The problem is border security. The Feds took resources away from RCMP units dealing with money laundering and organized crime after 9/11 and again after the Ottawa terrorist shooting in 2014. 

Housing prices before 2001...down 12% from the 2006 Hong Kong peak.
Housing prices after 2001...up 500%.

Dealing with these border security issues is the only way anything will ever change in Greater Vancouver's insane housing situation.