A recent Metro Vancouver report paints a picture of household movement behaviour and dwelling structure type preferences of long-term residents in the region including Delta.
The Residents’ Housing and Neighbourhood Preferences Model study explains that “Stickers” included households that remained in the same location, including having just one postal code, during the study period of 2000 to 2023, or those that moved at least twice before the last five years of the study period.
Those who relocated only once during the period were considered “Movers”, while those who relocated more often, including within the last five years of the study period, were classified as “Bouncers”.
The study notes Delta had 20 per cent of households who were Movers and just seven per cent as Bouncers, while 73 per cent were Stickers.
The report concludes that single-detached housing was the top dwelling structure type preference across Metro Vancouver household maintainers. In Delta, the predicted households with the preference for single detached-housing was at 51 per cent.
Delta also had 57 per cent of those living in single-detached houses as Stickers, the highest in the region other than Maple Ridge, which had 68 per cent.
Mover and Bouncer household maintainers in the region preferred a greater diversity of dwelling structure types and were more likely to prefer multi-attached homes.
The predicted preference for multi-attached housing was also particularly strong for Millennial/Gen Z household maintainers, especially in several jurisdictions including Delta.
Overall, an increased preference for single-detached housing was observed as an individual “settled down” progressively from being a Bouncer to a Mover to Sticker. Nearly half of the region’s Stickers were predicted to prefer single detached-housing.
However, Sticker household maintainers were marginally more likely to prefer apartments than Movers and bouncers, a finding associated with the relatively large proportion of senior households.
The report notes that in Delta, “The preference for single detached housing generally increased with age, with at least half of middle-aged or older (45+) household maintainers predicted to prefer single detached homes. Additionally, household maintainers with higher incomes were more likely to prefer single detached housing; two-thirds of high income earners and over half of moderately-high income earners preferred single detached houses. These results indicate that more established households were more likely to choose low density dwelling structure types, like single detached housing.”
The remainder of modelled Delta household maintainers were relatively evenly split between preferring multi-attached housing, row houses and apartments, with a preference for multi-attached housing greater with younger households.
In Delta, nearly half of Gen Z (18-to-24) and a quarter of Millennial (25-to-44) household maintainers preferred multi-attached homes. Moderately high-income earners were more likely to prefer multi-attached housing, while row houses were similarly preferred by all household income groups.
The report adds that in contrast, apartments were highly preferred by older Delta seniors, 75 years and older, and those with lower incomes, likely living on a pension.
“Senior living apartments could provide a suitable, moderate-to-high density dwelling structure option for Delta’s older inhabitants to age in place,” the report states.
Among other figures for Delta, the report notes that household maintainers who preferred row houses and had three bedrooms were more likely to be Millennials and high income, while those who preferred apartments and had two bedrooms were more likely to be seniors and earn either a high or moderately-low household income.
The lengthy report goes on to detail many different numbers for the region, including household cost to income ratios.
The report notes that with new increasing redevelopment opportunities of single-detached homes into dwelling structure types of greater density, as well as the increasingly constrained supply of single-detached homes, many of Metro’s residents may be motivated to emigrate from the region or make alternate decisions on their dwelling structure type.
The long-term impacts of the provincial housing legislation are not fully understood at this time, the report adds.
