The Vancouver Life Real Estate Podcast

The Vancouver Life Real Estate Podcast
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Education
  • Updated Weekly

The Vancouver Life podcast exists to educate, inspire, entertain, add value, challenge and ultimately provide guidance to its listeners when it comes to Vancouver Real Estate.

  1. 1d ago

    The Canadian Housing Market Is Facing a Perfect Storm

    Canada's housing downturn is no longer simply a story of declining property values. A broader deterioration in household finances, employment and business confidence is beginning to reinforce the weakness already gripping real estate markets. The concern is not any single economic indicator. It is how these pressures are increasingly connected, creating a cycle that could deepen the housing downturn while undermining the construction activity needed for future supply. Financial distress is reaching levels not seen in more than a decade. Consumer insolvency filings rose 4% year-over-year in August, reaching their highest August total since 2009. Bankruptcies increased 11.3%, while the total liabilities associated with consumer insolvencies surged 34.7%. Automobile loan delinquencies offer another troubling signal. At 0.9%, the arrears rate has more than doubled over five years and, for the first time since 2015, surpassed credit card delinquency rates. These developments suggest financial pressure is extending beyond discretionary spending and into essential household obligations. Canada's labour market is adding to the strain. September employment fell by 68,300 positions, bringing cumulative job losses to approximately 110,000 over two months. Full-time employment declined by 71,000 over the same period, while total hours worked dropped 1.5% in September, the sharpest monthly contraction since April 2022. Perhaps more concerning, real aggregate wages have turned negative year-over-year for the first time since 2016, excluding the pandemic. For housing, the consequences are significant. Weaker employment reduces mortgage qualification capacity, declining purchasing power limits household spending, and financial uncertainty discourages major purchases. The effects are becoming increasingly visible in British Columbia. Metro Vancouver's foreclosure inventory has reached 1.92% of total listings, exceeding the previous 2012 high of 1.83% and establishing a new high over at least two decades. Across BC, September residential sales fell 8.9% annually to 5,254 transactions, while the average selling price declined 2.4% to $924,279. Total sales dollar volume contracted 11%. Commercial real estate is experiencing similar pressures. Metro Vancouver office vacancy has reached 11.8%, climbing to 14.8% downtown. Leasing activity has fallen 33% year-over-year, and new office construction has declined to its lowest level since 2011. The deeper risk lies in the relationship between today's weak demand and tomorrow's housing supply. As sales slow and financing costs remain elevated, developers are postponing projects and reducing construction activity. While weaker demand can improve affordability for today's buyers, prolonged underbuilding could create renewed supply constraints when economic conditions recover. That contradiction is becoming increasingly important as British Columbia approaches its October 24 provincial election. Proposals to tax completed but unsold condominiums have intensified debate over whether additional financial pressure on developers will improve affordability or further discourage construction. Meanwhile, monetary policy presents another complication. Despite deteriorating employment conditions, Canadian fixed mortgage rates have been rising. Major lenders, including BMO, have increased borrowing costs, even as financial markets weigh the possibility of additional Bank of Canada rate hikes. The October 19 inflation report could prove pivotal ahead of the central bank's October 28 decision. Canada's housing market is consequently confronting a difficult economic reality: falling prices may improve affordability, but declining employment, weakening incomes and higher financing costs can simultaneously make homeownership less attainable. The central question is whether Canada's housing correction can stabilize before financial distress, declining construction and deteriorating confidence turn a cyclical downturn into a more prolonged structural problem. _________________________________  Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089  ryan@thevancouverlife.com  www.thevancouverlife.com

