That's quite true, but that development is only able to happen in very tiny bands of the city, and there is a cap on how tall new buildings can be.

The vast majority is zoned for single family homes, and any kind of densification is resisted vigorously by existing property owners. E.g. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/commercial-dr...

There's no question Vancouver is building, but it is not building enough of the right kind of housing (i.e. rental, non-luxury, and > 1 bedroom units).