QUICK ANSWER

More than 5,000 finished condos across Metro Vancouver have never sold, and the homes sitting longest are the big ones, not the shoeboxes. Developers rarely cut the published price because a public discount reprices every unit in the building, so the money moves through closing credits and incentives instead. That means the sold comparables you pull on a new building can read higher than what buyers actually paid

Prefer to watch? The video version is below. The written breakdown follows.

There are two numbers in the September Real Property Data briefing that do not sit comfortably together.

More than 5,000 finished homes in Metro Vancouver have keys ready and no buyer. At the same time, developers are holding their price sheets steady.

Both are true, and the reason why is the most useful thing in this report for anyone buying or selling a Vancouver condo right now.

WHAT 5,000 UNSOLD HOMES ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE

Real Property Data counted more than 5,000 unsold condominium homes across 164 completed Metro Vancouver projects as of September 2026. Not under construction. Finished, with people already living in the buildings.

Valued at the prices comparable homes achieved in 2026, that is $4.45 billion of housing. About 4.3 million square feet of it.

That figure estimates what the homes are worth. It says nothing about what developers owe on them.

Ownership is concentrated. Of the 89 developers holding finished unsold stock, five hold 1,809 units between them. Ten hold roughly half of everything.

THE SUPPLY YOUR SEARCH DOESN'T SHOW

Your listing app shows you resale condos and some developer units. The rest moves through sales centres.

Practice varies by project. Some developer homes are listed on MLS and some are sold only in the sales centre, so what you see on your phone is a sample of the market rather than the whole of it.

That matters before you decide what any condo is worth.

WHO IS ACTUALLY STUCK

The story going around is that this is a glut of tiny investor shoeboxes nobody wants. The data says the opposite, and the gradient has no reversals in it.

Share of each size cohort still unsold:

Under 500 sq ft: 12.2 percent
500 to 699 sq ft: 13.6 percent
700 to 899 sq ft: 21.1 percent
900 to 1,099 sq ft: 22.9 percent
1,100 to 1,499 sq ft: 29.4 percent
1,500 sq ft and up: 41.6 percent

By bedroom count it runs the same direction. 27.3 percent of three-bedroom homes are unsold against 13.7 percent of one-bedrooms. The median unsold home is 850 square feet. The median one that sold is 735.

Height tells the same story. 24.3 percent of homes above the twentieth floor are unsold, which is the stock that carried the pro forma when these buildings were planned.

If you have spent four years trying to buy more space in this city, that is the best news in the report.

WHERE THE BACKLOG SITS

One caution before you get excited.

Of those 5,000-plus homes, Real Property Data counts 842 in the City of Vancouver. More than eight in ten sit somewhere else in the region.

This is not remote inventory, though. 3,186 of these homes, 64 percent of the total, are within 800 metres of a SkyTrain station. 1,460 are within 400 metres.

So the stock is transit-connected and it is mostly not in Vancouver. A condo forty minutes from the neighbourhood you want is no substitute for the neighbourhood you want. Your competition is the set of homes you would realistically choose instead. Same area, similar size, similar monthly costs.

The regional number tells you the market has a problem. The local count tells you how much room you have.

HOW A FINISHED BUILDING ENDS UP UNSOLD

It starts with how these projects get financed.

A condo tower takes years. Developers sell presales to secure construction financing. You will hear that lenders require 70 percent of a building pre-sold. Altus Group describes that figure as a lending convention rather than a regulation, and BCREA's CEO puts the working threshold closer to 60 percent. It varies by project and by lender.

So a tower can break ground with a third of its homes unsold. Demand shifts during the build. By completion, some of those homes never found a buyer.

There is a second route in. Presale buyers who signed in a stronger market are closing at today's values. BCFSA warns that a lender can appraise a finished presale below the contract price, and the buyer covers that gap in cash. Picture a $900,000 contract and an $800,000 appraisal.

Walking away carries its own bill. BCFSA warns the buyer risks the deposit, and that the developer can pursue the difference between the contract price and whatever the home eventually sells for, plus legal costs.

WHY DEVELOPERS WON'T PUBLISH A DISCOUNT

Here is the part that explains everything else.

A published price cut reprices the entire building. Every home still available, and every home already sold to somebody who signed last year. A developer will not do that to his own price sheet, and his lender has a view on it.

