[someone123]

As others have alluded to, I thought the main factor driving up prices in Vancouver is limited land for houses and limited higher-density zoned sites for condos. I expect the price of those to fall more than construction costs, which are in a lot of cases not even determined locally. The health of Vancouver's real estate market has little impact on the price of fuel or steel for example, and you need those to build condos.

Fundamentally I think the high housing costs are bad for the city overall. The city's economy does benefit from absorbing money from new buyers, but it loses out in terms of attracting companies and talent in other industries. Tech companies in Vancouver are at a big disadvantage for example because people fear that if they move to Vancouver they will not be able to afford property or will have to live in a less desirable neighbourhood. It's understandable that Vancouver costs more than Calgary or Edmonton, but it's not reasonable to see Vancouver housing up in the same ballpark as the Bay Area, which is a bigger city that offers higher salaries and has a bunch of other advantages.