Vancouver Housing Market Report
- The average home price in Greater Vancouver was $1,210,684, which increased by 0.2% annually and 1.8% monthly from December 2025.
- In January 2026, the benchmark price of homes in Metro Vancouver was $1,101,900, representing a 5.7% yearly decrease and a 1.2% monthly decrease.
- Vancouver's benchmark home price has risen by 25.5% over the past 10 years but remains 12% below the all-time high of $1,252,800 set in April 2022.
- Detached home average price decreased by 1.4% year-over-year to $2.07M.
- Attached home average price increased by 4.2% year-over-year to $1.28M.
- Condo apartment average price decreased by 10.1% year-over-year to $725k.
Greater Vancouver Housing Market Overview
Market Snapshot (January 2026)
Benchmark Home Price | $1,101,900 | -1.2% 1-Month Change | -5.7% 1-Year Change |
Average Home Price | $1,210,684 | +1.8% 1-Month Change | +0.2% 1-Year Change |
Note: The MLS HPI benchmark price represents the value of a ‘typical’ home in the area.
Home Prices by Property Type
In January 2026, the average home price in Greater Vancouver was $1,210,684. The average sale price of detached houses increased by 0.8% from December 2025 to reach $2,065,837, representing a yearly decrease of 1.4%. The average price of an attached house in Greater Vancouver increased by 4.2% relative to last January to reach $1,276,309, which is 6.0% higher than in December. Apartment prices declined by 10.1% year-over-year to $724,561, which is 0.6% higher than last month.
The benchmark price of homes in Metro Vancouver was $1,101,900 in January 2026, a 5.7% decrease year-over-year and a 1.2% monthly decline. Benchmark prices of detached houses in Vancouver declined 7.3% over the past year and 1.5% over the past month to reach $1,850,800 for January 2026. Vancouver's attached home (townhouse) benchmark price is $1,043,400, down 5.4% year-over-year and down 1.2% month-over-month in January 2026. Apartment benchmark prices decreased 5.9% year-over-year and 0.8% month-over-month to $704,600.
Greater Vancouver Area Breakdown by Region for January 2026
Sales & Inventory
In January 2026, 1,107 houses in Vancouver were sold, representing a 29% decrease from January 2025. These sales included 300 detached homes, 554 apartments, and 246 attached homes. Metro Vancouver's housing market had 12,628 active listings at the end of January 2026, up 9.9% from last year and up 0.6% from December's 12,550 listings. Inventory remains well above the 10-year seasonal average of 9,153.
The 5,157 new listings this month represent a 7.3% decrease year over year. These numbers put Vancouver's sales-to-active listings ratio at 8.8% for January 2026, compared with 12.2% for December 2025.
Vancouver's sales-to-new listings ratio (SNLR) was 21.5% for January. Eleven months of inventory suggest a buyer's market.
Vancouver Home Prices (MLS Benchmark)
Vancouver benchmark home prices have increased by 215% since January 2005. This translates into a cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.6%.
Long-Term Trends
Metro Vancouver remains one of the most expensive housing markets in Canada. Vancouver has been a pricey housing market for many years, and its current benchmark price has increased by merely 15% over the past nine years (since the 2016 frenzy), compared with approximately 28% inflation. This decline in real home prices has occurred despite an increase in population.
Greater Vancouver Population Chart
Vancouver vs Toronto
Toronto's competition with Vancouver regarding home unaffordability is relatively recent, as Greater Toronto home prices have climbed by 29% over the past nine years to reach $942,300 in December 2025. This nine-year growth translates into a CAGR of 2.9% (which does not include the potential rent received or the expenses paid). This 9-year growth is despite a 26% price decline from the peak of $1,279,800 in Toronto benchmark home prices in February 2022. Given that Vancouver began its restrictive zoning at least two decades before Toronto, it is no surprise that Vancouver became an unaffordable city much earlier than Toronto.
Long-Term Trend
Over the past 20 years, the 176% growth in Vancouver home prices has been much faster than either the 53% inflation rate or wage growth. In other words, building houses (producing shelter) has been more difficult than making most other goods and services. Many claim that land is a limited resource, and thus, house building faces a natural limitation. This is incorrect, as there is no natural limitation on increasing population density.
For example, the population density in the Vancouver metropolitan area is around 1,150/km², while the population density in the city-state of Singapore is 8,500/km². So, land is not the limiting factor for sheltering people. In cities like Vancouver, the primary constraint on new housing is not land scarcity but restrictive municipal zoning and development regulations. The impact of these regulations has been quantified by CMHC in the "Municipal Land Use and Regulation Survey."
Macroeconomic Factors
Heightened economic uncertainty stemming from trade tensions between Canada and the United States continues to impact Canadian housing markets across multiple regions. A deterioration in cross-border trade relations reduces consumer confidence and business investment. This leads to slower job growth in trade-dependent sectors, potentially dampening housing demand and putting downward pressure on sales volumes and property values. The effects remain most pronounced in regions with economies closely tied to U.S. trade, such as Ontario's manufacturing corridor and British Columbia's lumber industry.
Consumer sentiment remains cautious heading into 2026 as economic uncertainty persists. The Bank of Canada has cut rates substantially throughout 2025, bringing the policy rate down one full percentage point during last year. With monetary policy already accommodative, the influence of further rate cuts on housing appears to be waning. A more stable market has shifted the focus toward housing's intrinsic value, with less influence from speculative sentiment or the fear of missing out (FOMO).
While monetary policy impacts all of Canada, real estate remains highly local. Ontario and BC, which heavily influence national price trends, saw housing bubbles fueled by ultra-low interest rates post-2008 and during the pandemic.
