Millennials hoping to buy a house in Vancouver are likely going to have to downsize their dreams, with a new report predicting the average home price will exceed $2.1 million by 2030, and will require more than 100 per cent of household income to maintain.

The report, released Wednesday by Vancity Credit Union, sheds light on the growing unaffordability of detached homes, a rare commodity in major Canadian urban centres.

Earlier in March, the average price of a detached home in Toronto and Vancouver topped the $1 million mark, pricing it well out of range for most first-time home buyers.

"While certain communities remain affordable, the cost of housing in the vast majority of communities is pushing residents to their financial limit," the Vancity report notes.

The report also found the following: 

  • The average property in Metro Vancouver now requires more than 48 per cent of the average household's monthly income -- vastly higher than the debt-load of 32 per cent recommended by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation;
  • Over the past 15 years, the percentage of income required to maintain a home in Vancouver has risen to nearly 76 per cent, up from 42 per cent in 2002;
  • Only the Vancouver suburbs of Maple Ridge, New Westminster, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam and Langley can be classified as affordable – meaning housing costs don't exceed the 32 per cent debt-load CMHC benchmark;
  • With the price of detached homes becoming increasingly unaffordable for average millennials, condominiums will become a more feasible option for those in the market for a home.

Ryan McKinley, a mortgage development manager for Vancity, said that millennials can still aspire to own a home, it just may not be the home they envisioned.

"The dream of a family home is not dead, but does need an update for a new generation," he said in a statement. "We're going to need to learn to live in closer and more interdependent ways in order to find an affordable and more sustainable lifestyle."

The report also includes a list of recommendations for governments, banks and millennial home buyers to help them achieve their dream of home ownership. They include:

  • Increase zoning for high-density multi-unit buildings;
  • Increase incentives for developers to build for affordable workforce housing stock;
  • Require every municipality to have an affordable housing plan;
  • Consider non-traditional housing options, including co-ops, co-ownership and intergenerational community living.