Over 14,000 new condos unsold in Metro Vancouver, with sales at record low | Daily Hive

May 2026 construction progress on Oakridge Park and other mixed-use residential towers in the surrounding area in Vancouver's emerging Oakridge Municipal Town Centre. (AlbertArt/Shutterstock)

Thousands of new strata market ownership condominium homes remain unsold in Metro Vancouver, all while developers have sharply reduced the number of new homes they are bringing to market.

According to the findings from Rennie’s Fall 2026 report and MLA Canada’s October 2026 report, the region’s new-built market continues to struggle to attract buyers, even as prices decline and purchasers have plenty of options.

The slowdown has implications beyond the homes that are currently available. With few new presale projects launching, Rennie warns that the supply of condominiums at the earliest stage of development is becoming increasingly limited.

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More than 14,000 new condominiums were unsold across Metro Vancouver at the end of June 2026, according to Rennie. That total includes homes at different stages of development — from projects awaiting construction to newly completed units ready for occupancy.

Only 15 per cent of those unsold condominiums were in projects where construction had yet to begin. Another 56 per cent, representing nearly 8,000 homes, were under construction — approximately twice the number already finished and awaiting buyers.

Meanwhile, just 1,340 new condominiums were sold across the region during the first six months of 2026, which is a record low according to Rennie. That sales figure includes new condominiums at all stages of construction.

“Metro Vancouver’s condo market isn’t really a pre-sale market anymore — it’s a new-home market,” said Ryan Wyse, market intelligence manager and lead analyst at Rennie.

“With this much supply still working its way through construction, and with sales at a record low, we expect completed and unsold inventory to keep rising before this cycle turns.”

Rennie notes that no concrete condominium tower presale launches had occurred in Metro Vancouver so far in 2026. Most of the remaining unsold units in condominium projects that had not started construction were in woodframe developments.

The firm expects many projects that are otherwise ready to begin selling to remain on hold.

Separately, MLA Canada’s September 2026 figures show how little new presale supply was reaching buyers across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.

Just two projects launched that month, releasing a combined 32 pre-sale condominium homes. Neither launch reported a sale.

Over the previous five years, the month of September averaged approximately seven pre-sale launches and 870 newly released homes, with more than 35 per cent typically selling within the same month. September 2026’s release total was approximately 96 per cent below that historical average.

It was also down from the 76 homes released across two project launches in August 2026.

“September gave buyers more choice and lower prices, but not the confidence to act,” said Melissa Nestoruk, the advisory intelligence manager at MLA Canada.

Ahead of B.C.’s municipal and provincial elections in October 2026, Nestoruk also identified uncertainty over future housing policies as a reason buyers and developers were delaying decisions.

MLA Canada’s report forecast another two presale launches for October 2026, comprising 117 homes in a wood-frame project and 55 townhomes. Those 172 homes were projections when the report was published, rather than confirmed month-end results.

The hesitation among buyers also extended to the resale market.

There were 1,717 total home sales within Greater Vancouver Realtors’ (GVR) jurisdiction in September 2026, which is down 8.4 per cent from the same month in 2025 and 25 per cent below the 10-year average for that month.

Condominium re-sales were particularly weak, falling 18.6 per cent from September 2025, while single-family detached house and townhouse sales were slightly higher.

Buyers continued to have a substantial selection. GVR had 16,394 active listings, while the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board’s jurisdiction had 9,763 active listings — respectively 24.3 per cent and 31 per cent above their 10-year seasonal averages.

Secured purpose-built rental housing construction, meanwhile, delivered a much larger wave of new homes.

MLA Canada counted 1,001 secured purpose-built rental homes reaching completion across six projects in September 2026, the largest monthly total of 2026 to that point. That followed 400 homes completed across three rental housing projects in August 2026.

It should be noted that these completion figures cover market rental units only and exclude below-market rental units.

MLA Canada reported a 15 per cent same-month leasing rate for September 2026’s newly completed secured purpose-built rental housing supply, with limited reporting and shorter periods for leasing homes before completion contributing to this figure.

Its October 2026 forecast anticipated another 780 secured purpose-built rental homes across two projects entering completion: 492 in a concrete development and 288 in a wood-frame development.

Rents also eased in the relatively new buildings tracked by MLA Canada.

The average monthly advertised rent in its sample fell to $2,671 in September 2026 from $2,711 in August 2026, representing a decrease of $40 or 1.5 per cent. September 2026’s average remained close to April 2026’s figure of $2,660. It should be noted that these average rents covered both secured purpose-built rental apartments and privately owned rental condominiums in buildings completed within the last five years, across the Lower Mainland.

Among the areas shown in MLA Canada’s report, the Vancouver Westside had the highest average monthly rent at $3,136 in September 2026, followed by North Vancouver at $3,076 and Downtown Vancouver at $3,039. The averages were $2,838 in Burnaby, $2,814 in the Vancouver Eastside, $2,631 in Coquitlam, $2,323 in Langley, and $2,095 in Surrey.

Rennie’s separate broader assessment found that new secured purpose-built rental homes were continuing to attract tenants. Although the pace of leasing had slowed in 2026, the total number of new rental homes being rented was higher.

Metro Vancouver’s wave of new secured purpose-built rental housing completions first began in early 2025, and it is expected to continue through 2027.

For the condominium market, however, the immediate challenge remains finding buyers for homes already built or under construction. Until that supply sells more readily, Rennie expects developers with projects ready to launch to continue waiting, leaving fewer new offerings to replenish Metro Vancouver’s future housing supply.

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