, there was a time when I thought my career as a TV reporter was over,' CTV News reporter and anchor John Vennavally-Rao writes.
The winter solstice is here, the Northern Hemisphere's darkest day
The winter solstice is Saturday, bringing the shortest day and longest night of the year to the Northern Hemisphere — ideal conditions for holiday lights and warm blankets.
Poilievre writes to GG calling for House recall, confidence vote after Singh declares he's ready to bring Liberals down
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has written to Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, imploring her to 'use your authority to inform the prime minister that he must' recall the House of Commons so a non-confidence vote can be held. This move comes in light of NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh publishing a letter stating his caucus 'will vote to bring this government down' sometime in 2025.
School custodian stages surprise for Kitchener, Ont. students ahead of holiday break
He’s no Elf on the Shelf, but maybe closer to Ward of the Board.
Kelly Clarkson's subtle yet satisfying message to anyone single this Christmas
The singer and daytime-talk show host released a fireside video to accompany her 2021 holiday album, “When Christmas Comes Around” that she dubbed, “When Christmas Comes Around…Again.
Judge sentences Quebecer convicted of triple murder who shows 'no remorse'
A Quebecer convicted in a triple murder on Montreal's South Shore has been sentenced to life in prison without chance of parole for 20 years in the second-degree death of Synthia Bussieres.
At least 2 dead, 60 hurt after car drives into German Christmas market in suspected attack
A car plowed into a busy outdoor Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg on Friday, killing at least two people and injuring at least 60 others in what authorities suspect was an attack.
16-year-old German exchange student dies after North Vancouver crash
A 16-year-old high school student from Germany who was hit by a Jeep in North Vancouver, B.C., last weekend has died in hospital, authorities confirmed.
Poilievre to Trump: 'Canada will never be the 51st state'
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is responding to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s ongoing suggestions that Canada become the 51st state, saying it will 'never happen.'