What he will do is deal with you one buyer at a time, at the table, if you ask.

WHAT A SALES CENTRE OFFERED MY CLIENTS

Three months ago I was working with clients on a completed building in Surrey. People had already moved in. These were finished homes that had never sold.

The sales centre told us they would come down $5,000 on a home listed at $369,000. Then they told us how.

The contract price would stay at $369,000. The $5,000 would come back to my clients as a rebate at closing.

I asked why. The answer was that they did not want the lower number showing up on MLS. The moment it does, the next buyer walking into that building has a new starting point, or asks them to match it on the spot.

So the sale records at $369,000. My clients pay $364,000. Anybody pulling sold comparables in that building sees the first number.

That is one building and one conversation, and I cannot speak for every developer. It did change how I read sold data on new construction, and it is why I always ask what is coming off at closing.

My clients did not take that deal. They walked, because they wanted more space than that home had. Which is the size data all over again.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU

IF YOU ARE BUYING

Widen the search. Put completed developer homes beside resale in the same area. Ask the sales centre for the full availability list and which homes you can walk through today.

Ask a sharper question than how the project is doing. Ask how many homes are unsold on your floor and the two floors above it. That is who you compete with the day you go to sell.

Negotiate the whole package. Price, closing credit, parking, storage, upgrades, appliance package, completion date.

Price the extras at what they are worth to you. A $15,000 upgrade in a brochure adds $15,000 to the brochure. A parking stall you will never use is worth nothing.

Compare the effective number. One condo at $800,000 with no credit, another at $820,000 with a real $30,000 credit, nets out at $790,000 before taxes and other costs. Confirm with your lender how a credit gets treated before you count on it.

Get every term in writing. The dollar amount, the timing, the conditions. A promise in a sales centre does not close.

IF YOU ARE SELLING

Everything above is pointed at you.

Your competition is bigger than the resale listings you can see. Somewhere near you a developer is holding finished homes, carrying a construction loan, and watching his own month end.

Think about what that sales centre offered my clients. Five thousand dollars at closing, and the price sheet never moved. You cannot do that. You cannot hand somebody a closing credit, a parking stall, an appliance package and a new home warranty and keep your list price where it is.

So stop pricing against resale comparables alone. Find the closest completed buildings still holding developer homes, work out what a buyer nets there after credits, and price against that number.

Then lead with what a developer cannot put on a price sheet. Your building has years of strata minutes, a depreciation report, and a contingency fund with a real balance. A new building has a disclosure statement and a promise. Your buyer walks through the actual home and gets keys, with no completion window and no deposit sitting in trust while a building goes up.

Have your strata documents ready the day you list.

WHERE I LAND

Real Property Data estimates about 40 months to clear what is already built, at the pace of the first half of 2026, roughly 125 presale sales a month across these buildings. That assumes nothing else completes, and 2026 has been a heavy completion year.

Meanwhile CMHC reports Metro Vancouver condo starts fell another 40 percent in the first half of 2026, the weakest first half since 2011. A start is counted once the concrete footings are poured, so that is a separate measurement from finished homes standing unsold. CMHC warns that fewer starts today can mean fewer completions in the years ahead.

And 1,337 of these finished homes have been standing unsold for more than two years already.

Somebody is carrying interest, taxes and strata fees on every one of them, every month. If you are buying, that carrying cost is the strongest card you hold. If you are selling, it is the clock your competition is running against.

Before you ask what the seller will come down, ask what else you could buy.

FAQ

Are these 5,000 condos empty?

No. The count measures homes that have not sold, not homes that are unoccupied. These are completed buildings with residents already living in them. Nothing in the data measures occupancy.

Can I just find these on MLS?

Some of them. Practice varies by project, and a share of developer inventory moves through sales centres rather than public listings. Ask the sales centre directly for the current availability list.

Does a glut mean I can expect a big discount?

Not automatically. 842 of these homes are in the City of Vancouver and more than eight in ten are elsewhere in the region. What matters is how many comparable homes compete with the one you want, not the regional total.

Why would a developer give a credit instead of lowering the price?

A published price cut reprices every remaining home in the building and every home already sold. A credit at closing moves money to one buyer without changing the price sheet or the recorded sale price.

Is the proposed unsold condo tax law?

No. The B.C. NDP has promised a tax on unsold condos as part of its campaign ahead of the October 24 election. There is no bill and no legislation behind it.

