Apartment sales fell 7.2% in May, dragging Metro Vancouver's overall total well below seasonal norms
Metro Vancouver's housing market extended its cautious streak in May 2026, with total MLS residential sales falling 3.5% year-over-year and landing 26.6% below the 10-year seasonal average of 2,930 transactions.
Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR) reported 2,150 sales for the month, a result that masked a deepening divergence between property types that has now run through several consecutive reporting periods.
Apartment transactions bore the brunt of the slowdown. At 1,009 sales, the condo segment declined 7.2% year-over-year, pushing the apartment benchmark price down 7.9% from May 2025 to $697,800, the steepest annual price drop of any housing category.
That pattern extends a broader softness in Metro Vancouver's multi-family sector, consistent with British Columbia's sluggish resale activity documented through the first half of 2026.
"While attached sales held relatively steady and detached sales edged up roughly one per cent in May, apartment sales were down about seven per cent year-over-year, which weighed down the overall sales total," said Andrew Lis, GVR's chief economist and vice-president of data analytics, in Vancouver.
"Even then, apartment sales were not down uniformly across all regions — some of the larger areas such as North and East Vancouver saw increases relative to last year."
Detached homes held firmer ground, with 660 sales, up 0.9% annually, and a benchmark price of $1,847,900, down 6.9% from May 2025.
Attached home sales of 463 slipped just 1.3% year-over-year, with townhouse benchmarks settling at $1,048,200, a 5.1% annual retreat.
Elevated inventory keeps buyers in control
Supply conditions continued to tilt the balance toward buyers.
Total active listings reached 16,917 in May, down just 1% year-over-year but 34.6% above the 10-year seasonal norm.
New listings of 6,115 fell 7.6% annually, though remained 1.3% above the long-run seasonal average.
The picture reinforces what analysts identified earlier in the year as a national pricing split with Vancouver and Toronto underperforming the broader Canadian market.
The sales-to-active listings ratio sat at 13.1% across all property types in May. That's just above the 12% threshold below which sustained readings have historically triggered downward price pressure.
The composite MLS Home Price Index benchmark for Metro Vancouver was $1,100,700, down 6.2% year-over-year but fractionally higher, 0.2%, than April 2026.
Lis characterised the outlook as measured. "Price trends across all housing types were flat month-over-month, as a healthy level of inventory easily absorbed the relatively muted level of overall demand in the market," he said.
"Year-to-date, sales have come in just shy of our forecast to this point in the year. With demand tracking our forecast so closely, it's reasonable to expect a calm and orderly summer market, as no obvious near-term catalysts loom over the horizon to move the market significantly in either direction."
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