Regulatory & Structural Constraints
Over the past few decades, municipal restrictions on housing supply have kept availability low while investors leveraged borrowing to acquire more properties. This occurred despite Ontario and British Columbia prioritizing tenant security over landlord property rights. The belief in perpetual home price appreciation gave mortgage rates a key role in shaping the market. However, recent volatility challenges this assumption, encouraging more disciplined borrowing and reducing the influence of monetary policy on housing.
January 2026 Summary
January 2026 started the year with tepid sales activity, continuing the trends observed throughout 2025. With 1,107 transactions, sales were down 29% from January 2025 and represented the fourth slowest January in over two decades. Despite lower sales, sellers remained active, with 5,157 properties listed during the month, representing a 7.3% decrease compared to January 2025 but still 19.4% above the 10-year seasonal average.
With sales weak and inventory remaining elevated, prices continued to ease across all property types. The upshot is that borrowing costs have fallen nearly one full percentage point throughout 2025, providing some relief to potential buyers even as prices declined.
Home Prices in Vancouver
Metro Vancouver Housing Market Statistics for All Property Types
Average Sold Price and Benchmark Price
Total Transactions
Property Type Distribution
Market Overview for Detached Homes in Metro Vancouver
Average Sold Price & Benchmark Price
Transactions
Market Overview for Attached Homes in Metro Vancouver
Average Sold Price & Benchmark Price
Transactions
Market Overview for Condo Apartments in Metro Vancouver
Average Sold Price & Benchmark Price
Transactions
Glossary and Definitions
MLS® Home Price Index (HPI): Developed by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), the MLS® HPI is the most advanced tool for tracking price trends in the Canadian housing market. Rather than using simple average prices, which can be skewed by the mix of homes sold in a given month, the HPI tracks the value of a "Benchmark Home"—a property with typical attributes for its specific neighborhood. This allows for an accurate "apples-to-apples" comparison of home values across different regions and time periods, independent of a property's specific features or seasonal volatility. To ensure the index remains relevant, CREA performs an annual review every May to account for evolving market dynamics.
MLS® HPI Benchmark Price: This is the dollar value assigned to a "typical" home in a specific neighborhood. While the HPI itself is an index number used to track trends, the Benchmark Price translates that data into a real-world dollar figure, representing what a standard home with average features (like square footage, rooms, and lot size) would likely sell for in today's market.
Strata Insurance: Strata insurance is insurance used by a strata like a condominium to cover damages to common areas and assets and liability to the strata. It can also include fixtures built or installed as part of the original construction of each unit, even though these may not be common structures. The insurance can cover:
- Buildings and structures associated with the strata including common areas such as the roof, parking garages, driveways, gyms, pools, etc.
- Liability for any property damage or bodily injury suffered on strata property
- Any fixtures that are part of the "standard unit" or original construction of each unit
Strata insurance does not usually include personal items and appliances that are part of a condo unit. It also does not cover the damages made by individual unit owners, such as in the case of water damage caused by a unit owner. These are usually covered by personal condo insurance.
Property types
Detached home: A detached home is your standard single-family home. It is a residential building that stands alone and is separately titled or legally a single unit.
Semi-detached home: A semi-detached home is similar to a detached home, except it shares a wall with another home. This pair of homes must make up an independent building and each should be separately titled or legally two separate units. There can only be two homes in a semi-detached building.
Townhouses: A townhouse is the middle between a detached/semi-detached home and a condo apartment. Like detached and semi-detached homes, they are often single-family units that have their own land and may be attached to other units. However, like condo apartments, they typically have to pay co-ownership fees for maintenance and may share some common features with their neighbors.
Condo apartment: This category includes all apartments and condominiums. These are complexes of residential units with common areas such as hallways, parking lots, stairwells, etc. They can be low-rise, mid-rise, or high-rise buildings. Unlike townhouses, there are no parts of the lot (the land of the building) where access is reserved for only one owner or occupant. There can be privately owned units and spaces inside the building.
Plexes are multi-story buildings with two to four individual units, usually one on each floor. They are a mainstay in Montreal and other cities in Quebec. Each unit is usually individually accessible via an external entrance with higher floors connected by staircases.
Property Classes
Freeholds: A freehold is any property where the owner owns both the house and the land it is built on. Common freehold property types include: detached, semi-detached, some townhouses, and farmland.
Condominiums: A condominium or condo is any property where the owner owns the home (or unit) but shares ownership of the land and other improvements with a condominium corporation. Common condominium property types include condo apartments and some townhouses.
Leasehold: Leasehold describes the situation where different entities own the land and the structure built on the land. Owners of the buildings have leased the land and pay rent to their landlord while owning the building on the land.
Housing Markets Across Canada
Data sourced from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) and the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Any analysis or commentary is the opinion of the analysts at WOWA.ca and should not be construed as investment advice. Please consult a licensed real estate professional before making a real estate investment decision. The trademarks MLS®, Multiple Listing Service® and the associated logos are owned by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify the quality of services provided by real estate professionals who are members of CREA.
Disclaimer:
- Any analysis or commentary reflects the opinions of WOWA.ca analysts and should not be considered financial advice. Please consult a licensed professional before making any decisions.
- The calculators and content on this page are for general information only. WOWA does not guarantee the accuracy and is not responsible for any consequences of using the calculator.
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- Interest rates are sourced from financial institutions' websites or provided to us directly. Real estate data is sourced from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and regional boards' websites and documents.
- The trademarks MLS®, Multiple Listing Service®, and associated logos are owned by CREA and identify services provided by its members.