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.