Vancouver home sales continued to fall in April amid trade war, real estate board says

Vancouver home sales continued to fall in April as the city’s real estate board says the ongoing Canada-U.S. trade war has shaken buyers’ confidence. Greater Vancouver Realtors reported just 2,163 residential transactions last month. That figure is down 23.6 percent from April 2024, when there were 2,831 sales, and sits 28.2 percent below the ten-year seasonal average for April.

Despite lower sales, there were plenty of properties for buyers to choose from. New listings in April reached 6,850—about 3.4 percent fewer than a year earlier, yet still 19.5 percent above the ten-year average for the month. Overall, total active listings jumped nearly 30 percent year over year, rising to 16,207 properties on the market.

Even though borrowing conditions have improved, the strong flow of listings combined with weak buyer demand is unusual. Andrew Lis, director of economics and data analytics at Greater Vancouver Realtors, noted that typically low interest rates encourage more buying. Instead, many potential buyers seem to be holding off while the trade dispute with the U.S. creates economic uncertainty.

Home prices have edged lower as well. The benchmark composite price in April was $1,184,500—a 0.5 percent dip from March and a 1.8 percent decline from April of the previous year. That slide marks the fourth straight month of downward pressure on prices in Greater Vancouver.

Analysts say this shift reflects a buyer-friendly market in areas like Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. With more homes for sale and fewer buyers actively looking, people who do make offers have more leverage. Bargaining power has clearly shifted in buyers’ favor, with a growing gap between supply and demand.

Looking ahead, uncertainty is likely to remain unless trade tensions ease. While the U.S. held off adding more tariffs in April, experts say that without clarity on the economy’s direction, any meaningful rebound in sales is unlikely. For now, the April data suggests buyers are patiently waiting out the storm, slowing Vancouver’s housing market even amid friendlier borrowing costs.