    The Canadian Housing Market Is Facing a Perfect Storm

  2. Oct 10

    The REAL Reason Canada Will Increase Immigration Again

    Canada's housing market is facing an extraordinary contradiction. After years of government efforts to improve affordability, home prices are finally falling across major Canadian cities. But as sales volumes collapse, so does a significant source of government revenue. British Columbia collected $3.33 billion in property transfer taxes during the 2021–2022 housing boom. For 2025–2026, that revenue is forecast to fall to approximately $1.75 billion, a staggering 47% decline. And now, with Canada's housing market struggling, Ottawa is exploring two potentially significant policy shifts: increasing immigration and reconsidering the foreign buyer ban. Prime Minister Mark Carney has indicated that Canada may eventually resume controlled population growth following substantial reductions to immigration targets. The federal government's upcoming three-year immigration plan could provide important clues about when that shift might occur. Immigration has historically played a critical role in Canada's economic expansion. With an aging population and weak natural population growth, newcomers contribute significantly to labour-force growth, health  care, technology, entrepreneurship and government tax revenues. But rapid population growth also places pressure on housing affordability, infrastructure and public services. Finding the right balance remains a central economic challenge. Meanwhile, Canada's foreign buyer ban, introduced in 2023 and extended through January 1, 2027, is approaching another decision point. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne has indicated that Ottawa is reviewing its options, raising questions about whether foreign purchasers could eventually return to Canada's residential housing market. Could restrictions be relaxed specifically for newly constructed homes? Would international buyers return in meaningful numbers? And could additional demand help developers struggling with completed but unsold inventory? The economic implications extend beyond property prices. Real estate transactions generate provincial property transfer taxes, while qualifying new-home purchases generate GST revenue. Construction activity also supports employment, business investment and broader government revenues. The housing downturn is particularly evident in Toronto, where benchmark prices have fallen approximately 28% from their peak, returning to levels last seen in September 2020. Vancouver's benchmark prices have also retreated to levels last experienced in 2021. Canada's rental market is experiencing similar weakness. National asking rents have declined 4.2% annually, marking 24 consecutive months of year-over-year decreases. Vancouver's average apartment and condo rent sits at $2,741, its lowest September level since 2021. Adding another layer of uncertainty is the Bank of Canada. Despite weak housing activity, financial markets are increasingly anticipating higher interest rates. At the time of recording, markets assigned approximately a 60% probability to an October rate hold and an 84% probability to a hike by December. Variable-rate mortgages remain attractive to borrowers, but the possibility of additional increases raises questions about how much interest-rate risk households are prepared to accept. Canada now faces a difficult balancing act: improving housing affordability while sustaining economic growth, government revenues and future construction. Could immigration policy and foreign buyer restrictions become part of the response to a prolonged housing downturn? And what would that mean for Canadian homebuyers, sellers, investors and developers? The answers could shape Canada's housing market well beyond 2026. _________________________________  Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089  ryan@thevancouverlife.com  www.thevancouverlife.com

    The REAL Reason Canada Will Increase Immigration Again

  3. Oct 3

    OCTOBER 2026 Vancouver Real Estate Update - Prices & Inventory Lower

    Vancouver has officially entered a buyer's market, a condition that has occurred in only about one out of every ten months over the past 21 years. And while buyers may have felt increasingly powerful for some time, September's numbers confirm just how dramatically the balance of power has shifted. Metro Vancouver recorded only 1,713 home sales in September 2026, an 8.4% annual decline and the fifth-slowest September in the available data dating back to 2005. Sales were 25% below the ten-year average, while active inventory remained elevated at 15,531 properties, approximately 24% above historical norms. The result? A sales-to-active-listings ratio of just 11%, crossing into buyer's-market territory. Detached homes are experiencing particularly weak demand, with a 9.5% sales ratio, while townhomes sit at 13% and apartments at 12%. Prices are responding. Vancouver's benchmark home price has fallen for four consecutive months, declining another 0.6% in September to $1,075,900. That's 5.5% below last year and back to levels last seen in April 2021. But the challenges facing housing extend well beyond resale activity. BC Premier David Eby has announced a proposed tax on completed condos remaining empty and unsold for more than a year. Beginning at 2%, the proposed levy would increase by one percentage point annually.  The government argues the measure would encourage developers to bring inventory into use and improve housing affordability. Developers, however, are raising concerns about the proposal's potential consequences. Industry representatives, including executives from Rennie and Wesgroup, argue that developers are already financially motivated to sell, while additional carrying costs could further complicate project financing and future construction decisions. The debate arrives during an extraordinary contraction in Vancouver's presale industry. September saw just one new presale launch containing 28 homes. In August, two projects released 76 units and recorded only two sales, an absorption rate of 3%. Meanwhile, purpose-built rental construction is moving in the opposite direction. Fourteen rental developments representing more than 2,100 homes were scheduled for completion between July and September, adding supply to a rental market already experiencing elevated vacancy and declining rents. The broader economy is providing mixed signals. Canadian GDP was essentially unchanged in July, although construction increased 1.3% and GDP per capita has recently shown improvement. New U.S. tariffs, however, threaten to interrupt that momentum. At the same time, Canadian bond yields are hovering around 3.6%, creating renewed upward pressure on fixed mortgage rates. At the time of recording, financial markets were pricing approximately a 90% probability of a Bank of Canada rate increase by December, although those expectations remain subject to change. Mortgage stress is also becoming increasingly visible. Canada's arrears rate returned to 0.29% in July, its highest level since 2016, while Ontario reached 0.34%, its highest since 2011. Closer to home, the Vancouver region foreclosure inventory has climbed to 633 properties, compared with 230 in October 2024. For buyers, this rare market environment presents greater selection, more negotiating leverage and opportunities that were considerably harder to find during previous market cycles. For sellers, pricing, presentation and reducing buyer uncertainty have become increasingly important. Yet today's weakness also raises a longer-term question: what happens to Vancouver's future housing supply if developers continue delaying projects because completed inventory isn't selling? Vancouver's buyer's market is no longer simply a matter of sentiment. The sales volumes, inventory levels, declining prices and construction pipeline are now telling the same story: the housing market is undergoing a significant adjustment, with consequences that could extend well beyond 2026. _________________________________  Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089  ryan@thevancouverlife.com  www.thevancouverlife.com

