‘More realistic pricing strategies’ emerging in Lower Mainland housing market

The Lower Mainland’s two real estate boards continued to record relatively sluggish home sales over the course of October 2025 compared to long-term and seasonal historical trends.

But there was a recent uptick, following fall seasonal trends, with the real estate boards reporting that there are now some favourable conditions for prospective homebuyers.

According to Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR), there were 2,255 home sales within its jurisdiction over the course of the month, representing a 20 per cent increase compared to September 2025, but a 14 per cent decrease from October 2024.

Over in the jurisdiction of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB), a total of 1,123 home sales were seen in October 2025 — up by 17 per cent from September 2025, but 16 per cent down from October 2024.

“October is typically the last month of the year where sales activity sees a seasonal uptick, but sales still fell short of last year’s figures and the ten-year seasonal average. Even the fourth cut this year to the Bank of Canada’s policy rate this October wasn’t enough to entice more buyers back into the market,” said Andrew Lis, the chief economist and vice president of data analytics for GVR, in a statement.

Baldev Gill, CEO of the FVREB, said, “While these early signs are encouraging, the path back to seasonal average sales levels will take time. As more new supply comes on stream and sellers adapt to the shifting dynamics, we expect the market to respond accordingly.”

The jurisdiction of GVR, previously known as the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), includes not only Vancouver, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, New Westminster, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Richmond, South Delta, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, and Bowen Island, but also the Sunshine Coast, Squamish, and Whistler.

All other areas of Metro Vancouver are under the jurisdiction of the FVREB, including Surrey, Langley, White Rock, and North Delta, as well as the Fraser Valley cities of Abbotsford and Mission.

The benchmark price for all residential properties in the GVR is now $1.133 million — a 3.4 per cent drop from October 2024 and a 0.8 per cent drop from September 2025. In FVREB, the overall benchmark price decreased by 0.7 per cent month-over-month in October 2025 to $0.92 million.

Within GVR, there were 693 single-family detached home sales over the course of October 2025, representing a 4.3 per cent drop from October 2024. The benchmark price for this typology reached $1.916 million, representing a 4.3 per cent decrease from October 2024 and a 0.9 per cent decrease from September 2025.

Single-family detached home sales in FVREB reached 378 units in October 2025, representing a 20 per cent year-over-year decline. The benchmark price hovered at $1.412 million — down 5.1 per cent from October 2024 and down 0.6 per cent from September 2025.

For townhomes in the GVR, a total of 477 units were sold over the month — a 4.8 per cent drop from October 2024. The benchmark price was $1.067 million, which is a 3.8 per cent drop from October 2024 and a 0.3 per cent drop from September 2025.

In contrast, 313 townhomes were sold in FVREB over the same month, which is a 5.4 per cent decline from October 2024. The benchmark price reached $0.786 million, representing a 5.6 per cent drop from October 2024 and a 1.2 per cent drop from September 2025.

Condominium home sales continue to struggle the most in the GVR, with a total of 1,071 units sold last month — a decline of 23.1 per cent from October 2024. The benchmark price for this typology was $0.719 million, representing a 5.1 per cent drop from October 2024 and a 1.4 per cent decline from September 2025.

In the FVREB, condominium home sales were similarly very weak — a total of 298 units sold, representing a decline of 24.6 per cent compared to October 2024. The benchmark price was $0.506 million, which is a 6.8 per cent drop from October 2024 and a 0.8 per cent drop from September 2025.

Last month, a total of 5,438 homes were newly listed for sale in GVR, representing a 0.3 per cent increase compared to a year ago and bringing the total number of properties currently listed for sale within the jurisdiction to 16,393 units — up from 14,477 units in October 2024. Such a total is 36 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average.

Within FVREB, there were 2,967 homes newly listed for sale in October 2025 — representing a seven per cent drop compared to October 2024 and a seven per cent drop from September 2025 — and bringing the total number of available listings to 10,121 units, which is up by 15 per cent from October 2024 and down by four per cent from September 2025.

“After peaking in June, inventory levels have edged lower, and prices have eased across all market segments as slower-than-usual sales activity meets the highest inventory levels seen in many years. With no further reductions to the Bank of Canada’s policy rate expected in 2025, market conditions appear as favourable for buyers as they’ve been all year,” continued Lis.

Tore Jacobsen, chair of FVREB, added, “Motivated sellers are responding to increasingly competitive market conditions with more realistic pricing strategies. As a result, we’re seeing prices soften — a shift that’s helping to facilitate sales in a slower market.”

In both jurisdictions, the average number of days a listing remained on the market remained high — 46 days for single-family detached homes, 35 days for townhomes, and 38 days for condominium homes within GVR, and 42 days for both single-family detached and condominium homes and 37 days for townhomes within FVREB.