The Vancouver Life Real Estate Podcast

According to the latest data from the Canadian Real Estate Association, national home sales declined by 1.7% month-over-month in September, ending a string of steady gains that began in the spring. Even so, this was still the strongest September for sales since 2021. On a year-over-year basis, transactions were up 5.2%, while both new listings and total active listings fell 0.8%. That left just 4.4 months of inventory available nationwide — the lowest level since January, and below the long-term average of five months. The Home Price Index dropped 0.1% month-over-month and is now down 3.4% year-over-year. Average prices, meanwhile, rose a modest 0.7% compared to last year. Regionally, B.C. and Ontario are the only provinces still showing price declines, while every other province posted gains. Yukon led the pack with a 13.4% annual price increase. But when you adjust for inflation and measure from the February 2022 peak, the story changes dramatically. Real home prices in Canada are now down roughly 29%. In nominal terms, they’re down 18%. Hamilton has taken the biggest hit—down about 40% after inflation—followed by the GTA and then Vancouver, which is sitting around a 20% real decline. On the flip side, Greater Moncton and Saskatoon are actually up roughly 19% nominal, or about 8% in real terms, since that same peak. The widening gap between new listings and completed sales continues to point toward more downward pressure on prices ahead. And even though affordability has “improved” from the record-breaking lows of 2024, it remains completely out of reach for most Canadians. In Vancouver, the monthly mortgage payment on a median-priced home still eats up about 87% of the median household income — a figure that’s almost comically unsustainable. So where does that leave us heading into the final stretch of 2025? Will collapsing affordability finally force the next rate cut — or will the Bank hold the line, freezing the market even further? We break it all down — from record-level mortgage exposure to the cities where prices have quietly crashed 40%. This episode also marks a huge milestone — Episode 300 of The Vancouver Life Real Estate Podcast. Since launching on June 22nd, 2020, the team has released a new episode every single Saturday without missing a week. Now with over 7,000 subscribers and 70,000+ monthly views, The Vancouver Life remains one of Canada’s most consistent and data-driven real estate channels. To celebrate, we’re giving away our exclusive Home Seller’s Manual — the guide we use to help clients sell for top dollar. It includes prep strategies, curb-appeal tips, organization hacks, and a 100-point checklist showing which areas matter most. To get your copy make sure you watch the episode and comment TOP DOLLAR. We also unpack Vancouver’s sweeping new rezoning — a city-initiated move affecting over 4,000 properties across the Broadway Plan and Cambie Corridor. Projects that meet the new criteria can skip rezoning entirely, shaving up to 12 months off approval times. It’s a bold step toward faster housing — but with costs high and demand soft, will developers take advantage? Episode 300 of The Vancouver Life Real Estate Podcast — available now and join the discussion about where Canada’s housing market is heading next. _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

Canada’s housing market is undergoing a fundamental transformation—not just in prices, but in the types of homes being built. From Toronto to Vancouver to Calgary, developers are hitting pause, construction starts are slowing, and the mix of housing completions over the next 3 to 5 years is shifting dramatically. Single-family homes and condos, the traditional pillars of Canadian homeownership, are seeing major declines in new construction, while purpose-built rentals are quietly surging to record levels. Toronto, often viewed as a leading indicator, has seen residential units under construction fall by 2.3% in just the last month and nearly 11% year-over-year. The most significant drop is in condo construction, which is down 16.4%, alongside a 17.1% decline in single-family homes. Meanwhile, purpose-built rentals have jumped 15.5% year-over-year. Vancouver and Calgary mirror this trend to varying degrees. Calgary, in particular, stands out with purpose-built rentals up nearly 55% year-over-year. This shift signals a fundamental reorientation in Canada’s housing pipeline. Fewer condos and detached homes are on the horizon, while rental supply is set to expand significantly. The likely outcome is continued downward pressure on rental rates, declining returns for individual condo investors, and increased resale activity as holding becomes less attractive. At the same time, the construction of new single-family homes is virtually non-existent outside of legacy luxury pockets like Shaughnessy, West Vancouver, or Point Grey. Compounding this trend, the future pipeline is showing further weakness. Building permits have fallen 2.4% year-over-year, and when adjusted for inflation, the value of those permits has dropped by nearly 8%, representing over $560 million in reduced residential development. Single-family home permits are down over 10%, and even the more resilient multifamily sector is beginning to slow. Since peaking in December 2024, multifamily permits have declined nearly 29%. These trends suggest that despite aggressive government incentives to stimulate new housing, developers are losing confidence. Rising costs, softening demand, and bureaucratic friction are now overpowering policy carrots. This disconnect between government ambition and market risk tolerance is emerging as a critical obstacle to new supply. Nowhere is this more visible than in Burnaby. As one of the first cities to aggressively implement British Columbia’s multiplex zoning legislation, Burnaby fast-tracked significant densification across formerly single-family zones. But as those projects break ground, residents are pushing back. From 4-storey laneway houses to high-density builds with zero parking, public backlash has prompted the city to reconsider. Together, these data points paint a picture of a housing market that is not just cooling, but reshaping. The supply mix is being rewritten, urban policy is facing backlash, and economic signals are increasingly bifurcated between headline strength and structural weakness. For homeowners, investors, and policymakers alike, the next chapter in Canada’s housing story won’t just be about prices—it will be about purpose. _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