    OCTOBER 2026 Vancouver Real Estate Update - Prices & Inventory Lower

  4. Sep 26

    Vancouver Real Estate Has a Confidence Problem

    Vancouver real estate is entering the final stretch of 2026 with a growing problem: buyers are losing confidence at exactly the moment borrowing costs are threatening to rise again. Consumer confidence fell 6.9 points in September, its steepest monthly decline since the trade war began in early 2025. Even more significant for housing, the Real Estate Outlook Index has fallen 8.4 points since late August, its sharpest three-week deterioration since July 2022, when the Bank of Canada delivered its historic 100-basis-point rate increase. That matters because housing doesn't run on affordability alone. It runs on confidence. Buyers who believe prices could fall, rates could rise or the economy could weaken have little incentive to rush into the market. The evidence is already visible. Metro Vancouver recorded just 15,294 home sales through August, the lowest January-to-August total in the available data going back to 2005 and less than half the activity recorded during the 2016 peak. September isn't providing much of a rebound either. Through September 22, just 1,301 homes had sold, 8% fewer than during the same period last year. And another headwind may be approaching. Following the Federal Reserve's latest rate increase, Canadian markets are increasingly pricing the possibility of Bank of Canada tightening. At the time of recording, markets implied a 54% probability of an October increase and 94% probability of at least one hike by December. Market expectations can change quickly, but the direction matters: after years of buyers waiting for borrowing costs to fall, the conversation has suddenly shifted back toward higher rates. The construction data reveals an equally important divide. Canada recorded an annualized 229,000 housing starts in August, essentially unchanged from July and actually 1.8% higher year-over-year. But beneath that headline, two completely different housing markets are emerging. Rental starts increased 24.8%. Condo starts fell 47.1%. Strip rental construction out entirely and housing starts intended primarily for ownership have fallen to their lowest level in more than 26 years.  Building permits are pointing in the same direction, with multifamily permits down sharply in both Ontario and British Columbia. Toronto provides the extreme example: just 156 condo units began construction during the first half of 2026, compared with an average of roughly 7,000 over the previous decade. This creates a remarkable housing paradox. Canada could simultaneously experience an abundance of new rental supply and a collapse in the pipeline of homes available for ownership. Record rental construction could continue putting downward pressure on rents over the next several years, while today's collapse in condo starts creates substantially fewer ownership completions later in the decade. Meanwhile, an entirely different real-estate story is developing in Alberta. Meta has begun construction on its first Canadian AI data centre in Sturgeon County, north of Edmonton. The 1,750-acre site was purchased for $300 million, with Meta planning more than $13 billion of investment and approximately 3,000 construction jobs. For a county with a population of roughly 21,000, investment of that magnitude has the potential to generate substantial secondary economic and real-estate effects. Taken together, these numbers show a Canadian housing market moving in dramatically different directions. Vancouver buyers are retreating, ownership construction is collapsing, rental construction is booming, and enormous amounts of technology capital are beginning to reshape other Canadian markets. For Vancouver sellers, that makes confidence increasingly valuable. In one of the slowest markets in decades, buyers have choices. Clean documentation, strong maintenance records, permitted renovations, straightforward ownership and a well-presented property aren't simply nice additions anymore. When buyers have dozens of reasons to wait, the properties that sell will increasingly be the ones that give them the fewest reasons to worry. _________________________________  Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089  ryan@thevancouverlife.com  www.thevancouverlife.com

