Homebuyers in Vancouver may finally have an opportunity to be choosy, as inventory accumulates and prices flatten out.
May saw inventory levels across Metro Vancouver reach another 10-year high, while home sales remained muted, according to Greater Vancouver Realtors.
GVR reported that residential sales in the region totalled 2,228 in May 2025, a 18.5 per cent decrease from May 2024, and a 30.5 per cent decline below the 10-year seasonal average.
“While there are emerging signs that sales activity might be turning a corner, sales in May were below the ten-year seasonal average, which suggests that some buyers are still sitting on the sidelines or are being especially selective,” said Andrew Lis, GVR’s director of economics and data analytics.
On a year-to-date basis, sales in 2025 rank among the slowest to start the year in the past decade, closely mirroring the trends seen in 2019 and 2020, said Lis.
“It’s worth noting that sales rebounded significantly in the latter half of 2020, but whether sales in 2025 might follow a similar pattern remains the million-dollar question,” he said.
A “firm lid on price escalation”
The benchmark price for Vancouver in May was $1.17 million, down 2.9 per cent year-over-year and down 0.6 per cent compared to April.
There were 6,620 new listings during the month, up three per cent from May 2024 and surpassing the 10-year seasonal average by nearly 10 per cent.
The total inventory reached 17,094 in May, surging 26 per cent compared to May 2024.
“With some of the healthiest levels of inventory seen in years, many sellers are adjusting price expectations, which has provided buyers more negotiating room and kept a firm lid on price escalation over the past few months,” Lis said.
“From a seasonal perspective, sales in the summer months are typically quieter than the spring, but with such an unusually slow spring, we may have an unusually busy summer with so many having delayed their purchasing decisions. Either way, the market continues tilting in favour of buyers, which bodes well for anyone looking to make a purchase this summer.”
