Vancouver housing market ranks among weakest in UBS global index

Vancouver’s housing market ranked second-last among the major cities tracked in UBS’s Global Real Estate Bubble Index, ahead only of Toronto. The Swiss bank said the city’s home prices have fallen approximately 10 per cent since mid-2025 when inflation is taken into account.

B.C. Real Estate Association chief economist Brendon Ogmundson told CTV News on Thursday that slower demand over the past several years has left both existing and unsold new-home inventory weighing on the market. He said that pressure is likely to remain until demand picks up, inventory falls and the market becomes more balanced.

Tom Davidoff, an associate professor at UBC’s Sauder School of Business, said a major shift in immigration was a key factor behind Vancouver’s weak price growth ranking. He said the move from low interest rates and high growth to higher interest rates and low growth is devastating for property values.

With a provincial election underway, Ogmundson said major policy changes could affect where prices go next. He said the NDP has introduced policies the association views as both positive and negative: it opposes the speculation and vacancy tax but supports zoning changes and efforts to encourage greater density around transit.

The report warns the decline may not be over. Unsold new units and the possibility of future interest-rate increases could continue to weigh on home prices in the near term.