Everyone knows that Vancouver home prices are out of whack for many low and middle-income residents, but the amount prices have surged in 20 years might surprise some.
A new report from Visual Capitalist shows the North American cities where home prices have surged since 2005 to 2025.
You likely won’t be surprised to know that out of all North American cities in the report, Vancouver was the highest, seeing a 175 per cent increase in average home prices since 2005.
Visual Capitalist says the increases have been driven primarily by population growth, limited housing supply and post-pandemic demand.
The report shows home prices in USD and states that the average home price in Vancouver was $306,000 in July 2005, rising dramatically to $842,000 by July 2025.
Two other Canadian cities, Montreal and Toronto, saw the second and third-highest spikes in home prices.
Visual Capitalist
“Canada’s big metros have experienced rapid population growth and strong foreign-buyer interest, combining to create some of the world’s hottest real estate markets. Vancouver and Toronto, in particular, have faced long-term housing shortages and rank among America’s least affordable housing markets,” the report says.
Even New York didn’t see as much of a spike in home prices, which only saw a 59 per cent increase between 2005, when home prices were $447,000, and 2025, when they rose to $713,000.
Vancouver also saw a spike well above the average of all the major cities mentioned in the report, which was a 92 per cent spike.
Over the past year, home prices have largely been in decline for most of Metro Vancouver, and a new report from Royal LePage suggests that trend is expected to continue.
Vancouver and much of the surrounding area have also been seeing a decline in rents. The most recent rent report from Rentals.ca states that rents fell in Vancouver to their lowest level in over three years.
“Apartment rents in Vancouver fell on an annual basis for the 24th consecutive month to reach their lowest level since March 2022, dropping 14.5 per cent over the past three years,” Rentals.ca says.
Data used in the Visual Capitalist report was obtained through Zillow.
With files from Daniel Chai