BOOK A PRICING STRATEGY CALL

CURIOUS WHAT YOUR CURRENT PLACE IS WORTH? GET A HOME EVALUATION

SEE THE TRUE COST OF OWNING VS. WHAT YOU THINK YOU'RE PAYING

No pressure. Just strategy before the noise.

Sources: Real Property Data, "Finished. Occupied. Unsold.", Metro Vancouver, September 2026. CMHC Housing Supply Report, Fall 2026. BCFSA Consumer Guide to Pre-sale Real Estate Purchases. Altus Group, December 2025. BCREA CEO video, June 2026.

Metro Vancouver sales and prices fell in August 2026. That regional result does not describe every local market. Vancouver West detached sales rose 23.6% year over year, despite an 8.7% drop in the benchmark price. Vancouver East apartment sales rose 9.3%. In Ladner, attached homes posted a 28% sales-to-active-listings ratio. These are August observations, not proof of a wider recovery.

I cover the full neighbourhood breakdown in the video. Here's the written version, including what the numbers mean if you're buying, selling, or planning a move up.

Metro Vancouver's August 2026 Housing Market

Greater Vancouver REALTORS® recorded 1,869 residential sales in August, down 4.6% from a year earlier and 20.7% below the ten-year August average.

There were 15,798 active listings. That was 2.7% fewer than a year ago, but still 26.2% above the ten-year seasonal average. New listings totalled 4,100, down 3% year over year.

The sales-to-active-listings ratio was 9.6% for detached homes, 13.7% for apartments, and 15.1% for attached homes. Detached remained the softest of the three broad segments.

The Metro Vancouver composite benchmark price was $1,081,900, down 5.6% from August 2025 and 0.6% from July 2026. GVR chief economist Andrew Lis noted that inventory had receded from its 2025 highs, but slower sales were still putting downward pressure on prices.

The practical point: fewer listings than last year do not automatically mean a tight market. Inventory remains high relative to a typical August, and activity differs by property type and location.

What the Bank of Canada's September Decision Means

The Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.25% on September 2. It also said inflation risks had risen and long-term bond yields had moved up.

If you're financing a purchase, a policy-rate hold does not tell you where every mortgage rate goes next. Variable rates respond more directly to the policy rate. Fixed-rate pricing also responds to bond markets. Get a current financing quote before using a rate assumption to set your budget.

Vancouver West Detached and Vancouver East Apartments

GVR counted 68 Vancouver West detached sales in August, compared with 55 a year earlier, an increase of 23.6%. The detached benchmark price was $2,932,700, down 8.7% year over year.

That is a useful contrast: more sales took place at a lower benchmark price. It does not mean every Westside detached home is selling quickly. SnapStats recorded 35 days on market in August, up from 29 in July, and a 10% sales ratio for the segment.

Vancouver East apartment sales rose from 75 to 82 year over year, an increase of 9.3%. The apartment benchmark price was $628,600, down 7.5% from August 2025.

These results are reasons to examine the specific listings competing with a property. They are not a signal that buyers have lost their negotiating position across either area.

What the Price Gap Means for Move-Up Buyers

Detached benchmark prices fell faster than apartment benchmark prices over the past year in both Vancouver West and Vancouver East. In Vancouver West, detached was down 8.7% year over year, compared with 3.8% for apartments. In Vancouver East, the declines were 9.4% and 7.5%.

That changes the gap between the two property types. If you own a condo and want a detached home, compare what your current property would sell for with the cost of the home you want. Include transaction costs and financing. The percentage changes alone do not tell you whether the move fits your budget.

Downtown Vancouver: Fewer Sales, Faster Transactions

SnapStats recorded 113 Downtown attached sales against 922 active listings in August, a 12% sales ratio. Sales were down from July's 134.

The average sale price rose 11% month over month to $895,000. Days on market fell from 30 to 25, and the average sale-to-list-price ratio reached 100%. An increase in average sale price over one month can reflect the mix of homes sold, so I would not treat it as proof that every Downtown condo gained value.

Coal Harbour posted a 15% sales ratio and Yaletown 14%, both above the Downtown average. Competition was thinner in the $300,000 to $400,000 price band and among homes with three or more bedrooms.

For a Downtown seller, the comparison set matters. Building, condition, layout, and asking price will tell you more than the area-wide average.

