The city saw its quietest market in more than 20 years
Metro Vancouver’s housing market closed out 2025 with its lowest annual sales total in more than 20 years, even as inventory swelled and borrowing costs eased – a mix that put mortgage professionals in a sharply buyer‑skewed environment.
Residential sales on the MLS® in Metro Vancouver totalled 23,800 in 2025, down 10.4% from 26,561 in 2024 and 9.3% below 2023’s 26,249, according to Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR). Last year’s tally sat 24.7% under the 10‑year annual average of 31,625.
“This year was one for the history books,” said Andrew Lis, GVR’s chief economist and vice‑president, data analytics.
“Although the sales total was the lowest in over two decades, Realtors were still busy listing properties. Sellers brought the highest total of listings to market on record since the mid‑1990s, eclipsing the previous record high in 2008 by a little over 1,000 listings.”
Listings surge as buyers pull back
New listings in 2025 reached 65,335, up 8.2% from 60,388 in 2024 and 28.4% above 2023.
The total number of properties listed sat 13.1% above the region’s 10‑year annual average of 57,782, while active inventory in December rose 14.6% year over year to 12,550, 34.8% above the 10‑year seasonal norm.
With supply outpacing demand, the MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark for Metro Vancouver slipped to $1,114,800, a 4.5% decline from December 2024 and 0.8% below November 2025.
Detached homes in Greater Vancouver carried a benchmark of $1,879,800, down 5.3% year over year, while townhouses sat at $1,056,600 and apartments at $710,000, each 5.3% lower than a year earlier.
Across all property types, the December sales‑to‑active listings ratio was 12.7% (9.3% detached, 14.6% attached, 15.1% apartments), hovering just above the 12% threshold GVR used to signal sustained downward pressure on prices.
Trade tensions, rates and psychology collide
“The forecast we put out last January noted a foreseeable downside risk, which while prescient, unfortunately materialized in 2025,” Lis said.
“Specifically, we noted that trade tensions with the USA could negatively impact sales and prices, and this downside risk came to pass. The upshot, however, is that the negative impact of these trade tensions appears to be easing, and consumer sentiment has improved modestly over the second half of the year.”
Borrowing costs also moved in borrowers’ favour, with GVR estimating that “borrowing costs fell nearly one full percentage point.” That echoes wider commentary that easing rates and elevated inventory have started to tilt conditions toward well‑qualified buyers, even as many remain cautious.
Lis earlier argued there was “very, very little, almost no correlation whatsoever” between trade‑policy uncertainty and local sales, pointing instead to interest rates and psychology as stronger drivers.
What 2026 could mean for mortgage volumes
“With lower prices, lower borrowing costs, and plenty of inventory to choose from, homebuyers in 2026 are starting the year with favourable conditions,” Lis said.
“Whether these conditions translate into a market with stronger demand will be the million‑dollar question – and we’ll be monitoring this story closely as it unfolds.”
For mortgage brokers, that question sits at the heart of 2026 planning: a market where the math finally improved for borrowers, but sentiment still has to catch up.
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