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Hello Amazing David Smith Homes Group Supporters!

Once again we’re back doing the ‘Coldest Night of The Year’ for Storehouse Society (Formerly Cloverdale Community Kitchen) and we’d LOVE for you to join us as we mix it up a bit this year, walking off-site in Fort Langley along the Fort-To-Fort Trail.

30 Second Introduction:

You really can buy real estate in the Lower Mainland! It takes planning, discipline, and the right professionals around you. 

Find out how at our upcoming seminar, with a short, informative talk and Q&A

When: Wednesday March 4th / 6:30-8pm 

Where: Trinity Western University – DeVries Centre 

Who: Anyone looking to purchase a home, inc. students, parents of students, alumni, and others without a TWU connection too. 

How: Register for your free tickets here.

There’s so much to love about Aldergrove, one of Langley’s most unique communities. Let Kandace Willson, our Aldergrove specialist, share just some of her favourite things about living (and selling real estate!) in the area. If you’re interested in buying or selling in Aldergrove, make sure to reach out to Kandace here.

Thanks to your ongoing trust we’re happy to share 2025’s real estate awards our team celebrated. Although we don’t do what we do for the awards, they’re a lovely reminder that we continue to perform at the top of our industry without compromising our ‘People Over Property, Always.’ philosophy. Here’s to another great year in 2026!

Over 90% of our business at David Smith Homes Group comes from introductions or ‘referrals,’ in fact it’s what our whole business is built around. 

Instead of us spending tens of thousands of dollars trying to secure new clients, we like to invest in performing well for our current clients and also in thanking the source of those introductions. 

We’re launching a new program in 2025 to say ‘THANK YOU’ in a real tangible way, if you introduce us to a friend, family member, colleague, team mate, whatever… and they purchase and/or sell a home with us in the following year, we’ll pay YOU $500. 

Reach out to david@davidsmithhomes.ca if you have any questions about this program or any introductions to make! 

Here we are at the turn of the year and for the real estate market 2025 was a historic one, though not in a celebratory way.

The Vancouver region recorded the fewest annual home sales since the year 2000, a 25-year low (hat tip: Steve Saretsky) – that’s even more stark when you consider the population growth since then. Taking per-capita into account it’s likely we haven’t seen a market with this kind of transaction volume since the 80s. Sales finished the year down roughly 13% year-over-year, as stubborn inventory stacked up and buyer demand fell off.

That sounds pretty grim, so let me cut to the chase for 2026, I do expect sales volume to climb back up again – hitting a 25-year low isn’t likely to be repeated when you understand what caused the stale 2025 market.

Of course, we shouldn’t slip into perceiving all of this as negative, there are opportunities in this equation – take note, upsizers and first-time buyers.

So let’s run through some of the questions we’re hearing:

“Why So Slow?”

As we’ve discussed previously in ‘The Difference Maker’, price was everything last year. For sellers that missed this memo, it meant their homes sat on market, often for months. Buyers in turn saw inventory climbing and became very selective in the properties they’d pursue.

The properties that did sell (and we sold a lot of them, 38% more than in 2024!) had three things in common, they were: 1. Well Priced, 2. Expertly Marketed, and 3. Presented Attractively.

Believe it or not, over the last decade many sellers were able to get away with these three not being the case. They could overprice and the market would catch up with them. They could hire a niece or nephew that just got their real estate license and still sell. They didn’t even have to tidy up, never mind catch up on long neglected maintenance, and they’d still get multiple offers. We’re in a different world now and we have been since 2023; it’s just that last year it became impossible to dismiss.

“Who Cares About Sales Volume? What About PRICES?!”

“Sales volume only really matters to Realtors.” Sure, it’s true that sales volume has a big impact on Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, Developers, etc. but it also matters for the average member of the public too as volume influences price action – so, what happened to prices? 

Official benchmark data shows prices down roughly 4–5% year-over-year, but for sellers who had to move, the reality was often closer to 7–10% and those sales have now become the comparables that buyer’s agents are referencing.

Many of the homes that didn’t sell in 2025 are returning to the market in early 2026 and so I expect we’ll continue to see high inventory, especially by those that still believe ‘Spring is the time to sell.’

At the same time, and this is why I expect to see volume climb again, demand will also likely climb as sellers begin to adjust their price expectations, leading to sales, and eventually those sellers also purchasing – the market will get moving again. The time for denial is over for sellers and we’re already beginning to see it in the list prices adjust.

“What About Interest Rates? Won’t They Help?”

It’s been at least a year since interest rates fell back into more normative territory already. I don’t think I heard a single person say to me in 2025 that they weren’t buying because the rates were too high.

As of today, markets are not pricing in rate cuts for 2026, and that would have only impacted variable mortgages anyway. Fixed mortgage rates have remained stubbornly range-bound around 4% for more than a year. Borrowers need to get comfortable with 4% mortgages being the norm for the foreseeable, unless we see some kind of black swan event.

