Russell Sharp North Vancouver Realtor

Housing experts say the ship may have sailed for affordable housing in Vancouver proper, or on the North Shore, where there are only eight two-bedroom suites under $300,000 listed with MLS, but numbers increase marginally elsewhere, with 70 such properties in Burnaby, 77 in Richmond and 42 in New Westminster.

Vancouver needs “more housing created in the low-to middle-income range,” Robertson said. Gregor Roberston has appointed a task force on housing affordability, which includes social housing for the homeless, and he said he expects an initial report this spring. The experts will look at solutions based on zoning, density and different ownership models that work elsewhere, he said. Whilst it is not the place of the city to become a developer or interfere with the mechanisms of the free market, Mayor Gregor Robertson said there is  “a limited ability to affect the market.” But he said the city does have some tools and incentives to encourage higher density and mixed-income developments.