METRO VANCOUVER — Metro Vancouver’s updated Housing Data Book highlights critical issues in the local housing market, such as low rental vacancies and rising rents, according to a recent press release. Available for free, the resource is a compilation of extensive regional and municipal housing data, serving policy-makers, researchers, media and the public.
Rental vacancy rates in 2022 remained significantly below the three per cent mark, which is considered healthy, driving up rents by an average of eight per cent for purpose-built rentals and six per cent for rental condos.
The availability of family-sized rental units is notably scarce despite a slight increase in the total number of rental condos and purpose-built rentals.
The pace of regional housing construction, primarily in condo ownerships and multi-unit apartments, is lagging behind demand. Non-market housing units experienced a marginal increase of one per cent between 2022 and 2023, totalling 46,512 units, which represents four per cent of all homes in the region.
Furthermore, the BC Housing social housing waitlist has seen a 27 per cent increase to 18,865 households, with seniors and families most in need of housing. The Housing Data Book, initiated in 2009 and updated periodically, collates data from diverse sources such as Statistics Canada, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and local real estate associations.
Metro Vancouver board chair George Harvie emphasizes the book’s role in aiding decision-making and policy-setting to address the housing market’s challenges and work towards a diverse and affordable housing landscape.
The book is also continuously updated.
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