Housing affordability worsening in Vancouver, Victoria suburbs

Housing affordability in the suburbs of the Lower Mainland and Greater Victoria is getting worse, a report from lender Vancity warns.

Over the past year, there has been a drop in affordability by almost 40 per cent in some areas with just two of the 30 suburbs analyzed - Richmond and White Rock - improving.  

Worst hit was North Vancouver District with a 38 per cent decline in affordability, followed by Delta (31 per cent), Langley Township (29 per cent), Mission (24 per cent), Abbotsford and Maple Ridge (23 per cent) and Sidney (17 per cent).

Overall, the most unaffordable market is West Vancouver with a gross debt ratio of 191.8 per cent. Most affordable is Langley (city) with GDR of 18.4 per cent. These rankings take into consideration median income and median home prices ranked by GDR (percentage of income needed for mortgage costs, property taxes and maintenance.)

“Buyers looking for affordable housing options used to be able to look to municipalities around Vancouver to find affordable options. While pockets of affordability still exist, they are disappearing as prices in the Fraser Valley and other parts of B.C. continue to rise,” said Ryan McKinley, Vancity’s senior mortgage development manager.

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