This matters because 2026 marks the peak of the mortgage renewal wave. Many homeowners will be renewing loans written in 2020–2021, when rates were under 2%. For some households, the adjustment will be meaningful, even painful.

“What About Investors?”

Investors were a major source of demand over the last decade, but most stepped away in 2022 and they haven’t returned. The incentives stopped making sense, especially on the back of so much intervention in the market.

Rising borrowing costs, softening prices, falling rents, and increasing vacancy rates have changed the math. In Vancouver, vacancy rates recently hit a 30-year high, while asking rents are down noticeably from their peak.

“You Said There Was Opportunity, Where Is It?”

There are opportunities in every market, and this one is no exception. The biggest opportunities are for first-time buyers and upsizers. We also have to consider early this year as an ‘opportunity’ for anyone looking to sell in the next two years to potentially sell for the highest price they can expect for a while.

First-time buyers have a glut of options in traditional first-time buyer categories, like condos and townhomes. Condo inventory is very high, and the comparable nature of these homes means that ranges stay pretty tight – if a sale occurs, it quickly price adjusts the properties around it.

Upsizers that are able to bear the whole context in mind are seeing that, yes, their current home has dropped in value, but their next home has dropped comparatively more. The gap between condos and townhomes, and townhomes and single family homes, hasn’t been proportionally tighter for a very long time.

Finally, although some might struggle to see it, when I look in my magical real estate crystal ball I think it’s important for sellers to consider if this is the best opportunity they’ll see for a couple of years to sell for the highest price they can expect without a time machine. If sellers don’t just look backwards but look forwards, then selling is also an ‘opportunity’ right now.  

“So, What Does 2026 Look Like?”

Based on what we know today, I expect prices to continue to decline marginally in most markets, but for sales volume to increase, leading to a bit more support. It’s not a crisis, but there’s also not a quick rebound imminent.

Sellers that have adjusted their expectations may be surprised to see their properties actually selling, as opposed to their neighbours. Buyers have some incredible opportunities already. Investment focused properties are going to continue to struggle, especially with so much unsold pre-sale inventory.

As we head into 2026, the opportunity isn’t in trying to time a rebound. It’s in understanding the market we actually have, making thoughtful decisions within it, and still achieving your goals!

If you’re considering buying, selling, or just want to understand how these trends apply locally, we’re always happy to talk it through.

We want to keep ‘People Over Property, Always.’ at the heart of all we do, and YOU are one of our people! 

We’d love it if you’d take just two minutes to help us with the below questions, four are multiple choice and one is open feedback: 

5 Questions for YOU!

Once again, we’re so thankful for your ongoing support and can’t wait to serve you and your loved ones again this year. 

Gratefully,

David, Kandace, & Amanda

With the new year comes your new BC Assessment. BC Assessments are one of the most misunderstood elements of real estate in this province, so, what do you need to know? Should you be worried if you’re one of the homeowners who’s BC Assessments dropped? Should you be over the moon if it climbed? Let’s shed some light below. 

The Basics: BC Assessment is a publicly owned crown corporation charged with the responsibility of assessing property values across the province, they do this primarily using algorithms that process municipal data as their source information – that means it’s not the most accurate valuation, but it does serve its purpose. They attempt to calculate value as of July 1st from the previous year, in this case from July 1st 2025. 

Your BC Assessment: If you’ve misplaced your BC Assessment you can find details here,  https://www.bcassessment.ca/  You can also use that site to see how other properties’ BC Assessments compare, although the value of this information may not be that beneficial to you, for the reasons explained below. 

Primary Use: Your BC Assessment is primarily for the purpose of calculating property taxes for your municipality. The municipality multiplies your property value against a mill rate, and that’s how your taxes are calculated. Because of that, just because your assessment may be higher or lower from the previous year that doesn’t mean your property taxes will change proportionally.

Accuracy: BC Assessment’s algorithms do their best to determine value, but they are rarely an accurate reflection of market value. Market value is, of course, determined by what someone is willing to pay. It is not unusual at all to see properties with a market value six figures lower or higher than their BC Assessment.

Appealing: If you do suspect your BC Assessed value may be higher than market value today you have until February 2nd 2026 to appeal (usually January 31st – for future years). This may be to your advantage as it may reduce your property taxes. See here for more details,  https://info.bcassessment.ca/Services-products/appeals. 

If you are one of those cases, there is no need for concern that a drop in your BC Assessed value will impact your market value, this is not the case. Professional Realtors involved in real estate transactions are, in most cases, aware of the difference between BC Assessed value and actual market value. 

Now more than ever if you are wondering how much your home is actually worth it is essential to have a professional market analysis compiled. If that’s something you’d like help with we’re happy to provide that market analysis at no expense. If you have any other questions about your home’s value or BC Assessment, please don’t hesitate to reach out.