North Vancouver, West Vancouver, and Richmond

North Vancouver detached homes posted a 15% sales ratio in SnapStats. The average sale price rose 4% from July to $2,179,000. Attached homes posted a 17% ratio, although days on market rose from 20 to 27. Lower Lonsdale recorded 27 attached sales against 142 active listings, a 19% ratio.

West Vancouver detached remained softer, with a 6% sales ratio. Days on market rose from 27 in July to 39 in August. Homes sold for an average of 95% of list price.

Richmond detached posted an 8% sales ratio. Its average sale-to-list-price ratio was 96%, and days on market held at 27.

Those figures point to more time and negotiating room in West Vancouver and Richmond detached than in the more active pockets covered above. The right comparison is still the group of homes competing with the one you want to buy or sell.

Ladner Attached: A Sharp August Change

SnapStats recorded 17 attached sales against 60 active listings in Ladner, a 28% sales ratio. Days on market fell from 53 in July to 11 in August. Delta Manor posted a 36% ratio, and Hawthorne posted 33%.

That is a notable change within a small market. One month is too little to assume those conditions will persist. If you own or want to buy an attached home in Ladner, check the latest competing listings and sales before relying on August's pace.

What Actually Changed

Metro Vancouver's overall market remained soft. Sales were below last year and well below the seasonal average, while inventory remained elevated despite its year-over-year decline.

At the same time, Vancouver West detached and Vancouver East apartments recorded more sales than a year earlier. Ladner attached moved sharply in August. Downtown transactions took less time than in July, although fewer homes sold.

There is no single level of leverage across the region. If you're planning a sale, purchase, or move from a condo to a detached home, start with your property type, neighbourhood, price range, and current competition. That is where the useful decision sits.

Greater Vancouver REALTORS® also revised its outlook for the second half of 2026 after sales ran below its earlier forecast. I cover that forecast separately.

FAQ

Is Metro Vancouver a buyer's or seller's market?

The answer depends on the property type and location. In August, GVR reported a 9.6% sales-to-active-listings ratio for detached homes, compared with 13.7% for apartments and 15.1% for attached homes. Some smaller local segments were more active. Ladner attached, for example, posted a 28% ratio in SnapStats.

Why did prices fall if inventory was lower?

Active listings were down 2.7% from August 2025, but still 26.2% above the ten-year August average. Sales were also down. Less inventory than last year did not remove the region's large pool of available homes.

Does a narrower condo-to-detached price gap make moving up easier?

It changes the calculation, but the answer depends on the sale price of your current home, the purchase price of the next one, financing, and transaction costs. Compare those amounts together before deciding whether to move or wait.

BOOK A PRICING STRATEGY CALL

CURIOUS WHAT YOUR CURRENT PLACE IS WORTH? GET A HOME EVALUATION

SEE THE TRUE COST OF OWNING VS. WHAT YOU THINK YOU'RE PAYING

No pressure. Just strategy before the noise.

Sources: Greater Vancouver REALTORS® August 2026 MLS® Residential Market Report; SnapStats August 2026 Market Report; Bank of Canada September 2, 2026 Rate Announcement.

Based on July 2026 Market Data

The Greater Vancouver REALTORS release leads with home sales losing momentum. Residential sales across Metro Vancouver totalled 2,061 in July, down 9.8 per cent from July 2025 and 18.6 per cent below the ten year seasonal average.

That reads as a demand problem.

But new listings in July came in at 4,991, down 11.5 per cent year over year, with apartment listings down nearly 17 per cent. New listings essentially matched the ten year seasonal average of 4,992, while sales ran far below it.

Demand stepped back. Supply stepped back harder. That distinction changes what the rest of the data means.

Metro Vancouver Overview

Total active listings sit at 16,476, down 4 per cent from July 2025 and still 26.8 per cent above the ten year average.

The overall sales to active listings ratio is 13 per cent, breaking down to 10.5 per cent for detached, 15.8 per cent for attached and 14 per cent for apartments.

GVR's own guidance is that downward price pressure tends to appear when the ratio sits below 12 per cent for a sustained period, and upward pressure above 20 per cent. Detached is inside the softening zone. Condos and townhomes sit just above it.

The composite benchmark price is $1,088,800, down 6.2 per cent year over year and 0.9 per cent from June. Apartment sales totalled 952, down 17.8 per cent year over year, with a benchmark of $688,000.

