You might not realize it when you're staring up at skyscrapers in downtown Vancouver or driving through a labyrinth of townhomes in Surrey but the vast majority of B.C. is wide open space.

Crown land makes up nearly 94 per cent of the province.

Much of it is uninhabitable but, according to Russell Walsh, there is a significant amount of property in Metro Vancouver that could be developed.

The Abbotsford resident has spent the last two years thinking about how that land could add some much needed supply to the region's overheated housing market.

"What we're proposing is that some of that land be released to Canadians who have lived in the country for, say, ten years and have lived in British Columbia for five years," Walsh says.

"Conditions have to be applied like you have to begin building on that land within two years and you have to complete a residence within, say five years."

Russell Walsh believes releasing Crown land would help solve what he calls the affordable housing crisis. (Jesse Johnston/CBC)

Walsh says buyers could buy lots directly from the government for the cost of building roads and other infrastructure that would be required in new neighbourhoods.

Walsh wants to meet with his MLA to discuss a possible pilot project.

Government support

B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan says he likes the idea.

"The province could be significant players in the housing game by bringing land to the table," he says.

"If you look at assessments today of property in the Lower Mainland, the largest value is on the land and not on the dwelling. So, if the province can bring land to the table, we're doing a significant amount to reduce cost and bring affordability in line with regular folks."

Horgan says First Nations groups would need to be consulted and new developments would have to fit into the regional transit system but he believes those issues could be addressed.

The B.C. government sold 14 parcels of land in the Burke Mountain area of Coquitlam to a private developer. (ekistics.com)

Is it feasible?

The B.C. government occasionally sells surplus property when it is no longer in use, not required for future use and there is no strategic benefit for the province to be the owner.

In a controversial deal in 2014, a large swath of land in the Burke Mountain area of Port Coquitlam was sold to a private developer for $85 million.

"Other recent property sales in the last few years are resulting in residential building in the Lower Mainland and Southern Vancouver Island," the Ministry of Finance says in a statement.

"However the province also has an ongoing responsibility to retain and manage Crown lands for future generations."