real (estate) talk | January 2026

This time last year we posited that sales in the Vancouver Region would be a lot more “average” in 2025 after two and half years of soft activity. Instead, the world had other ideas. Finishing at 35,233 MLS transactions, last year registered the fewest in at least two decades (our MLS database only goes back to 2005). This was down 12% year-over-year (from 40,203 in 2024) and 30% below the past 10-year average (of 50,112). 

Regular readers of the Vancouver rennie review will recall that the market began to stake a recovery in the fourth quarter of 2024 thanks to falling interest rates, more than two years of pent-up demand, and elevated inventory. However, severe geopolitical turmoil and economic threats from our greatest ally and trading partner, the US, prevented that momentum from carrying into 2025.

The more expensive detached home segment was especially restrained with total sales settling at 10,978, a 41% deficit when compared to the prior 10-year average. Townhome (7,194) and condo (15,621) sales were also well short of typical levels at 26% and 25% below average, respectively. From a broad geographical perspective, activity in the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (at 36% below average) weighed more heavily on the region-wide statistics than did the Greater Vancouver Realtors board area (-27%).

Notwithstanding the subdued topline numbers, there were pockets of the region where sales better weathered the difficult market conditions. Specifically, sales in Squamish (-8%), Tsawwassen (-11%), and North Burnaby (-13%) were the closest to their long-run averages among the Vancouver region’s 29 sub-markets; the former two were among the few to see more sales in 2025 than in 2024. In contrast, sales in North Delta (-42%), Surrey (-41%), and White Rock (-40%) were the furthest from average.

Sticking to the theme of breaking multi-decade records, new listings activity was just as notable. The region registered 99,268 new MLS listings last year, the most since at least 2005 (and likely the highest ever). This was 8% more than the prior year (91,970 in 2024) and 18% above the past 10-year average (of 84,459). Elevated condo listings (41,951, 26% above average) were the primary driver here and helped buoy total active listings to their highest level since 2012. At its peak, inventory reached 26,593 in June 2025, up 29% year-over-year (from 20,652) and 58% above the prior 10-year June average (of 16,853).

Combining inventory with sales and looking at the months of inventory (MOI) metric, the average MOI across the whole of the Vancouver Region was 7.8 in 2025, the upper bound of what would be considered a balanced market. That said, like sales, MOI varied significantly across sub-markets. Squamish (4.6), North Vancouver (5.1), and Pitt Meadows (5.3) had the tightest supply-demand conditions, while West Vancouver (14.2), White Rock (10.7), and North Delta (9.6) had the loosest. Overall, the composite benchmark price in Greater Vancouver declined 4% year-over-year to $1,114,800 in December versus a 6% drop in the Fraser Valley to $905,900.

Turning the page on 2025, in the coming weeks rennie intelligence will publish its 2026 rennie outlook offering a range of predictions for resale, pre-sale, and construction activity in the year ahead. Visit rennie.com/intelligence and subscribe to intelligence updates to be the first to know when it becomes available.

⁠⁠⁠The vancouver rennie review is a monthly publication that includes our take on the latest MLS data for the Vancouver Region. In addition to presenting neighbourhood-level stats, it includes information on current rennie projects, a selection of featured listings, and insightful commentary on how and why the market is changing.

Our rennie intelligence division comprises our head economist, market analysts, and data scientists. Together, they empower individuals, organizations, and institutions with data-driven market insight and analysis. Experts in real estate dynamics, urban land economics, the macroeconomy, shifting demographics, and data science, their industry-leading data acquisition, analytical systems, and strategic research supports a comprehensive advisory service and forms the basis of frequent reports and public presentations, covering the Vancouver, Kelowna, Victoria, Seattle, and Coachella Valley marketplaces. Their thoughtful and objective approach embodies the core values of rennie.