This week on The Vancouver Life Real Estate Podcast, the question hanging over the entire country’s housing market finally takes center stage: How long will this downturn last? BMO Capital Markets has drawn a striking parallel between today’s Canadian correction and the U.S. housing crash of 2007 — a comparison that has rattled even the most seasoned market watchers. Senior Economist Robert Kavcic doesn’t mince words: Canada’s housing bubble is now in the slow-motion phase of its deflation. Prices, he notes, have been falling for more than three years despite record population growth — a pattern eerily reminiscent of the U.S. trajectory nearly two decades ago. The difference this time? Canada’s decline is unfolding more gradually, and that could make recovery slower, too. BMO’s data suggest it could take another five years before prices claw their way back to prior peaks, placing today’s correction somewhere between the U.S. Great Recession cycle and Ontario’s prolonged 1990s slump — a potential 12-year arc from top to trough and back again. The bank calls the last decade’s explosive price growth a “perfect storm” unlikely to repeat: cheap credit, pandemic migration, millennial peak demand, and speculative fervor all hitting at once. Those conditions, they argue, are gone for good. Meanwhile, Canada’s rental market is flashing its own warning signs. Asking rents have fallen for a full year straight — down 3.2% nationally and more than 5% in B.C. and Alberta — with two-thirds of all purpose-built projects now dangling incentives just to fill units. Institutional landlords may weather the storm, but smaller investors are bailing out, adding even more supply to a fragile market. The slowdown is visible upstream, too. Architecture billings — a leading indicator of future construction — have fallen for 18 consecutive months across North America, the longest slide on record. In B.C., developers are pausing or cancelling projects, from downtown high-rises to suburban townhomes. The stalled Tsawwassen Town Centre redevelopment has become a case study in the friction between city councils, community character, local residents and development economics. And yet, amid the austerity, Vancouver’s City Council just took an unprecedented step: approving a 0% property-tax increase for 2026. After years of back-to-back hikes totalling more than 30%, Mayor Ken Sim’s administration says the city will instead “find efficiencies” to ease the strain on families and small businesses. Supporters call it relief. Critics call it unsustainable. But not all the headlines are grim. In False Creek, a shimmering symbol of Vancouver’s high-end resilience emerged: the Tesoro Penthouse, a 5,000-square-foot full-floor residence with panoramic views, listed for $1,5,500,000 just sold for a record-breaking price — the most expensive sale ever recorded in the area. The transaction, closed by The Vancouver Life team, stands as a reminder that even in a cooling market, the city’s top tier still commands global attention. From the deep freeze of development to the fragile thaw in rentals, this episode dissects what these parallel shifts mean for Canada’s broader housing future — and whether patience, not policy, will be the only real cure for a market learning how to land. _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

