Vancouver is similar to cities like London and New York City but not in a good way
Vancouver is starting to look like a global city, but not necessarily in the way we would hope.
According to Desjardins, Vancouver is starting to resemble major cities like London, New York, and Sydney due to the fact that home ownership is reaching “impossibly unaffordable” levels.
The financial services company recently published an economic viewpoint comparing both Vancouver and Toronto to global cities where housing affordability and homeownership rates are much worse than national levels.
According to the 2021 Census, homeownership rates at the subdivision level were at 46 per cent in Vancouver, compared to a 67 per cent national average. The upcoming 2026 Census is expected to show a further decline in homeownership, due to the rapid population growth since 2021.
While many B.C. residents see homeownership as a major life goal and a sign of financial independence, Desjardins argues that this model is becoming less and less feasible.
“In Toronto and Vancouver, renting may no longer be a temporary stop on the way to ownership. For a growing share of families, it may be a long-term — sometimes permanent— living situation driven by elevated prices relative to income,” reads the report.
Desjardins said that housing markets are considered “seriously unaffordable” when they are four times above household income, and “impossibly unaffordable at nine times or higher.”
Vancouver falls into the “impossibly unaffordable” territory. According to the Greater Vancouver Realtors April 2026 report, the composite price for a residential unit was $1,098,000 (and $1,840,700 for a single-family detached).
The report states that returning to pre-pandemic homeownership affordability levels might not be possible. To do so, one of three things would have to happen: incomes climb 60 to 80 per cent higher than the national average, mortgage rates fall to “implausibly low levels — including zero or even negative rates,” or home prices decline between 25 and 40 per cent.
“As a result, policy efforts may need to pivot toward managing the consequences of persistent homeownership unaffordability rather than attempting to eliminate it,” reads the report.
Desjardins said that family-sized purpose-built rentals need to be prioritized, rather than smaller units like studios and one-bedrooms. They said that existing incentives favour the construction of smaller units, since they maximize returns.
At the same time, long-term investors need to be able to have predictable returns. In 2022, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) said that the “lack of profit” in purpose-built rental could be why they aren’t getting built.
Developers are hindered by land costs, government charges, and underground parking construction costs, which are some of the “significant cost items hindering financial performance.”
Desjardins said programs like CMHC’s apartment loan construct program, which provides low-cost funding, are an example of how to reduce upfront costs and early-period risk.
Finally, they said that the “increased financialization” of homes has widened wealth disparities between owners and non-owners, and that the current housing system “favours ownership over renting.”
For example, people can use their homes for collateral, savings, or to have tax-advantaged speculative gains.