Vancouver Westside

Westside condos and townhomes came in at a 14 per cent sales ratio, down from 17 per cent in June.

The area average understates what happened underneath it. Kitsilano condos fell from a 42 per cent sales ratio in June to 20 per cent in July. Fairview fell from 45 per cent to 25 per cent. Those were the two strongest Westside condo pockets sixty days earlier.

False Creek moved the other direction, rising from 12 per cent to 23 per cent.

Westside detached sits at a 10 per cent sales ratio, selling roughly 3 per cent below list. Days on market rose from 19 in June to 29 in July. Point Grey is at 6 per cent with 103 active listings, Shaughnessy at 3 per cent with 80, South Granville at 6 per cent with 77.

Vancouver Eastside

Eastside condos and townhomes ran a 19 per cent sales ratio, up from 18 per cent in June.

The improvement came from the supply side rather than the demand side. Inventory fell 11 per cent from 767 to 684 while sales moved only from 139 to 132.

Meanwhile the sale to list price ratio dropped from 97 per cent to 93 per cent. Homes are selling at roughly 7 per cent below asking.

Eastside detached moved from a 15 per cent ratio in June to 10 per cent in July, but days on market remained at 16 with homes selling within 2 per cent of asking.

Downtown Vancouver

Downtown attached inventory has declined for five consecutive months: 1,033 in May, 975 in June, 917 in July. Sales over the same period ran 120, 143 and 134. The sales ratio held at 15 per cent in both June and July.

Homes are selling at 99 per cent of list price with 30 days on market.

By community, Coal Harbour and Yaletown are both at 18 per cent, the Downtown core at 14 per cent and the West End at 11 per cent.

Across all of Vancouver West, only two condo areas avoided a year over year benchmark decline: Coal Harbour, up 0.4 per cent, and False Creek, up 0.2 per cent. Yaletown condos are down 10.5 per cent and the West End is down 9.7 per cent over the same period.

Downtown three bedroom units are running an 8 per cent sales ratio with 102 listings against 8 sales.

Other Metro Vancouver Areas

North Vancouver condos and townhomes cooled from 20 per cent in June to 16 per cent in July. North Van detached moved from 23 per cent to 17 per cent.

West Vancouver detached is the softest segment in the report at 7 per cent, with homes selling 9 per cent below list price on average.

Richmond attached sits at 12 per cent and detached at 10 per cent. Tsawwassen detached is at 16 per cent and attached at 12 per cent. Ladner detached is at 11 per cent and attached at 15 per cent.

Interest Rates: What Is Actually Moving Fixed Mortgage Costs

The Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.25 per cent on July 15, 2026, its sixth consecutive hold. The next scheduled announcement is September 2, 2026.

Despite that stability, fixed mortgage rates have been drifting upward. Fixed rates are priced off Government of Canada bond yields rather than the overnight rate. The five year yield has been sitting just above 3 per cent and rose again in early August as tensions around the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil and global yields higher.

The US Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate on July 29, 2026, with three of twelve voting members dissenting in favour of an increase. Elevated US Treasury yields tend to pull Canadian yields with them.

The practical outcome is that the best five year fixed rates have moved back above 4 per cent while the best variable rates sit closer to 3.5 per cent.

This is a variable to watch rather than a forecast. Anyone timing a decision around rates should track the five year Government of Canada bond yield.

What This Means If You Are Buying

Negotiating room exists but is not evenly distributed. The deepest buyer's markets in this report are Westside detached above $3.5 million, West Vancouver, Point Grey, Shaughnessy and South Granville.

Downtown is the exception. Five consecutive months of falling inventory against steady sales means the assumption that more listings will always appear deserves testing.

Securing a rate hold is prudent given the bond market pressure described above.

What This Means If You Are Selling

The first price remains the most consequential decision.

The contrast between Eastside listings selling at 7 per cent below asking and Downtown listings selling at 1 per cent below asking is largely a pricing story rather than a market story.

Owners of Downtown one and two bedroom units are in one of the tighter supply positions in Metro Vancouver. Owners of Downtown three bedrooms, or Westside properties above $3 million, should price for the buyer pool that currently exists.

Where I Land

The July headline says momentum died. The data says sellers withdrew faster than buyers did.

