Lower Mainland home sales slowdown continues through October

Listings are up and sales are down in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley as would-be buyers continue to sit on the sidelines.

The weather is cooling as we inch toward winter but for the Lower Mainland’s real estate industry, an extended sales freeze has been the norm for some time.

There were 2,225 residential sales in the Greater Vancouver area in October, which marked a 14.3 per cent drop from the same month last year.

“It’s a little bit unusual,” acknowledged Andrew Lis, chief economist for Greater Vancouver Realtors.

“In October we typically see a bit of an uptick in sales due to seasonal patterns. This year, the uptick just isn’t as large as we’ve seen in previous years.”

There were 1,123 sales in the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board area – and while that marked a 17 per cent increase from September, it was still 16 per cent below October 2024.

“While we look for the silver linings in there, it’s important to note that we’re still in a healthy buyer’s market condition – and inventory is abundant,” said Tore Jacobsen, chair of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board.

Listings are up year over year both in Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley real estate board areas.

And homes are tending to sit for longer – especially if listed at a price perceived as too high.

“So as inventory continues to go, pricing tends to come down as sellers need to be more competitive, if you will, and more tight on pricing to differentiate themselves from the other inventory that’s out there,” Jacobsen said.

At the heart of this is the economic environment, with many concerned about the ongoing trade tension between Canada and the U.S.

“There just seems to be a mood in the market, a hesitation on the part of buyers and maybe even to some degree on the part of sellers on the outlook,” Lis said.

“It’s a challenging environment.”

That was echoed by Jacobsen, who feels the trade dispute is trickling into buyer psychology.

“There’s still an air of uncertainty, (regarding) what’s the next step in our relations with our neighbours south of the border – how will that impact the economy, the jobs market, those sorts of things,” Jacobsen said.

“It’s a unique ecosystem.”

As for whether the central bank could help ease things further – while the Bank of Canada did cut its benchmark interest rate last week – Governor Tiff Macklem signaled further cuts are unlikely – at least for now.