    Vancouver Real Estate Has a Confidence Problem

  5. Sep 19

    Vancouver’s Fall Housing Market Isn’t Showing Up

    Canada’s housing market is heading into the final months of 2026 with a problem few expected earlier this year: just as affordability was finally improving, borrowing costs are threatening to move higher again. The U.S. Federal Reserve has raised interest rates for the first time since 2023, lifting its benchmark rate by 25 basis points. More importantly for Canadians, U.S. bond yields have surged, with the 10-year Treasury reaching 5%. Canadian fixed mortgage rates don't operate in isolation, and continued pressure on global bond markets could keep Canada's five-year yield elevated even if the Bank of Canada initially stays on the sidelines. But markets aren't expecting the Bank to remain there forever. At the time of recording, market pricing implied a 59% chance of a Bank of Canada hike in October and an 85% chance by December, with the equivalent of five increases being priced by July 2027. Those expectations can change quickly, but if even a portion materializes, the implications for housing could be significant. After three years of improving affordability, higher rates could reverse some of that progress and further weaken buyer demand heading into 2027. And demand is already exceptionally soft. National home sales fell another 0.7% in August and were down 6.9% year-over-year. Year-to-date activity is running at its weakest level since 2003. Vancouver is experiencing an even deeper slowdown, with sales volumes near multi-decade lows and benchmark prices down almost 6% from last year. September isn't providing much evidence of the traditional fall-market rebound either. Through the first 15 days, Greater Vancouver recorded 868 sales, slightly below the already weak 892 recorded during the same period in 2025. The decline is only 3%, but the bigger story is the absolute level of activity: buyers remain remarkably hesitant. That hesitation is showing up elsewhere. More than 5,000 completed but unsold condos are now sitting across Metro Vancouver, representing approximately $4.45 billion of inventory. Burnaby alone accounts for 1,332 units. Surprisingly, larger homes make up a disproportionate share of that inventory, challenging the idea that simply building larger units guarantees stronger end-user demand. Development stress is spreading beyond residential projects as well. Frameworks, a proposed office and light-industrial development at 1725 Clark Drive, has entered receivership. The site was purchased for $30.5 million in 2019 but is now assessed at just $16.7 million, illustrating how dramatically land values, financing costs and development economics have shifted. Perhaps the most important leading indicator, however, is confidence. The real-estate outlook component of consumer sentiment recently experienced its sharpest two-week decline since January 2025. Housing markets run on affordability, employment and credit, but they also run on confidence. When buyers believe waiting could produce a better opportunity, transactions can remain depressed even when households have the financial capacity to purchase. And Canadians certainly have assets. Household net worth has surpassed a record $19 trillion, rising 2.9% in the second quarter. Canadian households now hold approximately $6.80 in assets for every dollar of debt, up substantially from 2010. That creates the central question heading into 2027: is Canada's enormous household wealth creating pent-up housing demand waiting to be released, or will higher rates and declining confidence keep that money on the sidelines? Right now, Vancouver's unusually quiet fall market suggests buyers are still choosing patience. If borrowing costs rise into 2027, that patience could last considerably longer. _________________________________  Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089  ryan@thevancouverlife.com  www.thevancouverlife.com

