A new study of the Canadian housing market shows housing in Vancouver appreciated 99 per cent between 1997 and 2007, driving the price of an average home to a whopping $570,795.
Overall, houses in Western Canada appreciated more than the rest of the country in the past ten years, the RE/MAX study says.
The rising cost of housing in Greater Vancouver, coupled with less supply than demand, has rendered the dream of homeownership out of reach for many residents.
The study cites immigration as one factor that played a role in jumpstarting the residential housing market in B.C. in the past decade.
Rising prices have also driven an increase in condo and townhome sales, which now make up approximately 60 per cent of the regional market.
The growth across the country appears to have no signs of waning.
"In recent memory we have not seen ten consecutive years of growth in the real estate market and what's been very interesting is right now there are no signs of it slowing down," Michael Polzler, executive vice president of RE/MAX told Canada AM.
He attributes the strong growth to a combination of low interest rates and strong employment across the country.
In Greater Vancouver, the benchmark for high-end homes is no longer the $1 million range -- $2 million is now considered the benchmark for the more upscale housing market.
Other markets in Western Canada that saw the biggest jump in price appreciation in the past ten years are as follows:
- Calgary's prices rose 189 per cent
- Kelowna posted 179 per cent
- Saskatoon had 137 per cent
- Winnipeg had 118 per cent
- Victoria posted 114 per cent
