rfmcdonald | [URBAN NOTE] "Vancouver home prices worry businesses as they seek to hire staff" (Reply)

The Twitter user who linked to this CBC article joked that Vancouverites might almost do better to look for homes in Toronto, with its own real-estate boom (bubble?). If there are structural issues to Vancouver's housing issues, with geography at the mouth of the Fraser River requiring very high densities, very high prices, and both, a throttling effect on the regional economy can't be excluded.

When Allan Pulga, a communications manager, found out he was going to be a father, he had to make a tough choice — stay in a tiny downtown condo or leave Vancouver.

The 34-year-old, who works for fast-growing private Canadian technology firm iQmetrix, packed his bags and moved to Regina, Sask., where the typical family home costs roughly one third of the price in the Greater Vancouver area.

"When you're a young, single person, you can make Vancouver work financially," said Pulga, who was able to transfer to iQmetrix's Regina office. "But I feel like if it's time to settle down and have kids, maybe you won't stay."

Pulga typifies a worrying trend in Vancouver, where sky-high housing prices are forcing many young professionals out of the city and into long commutes from far-flung suburbs, with some choosing just to leave the region altogether.

That has business groups raising the alarm about Vancouver's ability to attract and retain the talent needed to foster local successes like retailer Lululemon Athletica or tech start-ups like video surveillance maker Avigilon Corp and social media manager Hootsuite.