The dark days of winter bring a softening of the real estate market, as reflected in the latest figures from the organization that oversees real estate in the region.
Home sales in MLS in Metro Vancouver finished the year down 10 per cent, marking the lowest annual sales total in more than 20 years.
The Greater Vancouver Realtors (former the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board) reported that residential sales in the region totalled 23,800 in 2025, a 10.4 per cent decrease from the 26,561 sales recorded in 2024, and a 9.3 per cent decrease from the 26,249 sales in 2023. Last year’s sales total was 24.7 per cent below the 10-year annual sales average (31,625).
“This year was one for the history books,” said Andrew Lis, GVR’s chief economist and vice-president, data analytics. “Although the sales total was the lowest in over two decades, realtors were still busy listing properties. Sellers brought the highest total of listings to market on record since the mid-1990s, eclipsing the previous record high in 2008 by a little over 1,000 listings.”
The same trend is being seen in the local markets for Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge, according to Dianne Fernandes Enns, a Maple Ridge resident for 25 years and longtime realtor.
“Late fall, early winter is slower than the rest of the year,” Fernandes Enns explained.
She added that the two communities still offer a better deal than most in the region.
“They’re still on the lower side compared to other parts of the Lower Mainland, and we have a great community out here. There’s so many beautiful areas,” she noted.
For all residents types, Maple Ridge’s December benchmark price was $927,000. The price is 0.5 per cent lower compared to November 2025 and down 5.5 per cent compared to a year ago but 102.6 per cent higher than a decade ago. For Pitt Meadows, the benchmark price is $862,000 up 0.4 over November, but down 6.1 per cent compared to last year at this time, and 112.4 per cent higher than 10 years ago.
Lower Mainland figures show a benchmark price of $1.044 million, a 5.2 per cent decrease in price compared to one year ago, and a 38.4 per cent increase over prices 10 years ago.
Single family home stats for Maple Ridge: $1.224 million benchmark, 4.6 per cent lower than one year ago, and 120 per cent higher compared to a decade ago.
Single family home stats for Pitt Meadows: $1.21 million benchmark, 6.1 per cent drop since one year ago, and 101.8 per cent rise in price for the decade.
The number of listings for both municipalities in December 2025 were 63 detached homes, 23 townhouses, and 22 apartments. The December 2024 stats show 54 detached, 18 townhouses, and 27 apartments.
Sales for the two communities were 47 detached homes, 25 townhouses, and 22 apartments during December 2025. Year previously, the respective figures were 59, 49, and 33, showing a drop in all sales categories.
Fernandes Enns noted that anytime the market undergoes significant change, either up or down, some people lay the fault at the feet of realtors but she pushes back on that notion.
“People complain that realtors are are driving the prices higher to pad their pockets,” she noted. “We do what our clients want to do. We give them our best advice. We look at the market value, we look at what has sold, we do the comparables, we give our clients suggestions on what the prices should be. But at the end of the day, we work for our our sellers and we work for our buyers.”
And buyers and sellers typically hibernate during winter. Warmer, sunnier days typically bring a return to higher sales, although Fernandes Enns said overall sales have been less in recent years, down from the frenetic selling during the late COVID-era when prices jumped.
Now a factor in the housing market is international turmoil.
“It has caused concern with the market. People, especially in the industries that are being hit by the tariffs” don’t have the financial stability to feel they can make big life changes such as selling or buying a home, she noted.
Another factor was the newly released assessments.
“We have seen it cool considerably for sure,” she noted.
Many properties have declined in assessed value. Fernandes Enns noted her home assessment dropped by about $70,000 compared to last year.
Some people will have to sell at slower times of year, due to life circumstances, while others try to wait out the market to either go down if they are buying or go up if they are selling.
There are some positive changes in addition to the lower costs, including increased inventory, and borrowing costs that fell nearly one full percentage point. As for what the market holds for 2026, she’s not expecting a sudden upswing, forecasting “more of the same, but hopefully I’m wrong.”