The Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) has issued a report that looks at the pace and volume of housing construction within BC with respect to population growth in BC. The drastic and steady incease in house prices across BC has many people saying that the availability of housing stock has not increased in step with demand, thus driving up prices of available stock. This report refutes this simplistic price-driver explanation:
…the data for the most recent year available (2016; 2.4 persons per household) indicates that the growth in homes closely tracks population growth. It also certainly undercuts any claims that there is a gross misalignment between the growth in new homes and the growth in B.C.’s population.
UBCM – Building BC: Housing Completions & Population Growth 2016-2021
It’s not a hopeless situation, but it may need a change as to how this subject is managed by the policy-makers.
Effectively tackling affordability requires more than a singular focus on supply. It also requires incentivizing the right supply such as affordable rental housing and co-ops and addressing the still-significant influence of speculative demand.
UBCM – Building BC: Housing Completions & Population Growth 2016-2021
