Metro Vancouver housing prices may lower amid economic uncertainty, experts say

CBC News

· Posted: May 09, 2025 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Housing prices could driblet somewhat successful Metro Vancouver amid ongoing governmental and economical uncertainty successful Canada, immoderate existent property experts say. 

The prediction comes arsenic the latest marketplace reports amusement a dip successful April location income compared to caller years, and a emergence successful the fig of places for sale.

Normally, location income leap significantly coming retired of the wintertime and into the spring, but that didn't hap this year. 

"Sales did increase, but the emblematic seasonal signifier has been quashed by outer factors," said Ryan Berlin, caput economist astatine realty institution Rennie.

During the erstwhile 10 years, income were on mean 79 per cent higher successful April than they were successful January, Berlin said, but for 2025, April income were lone 34 per cent higher.

U.S. President Donald Trump's commercialized warfare is making buyers hesitant to commit, a origin cited wide by realtors and different experts, including Berlin.

He added that the inherent uncertainty starring up to the Canadian national election also made buyers nervous.

Similarly, manufacture relation Greater Vancouver Realtors, cited the national predetermination and the anticipation of a recession owed to the commercialized warfare arsenic discouraging imaginable buyers, contempt the favourable scenario of little involvement rates. 

The alteration successful income means homes for merchantability are accumulating.

Data from Rennie, compiled from aggregate sources, shows the fig of homes connected the marketplace is the highest it's been since 2018. Specifically, determination are astir 16,000 pre-sale and caller homes disposable arsenic good arsenic 24,000 resale homes successful Metro Vancouver.

"We are astatine an all-time precocious for disposable homes," Berlin said.

Realtor Steve Saretsky said that portion it utilized to instrumentality 1 oregon 2 weeks for a condo to sell, it tin present instrumentality 2 oregon 3 months.

Investors flee

Investors are besides buying less, helium said.

"Unsold inventory connected developer equilibrium sheets is astatine all-time highs," Saretsky said. 

This, helium said, is due to the fact that "the capitalist basal truly disappeared, which is to accidental the mathematics simply does not enactment anymore."

Over the past decade, investors person been immoderate of the main purchasers erstwhile it comes to pre-sales, buying into a lodging task respective years earlier it's built and ready, Saretsky explained.

"With the outlook for location prices and rents precise antagonistic … investors aren't funny successful putting their wealth into the pre-sale market. So there's a batch of projects that won't get disconnected the ground."

For investors who already own, Saretsky said the unstable economy, declining rents and stagnating prices mean many are trying to merchantability and get retired of the market.

Affect connected price

In a statement, Greater Vancouver Realtors called outpouring 2025 a buyer's market, suggesting that the operation of little involvement rates and precocious inventory presents "plenty of accidental for anyone looking to marque a purchase." 

Saretsky said the reluctance of buyers, on with the accumulation of homes for sale, means prices could travel down.

"The world is, erstwhile you person grounds inventory for merchantability oregon you've got six oregon 7 months of inventory connected the market, sometimes the lone mode to basal retired [as a seller] is to person the lowest price, right?"

University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business subordinate prof Tom Davidoff said imaginable buyers whitethorn privation to see giving lower-than-normal offers.

"If I were a purchaser and I didn't request a spot desperately, if I had a spot I was comfy that I could stay, I deliberation I would beryllium doing low-ball offers," helium said.

"I deliberation bidding five, 10, 15 per cent beneath asking. Why not? Take immoderate swings."

But Berlin said there hasn't been a important alteration successful prices truthful far. Instead, prices person stagnated.

"This is beauteous emblematic due to the fact that location prices thin to beryllium what we telephone 'downward sticky,'" helium said.

However, successful immoderate cases, developers with caller builds whitethorn little their prices slightly, helium said. Having already enactment a batch of wealth into a building, a developer whitethorn find themselves needing to merchantability and determination on.

"If you're sitting connected a fig of homes that you haven't sold yet, you're incapable to extract that superior from the task and put it successful the operation of caller homes," helium said. 

Looking ahead, Berlin said governmental and economical stableness are needed for location income to prime up again.

"Until we person immoderate certainty astir what Canada's economical strategy is and [what] our narration commercialized omniscient is with the U.S., I deliberation you're going to spot the purchaser enactment close wherever they are."