ADAM NAAMANI

Unsold Condo Inventory, DCC Overhaul, Industrial Holds Steady October 08, 2025

As prices ease, inventory hovers near record highs, and borrowing costs improve, buyers are finding new opportunities in the fall market. Greater Vancouver home sales in September reached 1,875, up 1.2% from last year but 20% below the 10-year average. Active listings rose to more than 17,000, the highest level since 2019. While that may seem like a sharp increase, much of this inventory comes from homes returning to market at lower price points, which will define the months ahead. The composite benchmark price now sits at $1.14 million, down just over 3% year-over-year. Detached homes saw the largest adjustment, with prices slipping about 4.4% compared with last year. Townhomes and condos followed similar patterns, each down roughly 3–4%. Resale inventory in the condo market is at its highest level since September 2012.

According to CMHC, around 2,500 new construction condo units that have completed remain unsold across Metro Vancouver. On the other hand Altus Group reports there are 13,000 unsold condo units that have launched or completed, creating shadow inventory you don't see on the MLS that continues to build. Developers who banked on rapid absorption are now contending with higher construction costs, weaker presale demand, and exorbitant development fees. For example, Wesgroup recently cancelled its 204-unit Ardea project at River District, citing costs that no longer made the project viable.

Other developers have delayed launches or quietly extended presale timelines. Some are pivoting their projects entirely, converting condos into purpose-built rental units, or cancelling them altogether. There's been virtually no new housing development launched in the Lower Mainland for the past few months. Greg Zayadi, the president of Rennie said the last time we saw this level of developer-owned unsold inventory was 24 years ago. Good news if you're in the market to buy a new condo. For sellers, it’s a more demanding market. Well-priced, well-presented properties are still selling, but listings that overshoot the mark inevitably go stale.

Regional Highlights

  • Vancouver West: Listings surged 68% from August, pushing months of supply to 10. Buyers have the upper hand, though activity remains steady for well-priced homes.
  • Vancouver East: A 75% jump in new listings compared to August brought months of supply to 8. Technically a buyer’s market, but still close to balanced.
  • North Vancouver: One of the few bright spots, with sales up 10% year-over-year and prices holding firm.
  • Richmond: Active listings up 27%, months of supply now at 12. Sellers must price strategically to stand out.
  • Delta: Ladner and Tsawwassen posted strong results, with Ladner sales up 55% year-over-year and Tsawwassen maintaining a healthy 37% sales-to-listings ratio.
  • Fraser Valley: Following similar trends at 962 sales, up 3% from August (931) but down 2% from last year (982). New listings rose 23% to 3,447, slightly above last September’s 3,352. The average price slipped 2% month-over-month to $986,674 and 4% year-over-year. Active listings inched up 1% to 10,583, 10% higher than a year ago. Overall supply held steady at 11 months, keeping the market in buyer’s territory.

Metro Vancouver plans to overhaul developer fees

On October 3, the Metro Vancouver Regional District board unanimously approved updates to its development cost charge (DCC) regime, refining categories and definitions to better align with varied housing types and reduce barriers for smaller projects. These changes, shaped by public input via surveys and workshops, will feed into the 2027 DCC program update—using population forecasts and capital plans—with new rates in 2028. Key changes:

  • Small-scale housing: Laneway homes get the lowest apartment rate per unit; duplexes shift to townhouse rates; triplexes and multiplexes to apartment rates.
  • Non-residential: Clearer definitions and separate rates for industrial, commercial, institutional, and agricultural developments, plus potential permanent waivers for low-impact agriculture uses.
  • Broader equity: Aims to prioritize multiplexes, non-residential builds, and eco-friendly agriculture projects.

DCCs—fees on new developments—fund essential water and sewage upgrades, but builders slam them as affordability killers. For a new Vancouver-area apartment, fees jumped from $6,249 last year to $13,392 now, hitting $20,906 by 2027—a 235% spike that nix projects in a sluggish market. B.C. offered eligible builds a 2024-rate extension through July. Wesbild CEO Kevin Layden quipped: "We’re taxing new homes at the same rate, relatively, as we do cigarettes." He urged alternative funding: "There needs to be another way... than just putting it on the cost of new homes." Staff hailed the moves as ensuring "different housing types are appropriately categorized."

Industrial market holds steady amid broader slowdown

Greater Vancouver’s commercial real estate market continued to cool in the second quarter of 2025, with overall transaction volume down 16 per cent from the previous quarter and nearly 50 per cent below last year’s pace. Total sales across all asset classes reached 286 in Q2, compared to 567 a year earlier, with dollar volumes falling 67.6 per cent to $1.17 billion.

While every segment saw a year-over-year pullback, industrial real estate remained one of the more resilient categories in an otherwise subdued landscape. The region recorded 81 industrial transactions in Q2 2025, down 52% from the same period last year, with a total dollar value of $327 million—a 63% decline from 2024. Despite the contraction, industrial continues to perform relatively better than the multi-family and land sectors, where activity has slowed dramatically amid rising costs and development uncertainty.

According to Greater Vancouver Realtors’ director of economics and data analytics, Andrew Lis, the moderation aligns with expectations for the year. "Industrial, office, and retail transactions remain relatively strong compared with the multi-family and land segments," he noted, adding that this trend is expected to continue through year-end.

The industrial sector’s comparative strength reflects its essential role in supporting logistics, e-commerce, and manufacturing—areas that remain structurally in demand despite higher borrowing costs. However, fewer large-scale sales and continued caution from investors are keeping total dollar volumes in check.

Overall, while the commercial market is firmly in a period of adjustment, the industrial segment continues to stand out as a relatively stable performer, balancing softer sales activity with steady underlying demand for well-located warehouse and light-industrial space across the Lower Mainland.