    Vancouver’s Fall Housing Market Isn’t Showing Up

  6. Sep 12

    Just When Housing Got More Affordable… This Happened

    Canada’s housing market is becoming more affordable, but just as buyers are getting some relief, a new set of risks is emerging. The latest RBC affordability data shows condo affordability nationally has improved all the way back to late-2019 levels, reversing much of the deterioration that followed the pandemic. Toronto and Victoria are now even more affordable than they were in 2019, while Vancouver is only a few percentage points away. Renters are also gaining ground. Average Canadian rents have fallen 4.8% year-over-year to $2,035, marking the 23rd consecutive month of annual declines. Vancouver rents are down 2.4% to $2,729, while record levels of purpose-built rental construction continue adding competition for tenants. But affordability is only one side of the equation. Canada unexpectedly lost 41,700 jobs in August, compared with expectations for a 15,000 gain. Unemployment remained at 6.4%, but wage growth slowed to just 2%, its weakest pace since 2017. The question now is whether this was simply one weak month or the beginning of tariffs and slowing growth showing up in employment. Meanwhile, mortgage borrowers face a very different problem. Canada’s five-year government bond yield reached 3.63%, a 27-month high, as bond yields surge globally amid inflation concerns, enormous government borrowing and geopolitical instability. Because five-year Canadian bond yields heavily influence fixed mortgage pricing, mortgage rates can rise even while the Bank of Canada keeps its overnight rate unchanged. Markets are also increasingly contemplating Bank of Canada rate hikes. At the time of recording, market pricing implied a 42% probability of an October hike and 78% by December, with additional increases being priced into 2027. Those probabilities can change rapidly, but the dramatic shift illustrates how quickly the interest-rate narrative has reversed. Development is providing equally dramatic examples of the market reset. CURV, the proposed 60-storey luxury Vancouver tower once marketed as the world’s tallest Passive House and famous for offering a Porsche promotion, entered receivership after selling only 41 units. Presale contracts have now been terminated, and the 1075 Nelson Street development site is back on the market. The land had reportedly been appraised between $169 million and $183 million in 2024, illustrating just how dramatically development economics have changed. And even completed projects aren't immune to problems. Owners at Coquitlam’s 567 Clarke + Como have filed a lawsuit alleging defects involving waterproofing, windows, HVAC, concrete, balconies and elevators. None of the allegations have been proven in court, and the developer disputes the claim, but the case provides an important reminder for condo buyers: new does not automatically mean risk-free. Finally, Vancouver's fall market is beginning under a cloud of uncertainty. Only 447 homes sold during the first nine days of September, compared with 539 during the same period last year, a roughly 20% decline. It's far too early to call the month, but the initial numbers point toward an unusually slow start. The contradiction is becoming impossible to ignore: housing and rents are becoming more affordable, but employment is weakening and borrowing costs threaten to rise again. For Vancouver real estate, the next phase may be determined by which of those forces wins. _________________________________  Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089  ryan@thevancouverlife.com  www.thevancouverlife.com

    Just When Housing Got More Affordable… This Happened

  7. Sep 5

    SEPTEMBER 2026 Vancouver Real Estate Update - Prices Drop To 5 ½ Year Low

    Vancouver real estate has entered territory not seen in years. Home prices have fallen back to April 2021 levels, August recorded the third-lowest sales volume in more than two decades, and the presale market has virtually stopped launching new product. Metro Vancouver recorded just 1,870 sales in August, down 10% from July and 3% year-over-year. Sales were 21% below the 10-year average, with seven of the first eight months of 2026 producing fewer transactions than the already weak 2025 market. Prices are following. The benchmark HPI fell another 0.6% to $1,081,900, marking the third consecutive monthly decline and a 5.9% drop from last year. Vancouver's benchmark is now at a 5½-year low and approximately 16% below its April 2022 peak. But underneath those bearish numbers, an important shift is emerging. New listings fell for the fourth consecutive month to 4,087, now below the 10-year average for the first time in roughly three years. Total inventory dropped another 9% month-over-month to 15,033 and is now 11% lower than last year. Inventory remains elevated, but its direction is changing. If listings continue contracting while existing supply is absorbed, one of the major forces pushing prices lower could begin to weaken. The presale market, meanwhile, remains on life support. July produced only three new project launches containing 42 homes. August appears to have brought just one project and 10 homes to market. That's roughly a 97% collapse from launch levels seen only a few years ago. High-rise launches remain largely economically unfeasible, while buyers overwhelmingly favour completed homes they can see, inspect and compare before committing. There may, however, be an early signal from Toronto. New-home sales jumped 184% year-over-year in July, helped significantly by the HST rebate. Single-family sales surged 246%. Context matters, the market remains extraordinarily weak historically, but it was the first meaningful year-over-year improvement following years of deterioration. Canada's broader economy is sending equally mixed signals. GDP expanded at an annualized 3.3% in the second quarter, allowing Canada to avoid a technical recession. Yet escalating U.S. trade tensions threaten that momentum, while elevated energy prices are keeping inflation risks alive. That leaves the Bank of Canada caught between competing pressures. The Bank held its overnight rate at 2.25% for the seventh consecutive meeting, extending a period of remarkable rate stability. Rate cuts are increasingly disappearing from the conversation; attention is shifting toward how long rates remain unchanged and whether the next move could eventually be higher. Canadian households are still carrying substantial financial pressure. Household debt has climbed 4.6% to $2.64 trillion, while non-mortgage debt is growing considerably faster than mortgage balances. Yet mortgage arrears actually improved nationally, falling to 0.28%. British Columbia remains below the national average at 0.26%, while Ontario has deteriorated to 0.33%, its highest level since 2011. Foreclosures tell another story. There are now 628 foreclosure listings, up from just 230 in October 2024. The September market update therefore presents a contradiction: sales are near historic lows, prices are at 2021 levels and presales have virtually disappeared, but inventory is contracting. The downturn isn't over. But for the first time in some time, the data is beginning to reveal what could eventually become the foundation for stabilization, and potentially the next phase of Vancouver's housing cycle. _________________________________  Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089  ryan@thevancouverlife.com  www.thevancouverlife.com

