Vacouverites not optimistic about homeownership prospects: poll

Housing is top of mind for voters in the Lower Mainland — and a new poll shows renters and owners alike are pessimistic about the situation in Vancouver.

The poll, conducted for CityNews by Maru Public Opinion, shows 86 per cent of non-homeowners in Vancouver think there’s little to no prospect of them ever owning their own property in the city.

The poll found only 6 per cent are sure they’ll one day own their own home in Vancouver.

BC Housing CEO Jill Atkey says that’s a sad statistic but not a surprising one.

“It takes 22 years for the average renter, to be able to save enough for a down payment to own a home, so it’s no surprise that people are feeling that way,” said Atkey.

She says the good news is, Vancouver is starting to see rental rates slightly soften.

“Are they affordable yet? Not quite, but they are starting to soften, and that’s because of a lot of new supply that’s come online. So, new purpose built rental supply, new non market supply,” she said.

A majority of renters also think they’re paying so much because landlords are gouging tenants, and because renovictions have driven prices up.

Fifty-five per cent believe the province’s clamp down on short term rentals hasn’t done much yet to add more supply to the long term rental market. But Atkey says that’s to be expected at this point.

“The reality is that, that’s pretty new legislation. And like any housing legislation. It’s going to take a little bit of time before its effects are felt,” she said.

Meanwhile, it’s not just renters who are pessimistic about the housing market — homeowners have noticed the price of building and buying is way up since the COVID-19 pandemic.

About half of them are putting the blame on the cost of building, but the same proportion also think developers, investors, and others are overvaluing properties so they can get greater returns.

—With files from Charles Brockman