10/01/2026
B.C.’s New Construction Problem Is Getting Harder to Ignore
There’s an interesting contradiction happening in B.C. real estate right now. Governments are pushing hard for more housing, but the pipeline of new ownership housing is shrinking quickly.
🏗️ Housing starts are falling
In Vancouver, condominium apartment starts fell 40% in the first half of 2026, the weakest first half for condo construction since 2011, according to CMHC.
That matters because housing that doesn’t start construction today can’t become available for buyers several years from now.
📉 Presales have become the bottleneck
The presale model has traditionally been the engine behind Vancouver’s condo construction. Developers need to sell a significant portion of a project before lenders will finance construction, but presales have fallen dramatically.
CMHC says weak presales, high construction costs and increasing inventories of completed and unsold units are causing projects to be delayed or cancelled.
And that creates a difficult cycle: buyers are hesitant to commit to a home that won't be completed for years, while developers can't proceed without enough buyers committing.
🏢 More of the new supply is rental
One of the biggest changes is the type of housing being built. Purpose-built rental now accounts for approximately 60% of Vancouver’s housing starts, compared with less than 20% a decade ago.
So B.C. isn't simply building less housing. We're building a very different mix of housing.
⚠️ Developers are under increasing financial pressure
We're also seeing more development projects enter receivership and insolvency proceedings.
There isn't a reliable single number for how many B.C. developers have become insolvent, because projects are often held in separate corporations. But there have been a growing number of high-profile cases involving projects in Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey and elsewhere in the region.
The consequences of today's construction slowdown may not be felt immediately. That's the irony of the current market.
So while the cranes haven't disappeared, the bigger question is what happens when the cranes stop going up?
