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Challenges to Housing Affordability

Vancouver: A Desirable City…

Globally, Vancouver is a highly desirable city – green, clean, safe, with a robust economy and an array of recreational and cultural pursuits.

The demand for housing in Vancouver has increased housing prices.

…With Limited Housing Options

Incomes ranging from between $73,000 and $137,000 are now required to purchase a condo in the City.

To purchase single family homes, even higher incomes are required.

Facing the Challenges

The City recognizes affordability impacts the ability for the homeless and people with low-incomes as well as people with more moderate incomes to find a home in Vancouver.

The Mayor’s Task Force on Housing Affordability is seeking innovative new ways to create more housing options for these residents with lower and moderate incomes — household incomes between $21,500 and $86,500.

The City of Vancouver’s Housing and Homelessness Strategy will continue to seek solutions for ending homelessness and lower income residents who will not find housing in the housing market as well as secure rental housing and homeownership

initiatives for more moderate incomes.

Challenge: 1,500 More Rental Units per Year

More than 131,000 Vancouver households rent.

Vancouverites are renting for longer periods of time – young households are continuing to rent for longer and may consider renting long-term as they remain outpriced from the homeownership market.

Renting a two-bedroom in a market rental apartment building remains the most affordable option for students and young families compared to owning or renting a condo.

Demand forecasts show a need for many as 15,000 additional rental units by 2021 to accommodate these growing trends.

The challenge is: What does it take to create up to 1,500 rental units in

Vancouver each year?

Challenge: Keeping Pace with Rental Demand

A growing city with more people renting longer will result in a higher demand for rental housing.

High demand for rental accommodation results in fewer vacancies, which in turn puts upward pressure on the cost of renting.

The cost of renting continues to grow close to the rate of inflation in Vancouver, impacting those with fixed and lower incomes such as

seniors, students and people with disabilities.

The challenge is: How can we keep pace with demand to ensure there is limited upward pressure on rental rates?

Challenge: Long-term Rental Security

Almost 30,000 secure market rental units were created in the 1960s, declining every decade to a low of 6,000 in the 2000s.

High land costs and competition with condo developers make secure market rental housing unfeasible.

Most new rental housing has been secondary suites (typically affordable rents) and rented condo apartments (less security of tenure).

The challenge is: What incentives are needed for private developers and investors to commit to building new secure market

rental apartments?

The challenge is: How can the City and its partners meet the housing needs of lower income singles,

couples and families?

Challenge: Affordable Rental for Lower-Income Families

Very little non-market rental housing for lower and moderate income families has been built in recent decades due to limited senior government funding.

Increasingly, the City, non-profit and private sector are partnering to provide social housing. Projects are challenging due to the absence of senior government funding and take several years to complete.

Challenge: Price Increase Faster Than Income

Vancouver consistently ranks as having the highest housing prices among Canadian cities.

Since the 1970’s, real household incomes increased by 9% while house prices increased by as much as 280% for an eastside condo.

There is also the risk that interest rates may rise, making mortgages more expensive.

The challenge is: How do we encourage a range of housing types for ownership – smaller, smarter units, shared equity, and other innovative approaches?

Facing the challenges: Ready, Set, Solve

Prices increase

faster than incomes

1,500 more rental units every year

Long-term rental

security

Affordable rental for

lower income families

Keeping pace with demand

Find out morevancouver.ca/housing