Metro Vancouver’s supply of housing hasn’t kept pace with its population growth, leading to more competition for homes and thus higher prices, says Re/Max Canada.

A Monday report by the national real estate franchise says the average home price in Metro Vancouver was $303,535 in 1994 and $1,291,921 in 2024, an increase of 325.6%.

The Oct. 27 report said the region’s population increased 73.8% over the same period, but that new supply trailed behind, causing prices to more than quadruple. The number of dwellings increased by roughly 50% over a similar period, according to census data.

“If you think about it, it’s almost terrifying, right?” said Kingsley Ma, area vice-president with Re/Max Canada.

Ma said it’s a perfect storm of factors, with lagging salaries, rising construction costs and paused projects also contributing to worsening affordability. The result is a stark divide between generations, he said.

“If you are a boomer today, then you obviously have bought at a lower price. But if you are coming in as a younger buyer, that’s where the challenge is, because now you’re dealing with a supply shortage overall and significantly higher prices than your parents or your grandparents have experienced in the past,” he said.

Younger generations can still attain homeownership, but may need to accept that their first home could be a small condo, especially if they live alone on a single income, he said.

“That might be the expectation, because if you look at the rest of the world where there’s higher density in a lot of the major centres, detached is completely out of the question and condos is where they will start,” he said.

“That’s still achievable for a lot of the younger generation, but they just have to re-evaluate what they ultimately want, because the cost of living is just higher and they have to be able to manage differently their expectation.”

The financial success of the baby boom generation has allowed millennials and younger cohorts to think beyond workforce participation to lifestyle considerations, said Ma.

“I just hope the younger generation don’t give up hope on homeownership because it seems further out of reach than it was in previous generations. They just have to plan differently, plan their life differently,” he said.

Ma cited the federal government’s Build Canada Homes program, modular housing investment and GST relief for first-time buyers as positives.

Other helpful policy steps could include easing the mortgage stress test, raising RRSP withdrawal limits, extending amortization periods, speeding up permitting and modifying short-term-rental rules, he suggested.

Re/Max : Metro Vancouver Home Prices Spiked 326% Over Past Three Decades by Jami Makan | BIV