Real estate market activity is usually fairly strong this time of year, but this is not your typical year. A confluence of factors has tempered real estate markets across Canada and Vancouver is no exception.
According to new statistics published by Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR) on Tuesday, a grand total of 2,228 residential sales were recorded in the region last month. That total is 18.5% lower than the 2,733 recorded in May 2024 (which was itself not a high point) and 30.5% lower than the 10-year average of 3,206 for May.
On the other side of the equation, last month saw 6,620 new residential listings come online, which was 3.9% higher than the 6,374 added in May 2024 and 9.4% higher than the 10-year average of 6,055 for May.
With this new batch of listings, the total amount of active listings in the region is now up to 17,094, which is 25.7% higher than the 13,600 following May 2024 and 45.9% higher than the 10-year average of 11,718 for May. According to Greater Vancouver Realtors, the total is also a new 10-year high.
As the laws of supply and demand dictate, when there is more supply than demand, prices fall, and that is indeed what is occurring in the Greater Vancouver real estate market. According to the latest statistics, the composite residential benchmark price is now $1,177,100, which is 0.6% lower than April 2025 and 2.9% lower than May 2024.
By property type, the benchmark price is now $1,997,400 for single-detached homes, $1,106,800 for attached homes, and $757,300 for condominiums. The benchmark price for attached homes increased by 0.4% from April 2025, but decreased by 1.2% and 0.7% for single-detached homes and condos, respectively. All three represent decreases of between 2.4% and 3.4% when compared to May 2024.
Market Analysis
"While there are emerging signs that sales activity might be turning a corner, sales in May were below the ten-year seasonal average, which suggests that some buyers are still sitting on the sidelines or are being especially selective," said Greater Vancouver Realtors Director of Economics and Data Analytics Andrew Lis. "On a year-to-date basis, sales in 2025 rank among the slowest to start the year in the past decade, closely mirroring the trends seen in 2019 and 2020. It's worth noting that sales rebounded significantly in the latter half of 2020, but whether sales in 2025 might follow a similar pattern remains the million-dollar question."
Based on the aforementioned statistics, the sales-to-active-listings ratio is now at 13.4%, where a ratio of 12% or lower is considered a buyers' market and a ratio of 20% or higher is considered a sellers' market. By property type, however, the ratio is 10.2% for single-detached homes, 17.4% for attached homes, and 14.7% for condos.
"With some of the healthiest levels of inventory seen in years, many sellers are adjusting price expectations, which has provided buyers more negotiating room and kept a firm lid on price escalation over the past few months," added Lis. "From a seasonal perspective, sales in the summer months are typically quieter than the spring, but with such an unusually slow spring, we may have an unusually busy summer with so many having delayed their purchasing decisions. Either way, the market continues tilting in favour of buyers, which bodes well for anyone looking to make a purchase this summer."
How the summer months play out and which direction the market goes may be heavily influenced, as it always is, by what the Bank of Canada does with its next interest rate announcement, although that has been less true this year. The announcement is scheduled for tomorrow morning and Canada's biggest banks are split on whether to expect a cut or a hold.
