10/09/2025
The Real Estate Clock: What Time Is It in Our Market? This Fall it's Time for Buyers
As expected, this fall is shaping up to be a buyer’s market and the stars are aligning for those looking to make a move. With the Bank of Canada cutting rates again and prices continuing to ease, buyers have more leverage, choice and time to shop than they’ve had in forever.
While the market has been sluggish, sales in September were up slightly; 1.2% compared to last year. However the real story is in the details: detached home sales jumped 7%, and condos saw a modest 1.5% increase. Townhome sales? They dipped slightly, down 5.8%. Key for buyers is prices are down across the board. The composite benchmark price fell 3.2% year-over-year, with detached homes down 4.4%, condos down 4.4%, and townhomes down 2.7%.
Inventory remains high with buyers having 17,079 active listings to choose from last month. That’s 36.1% above the 10-year average, which means buyers have lots of options. The sales-to-active listings ratio at 11.3%, we’re officially in balanced-to-buyer territory. Detached homes, in particular, are sitting at 8.5%, which means sellers in that segment need to be realistic if they want to attract offers. Some sellers realize that while they may not be getting the prices they could have in the past, most have made a LOT of tax free money for every month they have owned their home...so waiting (for who knows how long) to sell for what buyers will pay, doesn't make sense. We are now seeing many sellers agree to price their homes where the buyers are prepared to pay in order to move on in their lives.
As Andrew Lis, GVR’s director of economics, put it: “Easing prices, near-record high inventory levels, and increasingly favourable borrowing costs are offering those looking to purchase a home this fall with plenty of opportunity.”
If we look at the September 2025 numbers, last month in Greater Vancouver we saw:
• sales of all types of properties were UP 1.2% from September 2024.
• sales were 20.1% BELOW the 10-year seasonal average (2,348).
• the number of homes listed for sale last month was 17,079 which is UP 14.4% when compared with September 2024. This is 36.1% higher than the 10-year average (12,553).
• the number of homes newly listed for sale was UP 6.2% from September 2024 and 20.1% OVER the 10-year average (5,434).
• detached home sales were UP 7.0% from September 2024.
• the benchmark price for detached homes was DOWN 4.4% when compared to September 2024; and a 0.9% decrease compared to August 2025.
• the sales to listing ratio overall for all types of homes was 11.3%; for detached homes the ratio is 8.5%. Prices trend downward when the ratio is around 12%
Click HERE for Stats Package provided by the Greater Vancouver Realtors
So, what’s the takeaway? If you’re a buyer, rates are down, inventory is up, and sellers are more motivated than they’ve been in a long time. If you’re a seller? Price it right, or be prepared to wait. The days of listing high and hoping or listing low and seeing a bidding war are over for now and don't seem likely to return for quite a while.
As we head into the final months of the year, one thing is clear: the market is stabilizing, and opportunities are there for those ready to act. The window won’t be open forever, but for now? It’s a great time to be a buyer.
Interested in what this means for you? Whether you're thinking of buying, selling, or just curious about your neighbourhood's trends, I’m always happy to chat.
