Waiting to Buy a Home in Vancouver? You Might Regret It — Here’s Why You Need to Move Now

Written in October 2025. Some details have changed since, so check current numbers before you act on this.

Waiting to buy a home in Vancouver often costs you more than it saves, because rates, lending rules and inventory can all move against you while you sit on the sidelines.

The Harsh Truth: Waiting Isn’t Your Friend

You’re sitting on the sidelines, telling yourself “I’ll wait until the market cools” or “I’ll see where interest rates go.” Big mistake. In the video “Waiting to Buy a Home In Vancouver? You Might Regret It”, I break down exactly why that waiting mindset often backfires.

Markets shift. Policies change. Buyers get rattled. And suddenly, what looked “affordable” slips out of reach.

📉 What does waiting to buy cost you?

• Lost purchasing power, Rates tick upward or lending rules tighten, and your budget shrinks.
• Inventory vanishes, Good homes disappear fast in Vancouver; the longer you wait, the fewer options you’ll have.
• Emotional regret, You’ll kick yourself when someone else locks in a place you almost bit on.

This isn’t drama. It’s textbook Vancouver real estate.

📊 What were the outside forecasts saying?

I went through the institutional forecasts on camera in late summer 2025. CMHC expected Canadian home prices to decline by about 2% in 2025, with larger drops in B.C. RBC expected national sales to fall three and a half percent that year, then rebound 7.9% in 2026, and I told you I wasn’t sure I agreed. TD forecast a 3.2% decline in the national average sale price for 2025. The Canadian Real Estate Association projected national sales down 3%. The British Columbia Real Estate Association said trade uncertainty upended hopes for a more normal market in the first half of the year, and I agree wholeheartedly. We all thought 2025 would be strong, and you can track the hesitation back to when the tariff talk started.

The Bank of Canada had held its policy rate at 2.75% since March 2025. I had a client lock in a little under 4% around then, so shop around rather than trusting a published range.

⏱️ Why do the listing-sheet numbers mislead you?

Be careful with how long a listing says it’s been on the market. In B.C. that clock can reset when a listing is cancelled or terminated and brought back. In Alberta, it keeps running. What you see on the sheet can be well short of how long a home has really been trying to sell, so ask your agent for the full history. That history tells you how motivated the seller is, and it’s where a lot of your negotiating power comes from.

🧭 Should you buy now or wait? It depends who you are

• First-time buyers: Late 2025 or early 2026 was my call. Homes fresh on the market after Labour Day won’t have much desire to cut, so let them sit a little.
• Move-up buyers: Generally wait a little, with exceptions. If something’s been lagging on the market, attack that right now.
• Downsizers: Act selectively if you’ve held your home for years and have real equity. You can buy a great property at a good value and talk to your financial adviser about what to do with the savings.
• Investors: Wait. The rental market is soft, so unless you’re close to cash flowing, I don’t know if this is the market for you.
• Luxury buyers: Act selectively. If you’re qualified, there’s great value at the top end and on the west side of Vancouver.
• International buyers: Opportunities are limited by the foreign buyer ban. If you’re a permanent resident coming home, understand your status first.

Whichever group you’re in, the best value goes to buyers with financing ready and money in hand. You can get a subject-to-sale offer accepted, but you’ll usually leave money on the table. Sell first, shorten your subject period and you’ll get more for your money.

Don’t stretch “waiting” into years, either. A record wave of mortgage renewals is creating pressured sellers now, and those opportunities erode as you get further into 2026. Past 2028 we’re looking at another housing shortage, with not much being built except purpose-built rentals. I see people in my comments expecting prices to drop 40, 50 or 60%. It won’t happen.

🧠 Strategic Moves That Kill Regret

You don’t just leap, you attack with a plan. Here’s how:

1. Define your non-negotiables Bedroom count, school zones, walk score, get crystal clear so you don’t get tempted by distractions.
2. Get pre-approved earlier, not later Sellers laugh at offers without serious financing. You want to be in the “showstopper” pile. Start with the mortgage calculator so you know your range.
3. Tap off-market & coming-soon opportunities These aren’t hype, they give you levers no one else sees.
4. Know your neighborhood stats Absorption rate and how long homes are really taking to sell, these numbers tell you where leverage is shifting. You'll find them in the Kyle Mark Report, free with an account.

Make smart, aggressive offers when the timing’s right You don’t always win by top dollar. Terms, timing, deposit, they matter.

🚨 Why Right Now Is Your Window

• Interest rates may trend downward in 2025, that invites more buyers.
• Inventory is tightening in key zones.
• Many sellers are sitting on legacy low-rate mortgages; when they renew, they’ll hit the market hard.

If you’re serious about owning in Vancouver, this is the moment to strike, before the crowd re-enters.

The buyer blueprint lays out the whole process, step by step.

📞 Your Next Move: Book a 30-Minute Strategy Call

Don’t let regret be your story. Let’s craft a plan that turns risk into reward.

Click here → 📅 Book your 30-minute strategy call now