Buyers are not showing up for the spring housing market, despite rising supply in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, said local real estate boards. Read More
Metro Vancouver’s real estate board says residential sales in the region totalled 2,091 in March
Metro Vancouver’s real estate board says residential sales in the region totalled 2,091 in March
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Buyers are not showing up for the spring housing market, despite rising supply in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, said local real estate boards.
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The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board reported the slowest start to the spring market in more than 15 years, with 1,036 sales in March, about 26 per cent below the same month last year.
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Meanwhile, listings rose 22 per cent in March and overall inventory — at 9,219 active listings — is at a decade-high level, said the board, which represents realtors in Surrey, White Rock, North Delta, Langley, Abbotsford and Mission.
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“If not for the economic uncertainty driven largely by U.S. tariffs, we’d likely be seeing a typical strong spring market in the Fraser Valley,” said board chair Tore Jacobsen.
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“Instead, we’re seeing a disconnect as sellers remain hesitant to lower their prices beyond a certain threshold, while buyers, facing tighter financing conditions, are either unable or unwilling to meet it.
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“The resulting inertia is keeping sales low.”
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The composite benchmark price in the Fraser Valley rose a modest 0.4 per cent to $974,400.
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In the Vancouver area, the number of homes that changed hands last month fell to the lowest levels for March since 2019.
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The region’s real estate board said residential sales totalled 2,091 in March, a 13.4 per cent decrease from the 2,415 sales recorded in March 2024 and 36.8 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average.
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There were 6,455 newly listed properties on the market, a 29 per cent increase from March 2024, as total active listings rose 37.9 per cent year-over-year to 14,546.
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Greater Vancouver Realtors director of economics and data analytics Andrew Lis says buyers in Metro Vancouver “haven’t seen market conditions this favourable in years,” amid prices that have eased from recent highs and declining mortgage rates.
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While sellers appear ready to engage, he says, so far, “buyers have not shown up in the numbers we typically see at this time of year.”
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The composite benchmark price in March in Metro Vancouver was $1,190,900, down 0.6 per cent from a year earlier but 0.5 per cent higher than February.
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With files from CP
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