Those are different markets requiring different strategies, and the difference only becomes visible at the neighbourhood level.

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No pressure. Just strategy before the noise.

Watch: Vancouver Real Estate Market Update, August 2026: Why Sellers Left Before Buyers Did

The July numbers say the market lost momentum, sales down 9.8 per cent year over year. The number four paragraphs down says something different: new listings dropped even faster, down 11.5 per cent. Sellers pulled back before buyers did.

In this month's update I walk through what actually happened across Metro Vancouver, neighbourhood by neighbourhood: why Downtown condo inventory has now fallen five straight months while sales held steady, why your June comparable in Kitsilano or Fairview is already stale, and what's actually moving fixed mortgage rates while the Bank of Canada sits still.

Not fear. Not drama. Just the patterns I've seen play out more than once.

Data sources: Greater Vancouver REALTORS® for the Metro Vancouver overview, SnapStats for area and neighbourhood breakdowns, and the Bank of Canada for policy-rate context.

Every time a headline like "Vancouver market picks up" appears, I hear the same question within a day or two: should I list now? Almost nobody asks what is happening underneath the headline. They react to the headline itself.

June 2026 is a perfect example of why that is a mistake. Greater Vancouver just posted its strongest sales month in over a year, and at the same time a single Downtown number started circulating that looks like something it is not. Let's work through both, starting with the whole picture and finishing with the Downtown number that deserves the most careful reading.

The Metro Picture: More Buyers, Flat Prices

Greater Vancouver REALTORS reported 2,390 residential sales in June 2026, up 9.6 percent from the same month last year. What makes it notable is the breadth. Detached sales rose almost 14 percent, attached sales rose more than 11 percent, and even condos, the slow lane all year, rose 6 percent. For roughly two years the market has traded sideways, with one property type moving while the others sat still. In June, all three moved together, which GVR's chief economist described as a rare occurrence and a possible early sign that demand is returning more broadly.

Here is the part that most headlines skip. Prices barely moved. The composite MLS Home Price Index benchmark for all residential property sits at about $1,099,100, down 6 percent year over year and down one tenth of one percent from May. Effectively flat.

The reason is supply. Active listings remain roughly 30 percent above the ten-year seasonal average, which means there is enough inventory on the market to absorb the extra buyers without anyone having to pay up. More people bought, and nobody paid more to do it. That is a market waking up, not a market on fire.

One trend worth watching: new listings in June were down 6 percent from a year earlier. Rising demand paired with slowing new supply is the first combination in a while that could actually begin to shrink the inventory overhang that has been capping prices. It is too early to call, but it is the signal I am watching most closely heading into the fall.

The Rate Question: What You Are Actually Waiting On

The Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.25 percent on July 15, 2026, its sixth consecutive hold. The reason is worth understanding. Oil prices spiked earlier in the year on the conflict in the Middle East, and an oil-driven price shock pushes inflation up even while it slows economic growth down. That combination boxes the Bank in, because cutting rates into rising inflation risks making inflation worse.

The encouraging part is that oil has come off its spring peak, and June inflation eased to 2.8 percent from 3.2 percent. The pressure keeping rates elevated is releasing, slowly. So if you are waiting for lower rates before buying, recognize what you are actually waiting on. Not Vancouver. A barrel of oil half a world away. It is a genuine variable, but not one to build a purchase timeline around.

The Condo Buyback Program, and Why It Skips the City of Vancouver

There has been a lot of discussion about a government plan to purchase unsold new condos. The accurate version is that it is a joint federal and provincial program, announced in June 2026, to acquire more than 2,200 completed but unsold units and convert them to affordable housing. The backdrop is real: CMHC reported nearly 4,400 completed and unsold condo units across Metro Vancouver as of May 2026, a 76 percent increase in a single year.

Crucially, the Premier stated the program would not work in the City of Vancouver, where prices are too high for it to pencil out. The target regions are the Fraser Valley, the Okanagan, and Vancouver Island. So for anyone buying or selling a condo in Vancouver proper, whether Downtown, the Westside, or the Eastside, this program is not aimed at your market. Developers have pushed back publicly, the financing mechanism is still being finalized, and the details could still change.

