Add StudioX as a preferred source on GoogleMore than 14,000 newly built strata condominiums remained unsold across Metro Vancouver at the end of June 2026, according to Rennie’s Fall 2026 market report. The headline figure needs context: it does not mean 14,000 completed, empty homes. Most of the inventory was still under construction, while a smaller share was in projects that had not yet started.
The figures, reported by Daily Hive on November 2, point to a sharp split in the region’s housing market: new ownership-condo sales and presale launches have slowed, while purpose-built rental completions have continued to add homes.
Most unsold condos are still being built
Rennie counted more than 14,000 unsold new condominiums across Metro Vancouver at the end of June. About 56 per cent — nearly 8,000 homes — were in projects under construction. Another 15 per cent were in developments where construction had not started. The remainder had been completed and were awaiting buyers.
Only 1,340 new condominiums were sold in the region during the first six months of 2026, a record low for the period, according to Rennie. The firm also reported that no concrete condominium-tower presale launches had taken place in Metro Vancouver so far this year.
September presale releases were far below normal
MLA Canada’s October 2026 market report found that two projects released a combined 32 presale homes across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley in September. Neither reported a sale during the month.
MLA’s five-year September average was about seven launches and 870 newly released homes. Compared with that benchmark, September’s 32-home release volume was roughly 96 per cent lower. The report describes a market in which developers are releasing smaller phases and buyers are taking longer to commit.
The September figures cover both Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley; they should not be read as a Metro Vancouver-only count. MLA’s October report is available from MLA Canada.
Resale condos are also facing weaker demand
Greater Vancouver REALTORS reported 1,717 home sales in its area in September, down 8.4 per cent from September 2025 and 25 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average. Apartment-home resales fell 18.6 per cent year over year to 777.
The September benchmark price for an apartment home was $682,500, down 6.2 per cent from a year earlier. The region had 16,394 active listings, 24.3 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average. The figures are from GVR’s September market report.
Rental construction is moving in the opposite direction
MLA Canada counted 1,001 secured market-rental homes completing across six projects in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley in September, the largest monthly total of 2026 to that point. The reported same-month lease-up rate was 15 per cent. That is not an overall vacancy rate: it measures the share leased in the month the new homes were completed, and MLA notes that reporting coverage and short leasing windows affect the figure. Below-market rental homes are excluded from the completion count.
MLA’s sample of newer Lower Mainland buildings recorded average advertised monthly rent of $2,671 in September, down $40 from August. The sample includes both purpose-built rental apartments and privately owned rental condominiums in buildings completed within the previous five years, so it is not a citywide average for all rental homes.
Within that sample, average advertised rents were $2,095 in Surrey, $2,323 in Langley, $2,631 in Coquitlam and $2,838 in Burnaby. The reported averages were $2,814 in Vancouver’s Eastside, $3,039 downtown and $3,136 on the Westside.
What the slowdown could mean for future supply
For buyers, a large inventory of new homes in different stages of development, softer resale prices and elevated listings may create more choice and negotiating room. But the unsold total should not be mistaken for a stock of finished homes available to move into today.
For the longer-term supply pipeline, the concern is different. If developers delay projects that are ready to launch because presales are weak, fewer ownership homes may enter the construction pipeline in the years ahead. Rennie expects completed unsold inventory to keep rising before the market turns, but that is a forecast, not a guarantee of future prices or project cancellations.
The data also come from different reporting periods: Rennie’s unsold-inventory count is for the end of June, while the MLA and GVR market indicators cited here are for September. They provide a picture of the market’s direction, not a real-time count of available homes on November 3.
Sources
- Daily Hive: Over 14,000 new condos unsold in Metro Vancouver, with sales at record low — November 2, 2026; reporting on Rennie’s Fall 2026 findings.
- MLA Canada: October 2026 The Pulse Report — September presale and rental-market data.
- Greater Vancouver REALTORS: Apartments lead sales downward — September 2026 resale-market statistics, published October 2, 2026.
Harnaik Singh Rathor is the Founder, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of StudioX News Canada, Canada's multilingual digital news network serving multilingual diaspora communities across Canada. With a background in media production, public relations, and multicultural communications, he founded StudioX Film and TV Corporation to bridge the gap between mainstream Canadian media and the country's diverse immigrant communities. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), RTDNA Canada, CPRS Vancouver, NEPMCC, and the Canadian Freelance Union (Unifor). Based in Surrey, British Columbia. | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harnaiksinghrathor/ | Muck Rack: https://muckrack.com/harnaiksinghrathor | Email: editor@studioxnews.ca
