With over 20 years in consulting and a master's in business, I’ve seen firsthand how crucial housing supply is to affordability—especially here in Greater Vancouver. The latest data highlights a fragile improvement in affordability across Canada, but new home construction, particularly for ownership, is slowing. We now need between 417,000 and 469,000 housing starts each year to return to pre-pandemic affordability by 2036. Despite a recent shift toward more rental developments, ownership-oriented construction has weakened, and that’s a concern. Even as slower population growth has temporarily eased affordability pressures, construction has fallen behind demand—a trend that could leave us facing an even deeper supply gap when demand picks up again. It’s clear: maintaining affordability means keeping ownership housing construction on track today, so we’re not caught short tomorrow.
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