Metro Vancouver 'missing' home buyers, despite favourable conditions | Daily Hive

Metro Vancouver 'missing' home buyers in early spring, despite favourable market conditions

New residential towers around SkyTrain's Burquitlam Station on the border of Burnaby and Coquitlam. (Elena_Alex_Ferns/Shutterstock)

Despite the slower growth in home prices and lower borrowing costs due to the Bank of Canada’s consecutive decreases in its policy interest rate, there were sluggish home sales at the tail end of winter and the start of spring.

According to Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR), over the course of March 2025, the number of home sales in its jurisdiction was the lowest, dating back to 2019 for the same month. All the while, active listings were on an increasing trend.

The number of home sales within GVR’s jurisdiction reached 2,091 units in March 2021, representing a 13.4 per cent drop from March 2025 and 37 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average.

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“The current market bears resemblance to early 2023 where price trends were generally flat, and sales started the year off slowly before gaining momentum in the spring and summer months,” said Andrew Lis, the director for economics and data analytics for GVR, in a statement.

He noted that the region has not seen “market conditions this favourable in years” when considering the traditional factors and inputs — apart from the economic uncertainty due to the Canada-U.S. trade war initiated by President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

“Prices have eased from recent highs, mortgage rates are among the lowest we’ve seen in years, and there are more active listings on the MLS than we’ve seen in almost a decade. Sellers appear ready to engage — but so far, buyers have not shown up in the numbers we typically see at this time of year,” continued Lis.

The year started off strong based on January 2025’s performance, but it levelled out in February 2025.

There were 6,455 homes newly listed for sale in March 2025, representing a 29 per cent increase compared to the same month in 2024, and a 16 per cent increase above the 10-year seasonal average.

Currently, there are a total of 14,546 homes listed for sale on MLS, which is a 38 per cent increase from March 2024, and 45 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average.

However, Lis notes that the townhouse segment is now approaching a sellers’ market as a result of “chronic undersupply.” Last month, there were 2,200 active listings of townhouse and 472 units of this home type sold, with the benchmark price reaching $1.11 million — an increase of 0.2 per cent compared to February 2025 — and listed properties remaining for 27 days on the market on average.

In contrast, March 2025 saw 527 single-family houses sold, with 5,110 active listings for this home type and a benchmark price of $2.034 million — up by 0.4 per cent compared to February 2025. Such properties spent 35 days on the market on average.

For condominiums, there were 6,672 units actively listed and 1,084 units sold, with the benchmark price at $767,000 — up by one per cent compared to February 2025 — and such properties spending 28 days on the market on average.

Overall, the benchmark price across all three home types within GVR’s jurisdiction reached $1.19 million in March 2025, representing a 0.6 per cent decrease from March 2024 but a 0.5 per cent increase from February 2025.

The jurisdiction of GVR, previously known as the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), includes not only Vancouver, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, New Westminster, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Richmond, South Delta, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, and Bowen Island, but also the Sunshine Coast, Squamish, and Whistler.

Other areas of Metro Vancouver are under the jurisdiction of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB), including Surrey, Langley, White Rock, and North Delta, as well as the Fraser Valley cities of Abbotsford and Mission.

According to FVREB, the number of home sales in its jurisdiction in March 2025 continued to be nearly 50 per cent below the 10-year average. This was one of the slowest starts to the spring housing market in over 15 years.

Over the course of the month, there were 1,036 units of all types sold, up by 13 per cent compared to February 2025. But this is 26 per cent below the sales volumes seen in March 2024.

Furthermore, the number of listings remains highly elevated, reaching a decade-high level with 9,219 active listings, with new listings during the month growing by 22 per cent month-over-month to 3,800 units. The number of total active listings was 49 per cent greater than March 2024 and 59 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average.

FVREB believes the trade war is to blame for the uncertainty in the real estate and development sector, and the markedly slower seasonal activity at the start of spring. Typically, there is a surge in home sales in the spring.

“If not for the economic uncertainty driven largely by U.S. tariffs, we’d likely be seeing a typical strong spring market in the Fraser Valley,” said Tore Jacobsen, chair of the FVREB.

“Instead, we’re seeing a disconnect as sellers remain hesitant to lower their prices beyond a certain threshold, while buyers, facing tighter financing conditions, are either unable or unwilling to meet it. The resulting inertia is keeping sales low.”

The benchmark home price within FVREB’s jurisdiction reached $974,000 in March 2025, representing a 0.4 per cent increase from February 2025.

In March 2025, benchmark prices in the FVREB reached $1.51 million for single-family detached houses (up 0.4 per cent from February 2025), $834,000 for townhouses (up 0.5 per cent), and $541,000 for condominiums (also up 0.5 per cent). The average number of days these property types remained on the market was 31 days, 27 days, and 31 days, respectively.

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