September marks the beginning of one of the more active periods of the year in real estate.

With summer vacations behind us, families settling back into their routines and buyers refocusing their searches, the fall market often brings renewed activity.

For homeowners considering a move, that raises an important question:

Is fall a good time to sell your home?

The answer depends on your property, your local market and your own plans, but fall can offer some genuine advantages for sellers.

Why Fall Can Be a Good Time to Sell

Spring traditionally gets most of the attention when people talk about the best time to sell a home.

But fall can offer something spring doesn't always provide: less competition.

Depending on the year and your particular neighbourhood, there may be fewer homes coming onto the market in September and October than during the busy spring listing season.

That can give a well-priced and well-presented property a better opportunity to stand out.

If several buyers are looking for your type of home but there are relatively few comparable properties available, you may be entering the market at an advantageous time.

Fall Buyers Can Be Serious Buyers

Another potential advantage of the fall market is buyer motivation.

Some buyers have been searching throughout the spring and summer without finding the right property.

Others may just be beginning their search but hope to purchase and move before the end of the year.

Either way, buyers actively viewing homes in September and October often have a reason for being in the market.

That doesn't mean every buyer will be in a hurry or willing to pay any price, but it can create a different dynamic than the slower periods of summer or the holiday season.

There's Still Time to Make Your Home Look Its Best

One of the nice things about selling in early fall is that homes can still show beautifully.

There's generally plenty of daylight, gardens and landscaping can still look attractive, and the weather is usually favourable for showings.

If you're considering listing, you don't necessarily need to undertake a major renovation.

Often, relatively simple improvements can make a noticeable difference.

Consider things such as:

• Decluttering and removing excess furniture

• Touching up or repainting tired walls

• Completing obvious minor repairs

• Cleaning carpets and flooring

• Improving lighting

• Cleaning windows

• Tidying patios, balconies and outdoor spaces

• Trimming landscaping and cleaning up the yard

• Improving the home's entrance and curb appeal

The goal isn't to make your home perfect.

It's to make it easy for buyers to picture themselves living there.

Should You Renovate Before Selling?

This is something we discuss with sellers regularly.

Not every renovation will return what you spend on it.

A $30,000 renovation doesn't automatically make a property worth $30,000 more, and spending money immediately before selling isn't always the best strategy.

In many cases, smaller cosmetic improvements can have a greater impact relative to their cost.

Before committing to an expensive renovation, it's worth looking at the homes you'll be competing against and determining what today's buyers are actually expecting.

Sometimes doing less — but doing the right things — makes more sense.

Pricing Matters in the Fall Market

The season alone won't sell a property.

Pricing remains one of the most important parts of a successful sale.

Buyers today have access to a tremendous amount of information. They can quickly compare your home with other active listings and often see what similar properties have recently sold for.

That's why we look closely at:

• Recent comparable sales

• Current competing listings

• Days on market

• Recent price reductions

• Buyer activity

• Inventory levels

• Conditions within your particular neighbourhood and property type

The objective is to position your property where buyers see value when they compare it with their other choices.

Don't Rely Only on the Overall Market

Headlines about the real estate market can be useful, but they don't necessarily tell you what's happening with your home.

There isn't one single Lower Mainland real estate market.

A detached home can experience very different conditions from a condo or townhouse.

The market can also differ between Burnaby, Vancouver, New Westminster, Coquitlam, Port Moody and other communities — and sometimes between neighbourhoods within the same city.

Even two similar condos a few blocks apart can face different market conditions depending on the building, location, price range and available competition.

That's why local information matters when deciding whether now is the right time to sell.

The Fall Selling Window Can Be Relatively Short

One consideration with the fall market is timing.

September and October are generally the heart of the fall selling season.

As we move deeper into November and toward the holiday season, real estate activity can begin to slow.

That doesn't mean homes don't sell later in the year — they certainly do.

But if your goal is to take advantage of the traditional fall market, it's worth being prepared rather than waiting until the season is almost over.

What If You're Selling and Buying?

If you're planning to sell your current home and purchase another, don't evaluate the decision based solely on what you think your existing property is worth.

You also need to consider the market you're buying into.

A softer market may mean accepting a little less for your current property, but it could also create an opportunity to negotiate more effectively on your next home.

Similarly, a strong seller's market may produce a higher sale price while making your next purchase more competitive.

The important number can sometimes be the difference between what you're selling and what you're buying, rather than either price by itself.

Should You Sell This Fall or Wait Until Spring?

There's no universal answer.

Spring may bring more buyers, but it can also bring more listings and more competition.

Waiting can work in your favour if market conditions improve — but market conditions can also move in the opposite direction.

Rather than trying to predict exactly where prices will be several months from now, consider what we know today:

What are comparable homes selling for?

How much competition would your property face?

How long are similar homes taking to sell?

And does selling now make sense for your own plans?

Those questions are much more useful than assuming one season will automatically produce a better result than another.

Thinking About Selling This Fall?

If you've been considering a move, the fall market may provide a good opportunity — but the first step doesn't have to be putting a For Sale sign on the lawn.

Start by understanding your home's current value, the competition you'd face and what you could realistically expect if you listed.

Team Keenan Neilly can prepare a no-obligation market evaluation and review recent sales, current listings and buyer activity specific to your property and neighbourhood.

If you're considering buying or selling in Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam, Port Moody, Vancouver or elsewhere in the Lower Mainland, we’d be happy to help you understand what the current market means for your particular property or move.