Vancouver Westside: One Label, Very Different Markets

"Westside condos" is a label that hides more than it reveals. In June, Fairview posted a 45 percent sales ratio and Kitsilano a 42 percent ratio, both on healthy sales volume. Those are genuine seller's markets. A few minutes away, Cambie sat at 7 percent, Oakridge at 5 percent, South Cambie at 4 percent, and South Granville at 5 percent. Those are buyer's markets. Same label, opposite conditions.

Westside detached is its own buyer's market, with a benchmark just above $3 million, down more than 9 percent year over year, and a sales ratio of 11 percent. The softness concentrates at the high end, in areas like Shaughnessy and South Granville. For buyers whose budgets reach into those pockets, it is one of the more negotiable environments the Westside has offered in years.

Vancouver Eastside: The Borough Number Hides the Story

The Eastside looks calm on the surface, at 18 percent for attached and 15 percent for detached. Underneath, several neighbourhoods are considerably more active: Main at 30 percent, Knight at 27 percent, Hastings and Mount Pleasant around 24 percent, and Grandview Woodland at 21 percent. The borough number tells you the Eastside is fine. The neighbourhood number tells you where it is actually working.

Downtown Vancouver: The 13 Percent That Is Not Appreciation

Here is the number circulating this month. The Downtown attached median sale price rose from $787,500 in May to $890,000 in June, a jump of about 13 percent. Read on its own, it looks like Downtown suddenly went red hot. It did not.

The clearest evidence is days on market, which did not fall but rose, from 22 days to 28, a 27 percent increase. In a market that is genuinely heating up, homes sell faster, not slower.

What actually happened is a change in the mix of what sold. More two-bedroom units cleared relative to one-bedrooms, and a larger share of June's sales came out of Yaletown, which posted a 20 percent sales ratio, the strongest read in the core, compared with the Downtown-proper submarket at just 10 percent. Two-bedrooms cost more than one-bedrooms, and Yaletown units on average cost more than Downtown-core units. When the units that happen to sell in a given month skew larger and pricier, the average sale price rises, even if no individual condo is worth more than it was thirty days earlier. The price of what sold went up. The value of what you own did not. That is arithmetic, not appreciation.

The Market Nobody Is Watching: North Vancouver

While attention sits on Downtown, the tightest market in the region is North Vancouver detached, at a 23 percent sales ratio. Days on market fell from 15 to 10, and the median price rose 5 percent in a single month to just over $2 million, with Lynn Valley at 29 percent and Deep Cove at 24 percent. North Vancouver condos are firm as well, with Lower Lonsdale and Central Lonsdale both in the low twenties.

Elsewhere held roughly steady. West Vancouver remains a buyer's market at 8 percent for detached, with 32 days on market and a benchmark down almost 8 percent year over year. Richmond is balanced across the board. Ladner and Tsawwassen remain choppy month to month, largely because small sample sizes make one or two extra sales swing the ratio, so it is better to read the trend than any single month.

The Move-Up Window

For anyone considering a move up, there is a quiet opportunity in these numbers. On the Westside, condo prices are down about 5.5 percent year over year while detached is down more than 9 percent. When the more expensive tier falls faster than the cheaper one, the gap between them compresses, and moving up becomes mathematically easier even though nothing about the timing changed. The strategy is not to call the bottom, which no one can do reliably, but to watch the spread. Right now, on the Westside, that spread is compressing.

The Playbook

For buyers, the softer pockets of the Westside, including Cambie, Oakridge, South Cambie, and South Granville, along with softer Westside detached, still have real room to negotiate. And the Downtown 13 percent figure should not talk you out of a fair offer, because it is not measuring what it appears to measure.

For sellers, North Vancouver detached and the strong Westside condo pockets of Fairview and Kitsilano reward correct pricing the fastest right now. Everywhere else, the metro uptick is real but not yet strong enough to rescue a listing that is priced too high.

The Takeaway

The metro headline is good news, and it is genuine. More buyers came off the sidelines across every category for the first time in a long while. But it is demand returning to a market that still has enough inventory to absorb it, not a market where sellers can suddenly ask for more.

And any single eye-catching number deserves one question before you react to it: what actually moved, the price or the mix? This month, in Downtown, it was the mix. Do not let the loudest number in the room set your expectations. Ask what is underneath it first.

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Data sources: Greater Vancouver REALTORS (GVR) for the Metro Vancouver overview, SnapStats for neighbourhood-level data, the Bank of Canada for the July 15, 2026 rate decision, and CMHC for unsold-inventory figures.