The real estate market in the Lower Mainland — and beyond — has been tempered, to say the least, and there isn’t any reason to expect that to change heading into the summer, according to the real estate boards of Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley.
In May, the Greater Vancouver Area recorded 2,228 home sales while the Fraser Valley recorded 1,124, which represent year-over-year declines of 3.5% and 5.0% compared to May 2025.
Greater Vancouver Realtors noted that the May 2026 total is 26.6% lower than the 10-year May average of 2,930.
This is all despite relatively significant drops in prices that have occurred the past year.
In Greater Vancouver, the composite residential benchmark price is now $1,100,700, which represents a 6.2% decrease from this time last year, and the trend has occurred across all property types. The benchmark price is now $1,847,900 for single-detached homes, $1,048,200 for attached homes, and $697,800 for condominiums, which represent year-over-year decreases of 6.9%, 5.1%, and 7.9%.
In the Fraser Valley, the benchmark price is now $1,366,500 for single-detached homes, $769,500 for townhouses, and $483,800 for condominiums, which represent year-over-year decreases of 7.9%, 7.6%, and 8.8%.
In years past, buyers might have jumped at price drops like that, but that obviously has not occurred, as is evident in the sales numbers.
“Many households are understandably approaching major financial decisions with caution right now,” said Baldev Gill, CEO of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. “Between economic uncertainty, concerns about job security, and the continued pressure of higher everyday costs, confidence has been slow to recover.”
“Price trends across all housing types were flat month-over-month, as a healthy level of inventory easily absorbed the relatively muted level of overall demand in the market,” said Andrew Lis, Chief Economist and VP of Data Analytics for Greater Vancouver Realtors. “Year-to-date, sales have come in just shy of our forecast to this point in the year. With demand tracking our forecast so closely, it’s reasonable to expect a calm and orderly summer market, as no obvious near-term catalysts loom over the horizon to move the market significantly in either direction.”
New listings were also down in both regions. Greater Vancouver saw 6,115 new listings in May while the Fraser Valley added 3,300. Those totals represent decreases of 7.6% and 17.6% from May 2025.
The total amount of active listings is now 16,917 in Greater Vancouver and 10,140 in the Fraser Valley, which represents minor year-over-year decreases of 1.0% and 4.6%.
The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board attributed the decrease in listings to homeowners waiting for market conditions to recover before listing their properties.
Next Wednesday, the Bank of Canada will be making its interest rate announcement and that, as always, could have an impact on the aforementioned economic uncertainty and thus the housing market. Some have been expecting the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates at some point in 2026, but when that may occur, if at all, is up in the air.