    SEPTEMBER 2026 Vancouver Real Estate Update - Prices Drop To 5 ½ Year Low

  8. Aug 29

    The Lower Lows Keep Coming for Vancouver Real Estate

    Vancouver’s real estate downturn is not just a story about falling prices. Record-low transaction volumes are beginning to reshape the entire housing industry, from developers and presale marketers to mortgage borrowers and the future supply of homes. Nowhere is the shift more dramatic than Metro Vancouver’s once-dominant presale market. At the peak in 2021, more than 19,000 new condos sold. By 2025, sales had fallen below 3,000, and 2026 year-to-date sales are now under 500. The collapse in new launches is even more striking. In July 2021, 1,426 presale units were released. July 2026 produced just 42, a staggering 97% decline. The consequences are spreading throughout the development industry. Projects have entered insolvency, developers have disappeared, buyers have faced lawsuits after attempting to walk away from contracts, and Vancouver’s presale marketing industry is being forced to reinvent itself. MLA Canada has dramatically reduced staffing, Magnum Projects has cut approximately 40% of its workforce, Rennie has reduced staff while expanding its commercial real estate focus, and other firms have exited the business entirely. The completed inventory problem is equally significant. Metro Vancouver is estimated to have approximately $4.6 billion worth of completed, unsold new homes. Yet only 495 condos one year old or newer have sold year-to-date, representing approximately $400 million in transactions. At the current pace of roughly $44 million per month, that theoretically represents more than 100 months, early 9 years, of completed inventory. For buyers, that creates something largely absent during the previous cycle: leverage. But another important shift is developing beneath the surface. New listings are falling nationally, with British Columbia down approximately 13% year-over-year and Ontario down nearly 11%. Active inventory in both provinces has also declined roughly 5% from last year’s levels. Supply remains elevated, but direction matters. Historically, declining inventory has been one of the conditions required for prices to eventually stabilize. That trend is being reinforced by a dramatic slowdown in construction. New homeowner completions have fallen to levels last seen around 2002, while housing starts excluding rentals have dropped toward 1990 levels. Today’s weak development economics could therefore translate into significantly less housing supply several years from now. The mortgage market is undergoing its own transformation. The Bank of Canada’s overnight rate has remained stable throughout 2026, and borrowers are increasingly choosing variable-rate mortgages. Variable mortgages now represent a record 36% of the market, while fixed mortgages have fallen to just 20%. Renewing homeowners, however, are still absorbing substantial financial pressure. Canadians coming off five-year terms are experiencing an average 24% increase in monthly mortgage payments. HELOC balances have increased 14% year-over-year, while personal deposits into savings accounts have turned negative for the first time since 2013. The rental market presents another long-term contradiction. Ontario is projected to face a 121,000-unit rental shortfall by 2036 despite record purpose-built rental construction. Condo investors supplied 58% of Ontario’s new rental housing over the previous decade, but their contribution is projected to collapse to just 9% over the next ten years. The common thread is lag. Weak sales today mean fewer launches. Fewer launches mean fewer completions. Developers pulling back today can create shortages years from now. For buyers, this may be one of the strongest negotiating environments in years. For sellers, waiting for 2021 conditions to return carries an increasingly measurable cost. Vancouver real estate continues to establish new lows, but beneath those numbers, the foundations of the next market cycle may already be forming. _________________________________  Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089  ryan@thevancouverlife.com  www.thevancouverlife.com

    The Lower Lows Keep Coming for Vancouver Real Estate
See All (350)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

The Vancouver Life podcast exists to educate, inspire, entertain, add value, challenge and ultimately provide guidance to its listeners when it comes to Vancouver Real Estate.

Information

  • Creator
    The Vancouver Life Real Estate Podcast
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    350
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Vancouver Life Real Estate Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Vancouver Life Real Estate Podcast

You Might Also Like