10/08/2026
Vancouver new construction starts have plummeted by 42% fewer new homes and here's why...
Construction costs are high. Financing is expensive. Land is expensive. Government fees, taxes, regulations and development requirements all add to the cost. At the same time, buyers have become more cautious, making it hader for developers to sell new projects at prices that make the numbers work.
And that creates a problem.
A developer can’t just build a project because the city needs more housing. The project still has to make financial sense. If the cost to acquire the land, finance the project and construct the building is higher than what the market will support, projects get delayed, redesigned or cancelled.
That means fewer homes actually make it from the planning stage to construction.
The irony is that when housing becomes less affordable, we need more supply but when the economics of building become more difficult, supply can slow down.
So this 42% drop isn't just a construction statistic.
It’s a signal that Vancouver’s housing affordability problem is also becoming a housing-production problem.
And if we want to understand where the market is heading, we need to pay attention to not just how many homes are for sale today, but how many are actually being built for tomorrow.
Source: Urban Development Institute/CBC News