‘The market is dead’: West Vancouver mayor questions housing targets as projects stall

West Vancouver has spent years under pressure from the provincial government for allegedly not building enough housing.

West Vancouver has spent years under pressure from the province over housing, repeatedly accused of falling short of construction targets meant to address affordability. The district says it’s trying, but with a slow market and stalled projects, the mayor is questioning whether those targets still reflect today’s reality.

“This would have been nearing completion right now,” West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager said, pointing to a site that was once planned to include more than 200 housing units. Instead, the project was halted.

“The owners of the property took it right to the building permit stage and then pulled the permits,” he said.

Across West Vancouver, several similar sites can be found—major housing developments expected to add supply to the region, now stalled or facing an uncertain future.

“We’re currently in a bit of a tough period when it comes to development bringing homes to market,” said Ryan Wyse, a lead analyst with the firm Rennie.

Wyse points to rising construction costs, high interest rates and a weak economy as key factors dampening demand across Metro Vancouver. He says in many areas, the numbers simply do not add up.

“There’s a lot of neighborhoods across the region where the selling cost doesn’t make sense relative to how much it costs to build homes. And so, you know, the math doesn’t work right now.”

Local realtor Tom Hassen, who has worked in the North Shore community for more than three decades, believes some form of government intervention is needed and says councils need to rethink what types of housing are being built.

He says while demand for luxury condos may be down, transition-style housing in West Vancouver is lacking.

“We need things that seniors can move to who want to stay in the community; for young families who can live in three bedrooms, like a townhouse,” he said.

West Vancouver is currently sitting at roughly a third of its provincial housing targets, which were set in 2023 amidst a severe housing crisis. District officials tell CTV News the pace of approvals and construction has improved over the past year.

Premier David Eby weighed in earlier this week, saying West Vancouver is not being singled out.

“West Vancouver is not unique in terms of their treatment by the provincial government, in terms of our expectations that they hit minimum standards and provide the housing that people need,” he said.

Housing Minister Christine Boyle has since overruled council, signing an order that effectively rezones parts of Ambleside to allow for more density, while also acknowledging some progress made by the district. Still, Sager maintains there are limits to what local government can control.

“The market is dead,” he said. “And so we don’t control that.”