Metro Vancouver Shifts to High-Density Housing; Detached Starts Plummet
Single-detached house starts fell 60% from 2016 to 2025; apartments now account for 60–80% of new housing.
The day's top stories, food & events — every morning at 7. Unsubscribe anytime.
Metro Vancouver's housing supply continues its sharp shift toward higher-density forms, with single-detached house construction collapsing while apartments dominate new starts and completions across the region.
According to a new Metro Vancouver Housing Data Dashboard update for the Regional Planning Committee, detached-home starts have declined sharply and steadily: from 5,169 units in 2016 to just 2,138 units in 2025—a 60 percent drop. In contrast, apartment starts have consistently accounted for 60 to 80 percent of all new housing, increasing from 16,899 units in 2016 to 21,844 units in 2025.
Overall housing starts have declined in recent years, falling from 33,244 in 2023 to 28,112 in 2024 and 27,185 in 2025. However, housing completions reached a record high in 2025, reflecting projects initiated earlier in the development cycle coming online.
Purpose-built rental housing has continued to expand, with rental vacancy rates rising to 3.7 percent in 2025—the highest level observed in more than three decades. Rents, though, continued to rise across the region, though at a slower pace than recent peak years.
Rental condominiums are growing at a much faster rate than the overall condo stock. The total condominium stock grew 21.4 percent from 2020 to 2025, while rental condos grew 38.8 percent—nearly double the pace.
The City of Delta released its own Housing Snapshot earlier this year, mapping higher-density developments under review, under construction, or recently completed. Delta issued building permits for more than 1,200 units under or close to construction, while council gave third readings for approximately 2,000 apartment and townhouse units and welcomed completion of 282 non-market rental apartment units.