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 challeng.
