Although net new single-family neighbourhood development opportunities in Metro Vancouver are increasingly becoming more scarce due to limited land supply, the single-family house type is still the leading preference among the region’s residents.
This is the finding of a recently performed study by Metro Vancouver Regional District, which commissioned polling firm Leger to perform a survey of about 3,000 adult residents who have lived in the region between 2000 and 2023, the study period.
The study grouped the behaviour of respondents as stickers (stayed in the same location during the study period), movers (relocated only once during the study period), or bouncers (relocated at least twice during the study period).
Over four-in-10 respondents (43%) noted single-family detached houses as their preferred home structure type, followed by 23% for multi-attached homes (duplexes, triplexes, and quadruplexes), 22% for apartments/condominiums, and 12% for rowhouses/townhouses.
The preferences vary due to a combination of factors, including age, household size, income level, household costs (mortgage payments, property taxes, strata fees, cost of utilities, etc.), and home city.
Unsurprisingly, residents living in the suburban municipalities of Metro Vancouver are more likely to prefer single-family houses, including those in the South of Fraser and North Shore municipalities. Among major municipalities, this specific preference is greatest (each over 50%) in Delta, Langley City, Langley Township, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Richmond, Surrey, and White Rock.
Household home type preferences for single-family houses, based on individual municipalities/jurisdictions. (Metro Vancouver Regional District)
Household home type preferences, based on individual municipalities/jurisdictions. (Metro Vancouver Regional District)
The preference for apartments/condominiums is by far equally greatest (each 32%) within Vancouver, Burnaby, and New Westminster, which have the region’s densest residential neighbourhoods. Each of these three cities also had similar proportions for those who prefer single-family houses (about 32%), multi-attached homes (23%), and rowhouses/townhouses (13%).
Households with higher incomes and lower household costs are more likely to prefer a single-family detached house.
Maintainers are more likely to live within Vancouver, Burnaby, and New Westminster, with their higher preference for apartments linked to having a lower household cost to income ratio. This includes a higher proportion of seniors and younger adults earning moderate incomes.
Millennials and Generation Z households are more likely to be bouncers, with a moderate household cost to income ratio.
Sticker households are more likely to be between the ages of 35 and 74, including more seniors than mover and bouncer households, and more likely to report lower household cost to income ratios.
Overall, across the region, single-detached houses are also the top preference for stickers (45%), movers (38%), and bouncers (33%). Rowhouses/townhouses are more likely to be preferred by bouncers (18%), apartments are most likely to be preferred by stickers (23%), and multi-attached homes are most likely to be preferred by movers (31%).
Over the course of the study period, nearly 30% of households across Metro Vancouver relocated at least once, including 20% (estimated 207,900 households) as movers and 9% (estimated 93,200 households) as bouncers. Residents in Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, and the North Shore municipalities are less likely to be mover and bouncer households.
The study’s findings are intended to be used to help identify the region’s housing needs and assist in the planning of land uses.
Household home type preferences. (Metro Vancouver Regional District)
Household home type preferences. (Metro Vancouver Regional District)