Stalled Surrey condo project highlights struggles in Metro Vancouver housing market

Developers across Metro Vancouver are running into a tough market—but Surrey has plans to keep on building.

A stalled construction site in Surrey has been dormant for more than year, with analysts calling it another sign of a challenging Metro Vancouver development market.

Victory was pitched as a 216-unit condo project, with move‑in dates originally set for 2027. Today, the site at 13758 Bentley Road is an empty pit.

“Yeah it’s not so pretty,” said one neighbour.

Court documents show the project is in the process of receivership, meaning a court‑appointed receiver is taking control of the site and its future remains uncertain.

The stalled project comes amid broader challenges, including rising construction costs and weaker demand, particularly for condo presales.

“Presale buyers are largely absent right now,” said Ryan Wyse, lead analyst with Rennie & Associates Realty Ltd.

“Now we’re in a situation where prices have come off, the costs are still really high, and it’s harder for developers to sell homes at prices that people are able to pay,” he added.

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke says the city has taken steps to support construction by cutting municipal costs and easing requirements for builders.

“We have to get through this and it is a challenge,” Locke told CTV News. “We’ve cut tens of millions of dollars in municipal costs to help keep projects viable.”

Locke says the city reduced development cost charges, or DCCs, last year as part of that strategy. DCCs are fees paid by developers to help fund growth‑related infrastructure such as roads and sewer systems.

Despite a slower market, particularly for condo towers, Locke says construction activity in Surrey has not stopped.

“This year, we’ve issued more than 700 building permits, adding nearly 3,000 new homes in the city,” she said.

The city’s efforts come as Metro Vancouver has also moved to lower some of its development cost charges on new builds.

Wyse says reductions at both the municipal and regional levels can make a difference.

“All this stuff kind of adds up if we see, you know, Metro DCCs come down and municipal DCCs come down, like, that has a meaningful impact on the overall price of a home,” he said, adding that material and land costs also remain key factors.

For now, the empty pit at Maskeen’s Victory site remains a visible reminder of how quickly shifting market conditions can stall even large housing projects.