Contact Keenan or Kelly for experienced, straightforward real estate advice based on the neighbourhood, property type and market conditions that actually matter to you.

The Metro Vancouver real estate market finished the summer on the softer side, with slower sales, elevated inventory and continued downward pressure on home prices.

According to Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR), 1,869 residential properties sold across the region in August 2026. That's 4.6% fewer sales than August 2025 and approximately 21% below the 10-year seasonal average.

For buyers, that means more choice and less urgency than we've seen in some recent markets. For sellers, it reinforces the importance of pricing and positioning a property correctly from the beginning.

Here's a closer look at what's happening.

Sales Remain Below Normal Levels

August recorded 1,869 home sales, compared with 1,959 a year earlier.

Perhaps more significant is how that compares with historical activity. August sales were 20.7% below the 10-year seasonal average.

The market performed relatively close to expectations during the first four months of 2026, but sales have been weaker since May.

That slower pace continued through the summer.

Buyers Still Have Plenty of Choice

There were 4,100 newly listed properties in Metro Vancouver during August, down 3% from August 2025 and very close to the 10-year seasonal average.

However, total inventory remains relatively high.

At the end of August, 15,798 properties were listed for sale across Metro Vancouver.

While that's 2.7% lower than a year ago, it's still 26.2% above the 10-year seasonal average.

That's an important number.

Buyers may not be seeing quite as much inventory as they did at the market's recent peak, but there continues to be considerably more selection than we'd typically expect at this time of year.

What Is the Sales-to-Active Listings Ratio Telling Us?

Across all property types, Metro Vancouver's sales-to-active listings ratio was 12.3% in August.

Broken down by property type:

• Detached homes: 9.6%

• Townhouses/attached homes: 15.1%

• Apartments: 13.7%

Historically, GVR notes that sustained ratios below approximately 12% can place downward pressure on prices, while ratios above 20% for several months can contribute to upward pressure.

Detached homes are therefore experiencing particularly soft conditions, while the attached and apartment segments are somewhat more balanced.

Home Prices Continue to Ease

The benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver was $1,081,900 in August.

That's:

5.6% lower than August 2025
and
0.6% lower than July 2026.

The decline isn't limited to one property type.

Detached Homes

There were 557 detached-home sales in August, down 3.1% from a year earlier.

The benchmark detached-home price was:

$1,799,400

That's down 7.2% year over year and 1.3% from July.

With a sales-to-active listings ratio of just 9.6%, detached homes currently represent the softest of the three major market segments.

Apartments

Apartment sales totalled 891, down 6.8% from August 2025.

The benchmark apartment price was:

$686,200

That's 6.6% lower than a year ago and 0.3% below July.

Buyers in the condo market generally have considerably more time and selection than they did during the highly competitive markets of previous years.

Townhouses and Attached Homes

Attached properties were the one segment where sales actually increased slightly.

There were 412 sales, up 0.7% from August 2025.

The benchmark townhouse price was:

$1,028,800

That's still 4.4% lower year over year, although only 0.2% lower than July.

What Does This Mean for Buyers?

From a buyer's perspective, current conditions have several advantages.

There's more inventory to choose from, prices have softened and buyers generally have more negotiating power than they would in a strong seller's market.

That can provide more opportunity to properly investigate a property rather than feeling pressured to make an immediate decision.

For condo and townhouse buyers in particular, having time to review strata documents, depreciation reports, meeting minutes and financial information can be extremely valuable.

But a softer market doesn't necessarily mean every property is a bargain.

Desirable homes that are well priced can still attract significant interest, and market conditions can vary considerably between property types, cities and neighbourhoods.

What Does This Mean for Sellers?

For sellers, today's market requires a different strategy than a market where almost everything sells quickly.

With inventory approximately 26% above the 10-year seasonal average, buyers have choices.

That means pricing a property significantly above comparable sales in the hope that a buyer will eventually come along can be risky.

Homes that sit on the market while competing properties sell may eventually require price reductions.

Presentation and marketing also become more important when buyers have multiple properties to compare.

The objective isn't simply to put a home on MLS® — it's to position it effectively against the properties competing for the same buyers.

Is This a Buyer's Market?

The overall sales-to-active listings ratio of 12.3% puts Metro Vancouver close to territory historically associated with downward price pressure.

But it's important not to treat Metro Vancouver as one single market.

Detached homes are experiencing considerably softer conditions than attached properties, and conditions can vary again when we look at individual cities, neighbourhoods and price ranges.

A condo in Burnaby may face very different competition from a detached home in Vancouver or a townhouse in Coquitlam.

That's why broad statistics are useful for understanding the direction of the market, but local comparable sales and current inventory are what really matter when you're making a decision about a specific property.

Looking Ahead to the Fall Market

The big question now is whether buyers become more active as we enter the fall market.

Inventory has begun coming down from its previous highs, but sales remain slower than normal and prices have continued to drift lower.

That creates an interesting environment.

Buyers currently have selection and negotiating opportunities, while sellers who need or want to move can still sell successfully — but expectations need to reflect today's conditions rather than the market of a few years ago.

If you're considering buying or selling in Burnaby, Vancouver, New Westminster, Coquitlam, Port Moody or elsewhere in the Lower Mainland, Team Keenan Neilly can help you understand what's happening in your specific market.

Contact Keenan or Kelly for experienced, straightforward real estate advice based on the neighbourhood, property type and market conditions that actually matter to you.