Metro Vancouver condo market sees slowdown

The push for more housing in Metro Vancouver has not prevented a rise in empty condos.

This is a significant market slowdown compared to last year.

“It is a very slow market we are seeing, along with the broad environment, what I would call almost a housing market recession,” said chief economist of Central 1 Credit Union Bryan Yu.

Greater Vancouver Realtors reported that condo sales decreased by approximately 20 per cent in April compared to the same period last year, and the average sale price experienced a slight drop of just under 2 per cent.

“Some developers are sitting on 1,500 doors, and the burn rate for that is crippling,” said Allan DeGenova, a real estate agent.

The high number of empty condos causes their prices to fall, at least temporarily.

“A lot of developer-owned units are sitting empty at this point in the market. And we are likely to see at least in the short term, some further declines in home prices,” explained economist Yu.

While lower prices sound good for buyers, the figures present a challenging outlook for developers as they retreat from new building projects. This has caused layoffs in the real estate industry.

Real estate professionals attribute this to recent government changes and U.S. tariffs.

“This is probably the most difficult cycle that I have been through. Not economically so much. It is truly uncertainty: government change, now federally, and the tariff does not help either,” said DeGenova.

Interestingly, however, the downward trend has not made housing more affordable in Metro Vancouver quite yet.

“Affordability in Vancouver is still much worse than it has been going back to 2020. Housing is still extremely unaffordable, even by Vancouver standards,” said Owen Brady from Abundant Housing Vancouver.

— with files from Jan Schuermann