Canada’s housing market is shifting faster than the headlines suggest—and not in one direction. On paper, “affordability” is improving as prices slip and the overnight rate eases to 2.5%, taking ownership costs back toward late-2021 levels. But the market isn’t responding like 2021 because confidence has fractured. Job openings fell 4.2% month-over-month, construction vacancies plunged 14.3% in a single month, and there are now more Canadians on EI (~550k) than there are job postings (~460k). That backdrop makes a million-dollar decision a hard sell. Meanwhile, the presale engine that funds future supply is sputtering: the GTA’s August logged just 300 new-home sales—down 42% year-over-year and 81% below the 10-year norm—with Vancouver operating at roughly a third of typical activity. Builders are finishing what’s already in the ground, but not launching new projects, setting up a delayed-impact shortage later this decade even as today’s prices grind lower. Policy is tightening, too. OSFI’s 2026 capital rules will stop investors from “re-using” the same rental income to qualify for multiple mortgages and will push more loans into income-producing buckets that carry higher capital charges. Combined-loan products will be treated as defaulted across the bundle if one piece fails. Translation: leverage gets harder for small investors just as institutions—REITs, pensions, private equity—face fewer practical constraints and can buy at scale. The likely result is a further professionalization of the rental market and a harder path to wealth-building via real estate for the middle class. At the same time, the long-standing premium of new-build over resale is wobbling. In the U.S., resale has flipped to price above new for the first time in decades—a signal of builder discounting, smaller product mixes, and the powerful “rate-lock” effect that traps owners in ultra-low mortgages and starves resale supply. Canada is different (shorter mortgage terms), but presale discounts and “more reasonable” launch pricing are appearing here, too. Macro currents aren’t providing much lift. Housing starts fell 16.3% month-over-month to a 246k pace, with rentals (≈102k) almost matching all single-family plus condo starts—unsustainable without firmer demand and cheaper capital. BC’s single-family permits have collapsed to ~45-year lows, underscoring just how thin end-user appetite is at current price points. Households remain stretched: the debt-service ratio ticked up to 14.4%, near 15-year highs for interest costs, and yet arrears improved modestly and net worth rose with equity markets—an uneasy equilibrium that doesn’t restore confidence. On the ground, October stats still read “slow grind”: sales in Greater Vancouver hovered ~20% below the 10-year average, months of supply kept the market balanced, days-on-market rose for a sixth straight month, and the HPI slipped again—down ~4% from March’s high and back to early-2023 levels. Add it up and you get a market in reset: prices easing, presales anaemic, credit tighter for small landlords, and starts rolling over. In this episode, we unpack what that means for buyers eyeing value, sellers recalibrating expectations, and policymakers deciding whether to intervene—or let the reset run its course. _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

Canada’s housing market is being battered from every angle, and the cracks are widening into a full-blown crisis. Population growth, the single biggest driver of housing demand, has nearly stalled. Statistics Canada reported Q2 growth of just 47,000 people — a 0.1% increase and the second-slowest pace since 1946, excluding the pandemic. For a country that has leaned heavily on immigration to fuel housing, GDP, and tax revenues, this 80-year low is seismic. Developers who banked on endless inflows are now sitting on record inventories, while Vancouver and Toronto — the markets most dependent on population surges — are already showing demand erosion and softening rents. At the same time, supply battles are intensifying. Century Group’s Tsawwassen redevelopment was slashed from 1,433 homes to just 600 after NIMBY pushback, despite meeting planning requirements. In Burnaby, petitions against densification threaten to stall family housing. This kind of resistance highlights how hard it will be for cities to meet ambitious housing targets. Meanwhile, renters are gaining some leverage. Vancouver rents are falling, down 9.3% year-over-year to $2,825, and rental starts have surged to record highs. Landlords are offering concessions, a sharp reversal from the bidding wars of recent years. Toronto, however, is flashing red. Power-of-sale listings — Ontario’s faster foreclosure alternative — have exploded 14-fold since 2021, now averaging 140 a month and hitting a record 1,200 active listings. Distressed sales are growing while resale volumes remain stuck near generational lows. National home prices reveal a market split in two. The benchmark fell 20% from the 2022 peak to $686,800, but this correction is almost entirely in Ontario and B.C. Ontario prices are down 26%, B.C. 12% — yet eight of ten provinces hit new record highs this year, with Newfoundland leading. Zooming in, Vancouver’s inventory has soared to 18,100 homes — the highest in 12 years — while the benchmark price fell for the fifth straight month. Toronto’s market is drowning in inventory, with prices down $312,000 from peak. Together, these metros are dragging national averages while the rest of Canada continues to climb. This isn’t just a cooling cycle — it’s a structural reckoning. Population growth is slowing, supply is stalling under community resistance, rents are correcting, and distressed sales are rising. The fundamentals that fuelled Canada’s boom — immigration, cheap credit, and confidence — are eroding. The fight for affordability and stability is only just beginning. _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

Yesterday, both the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada cut interest rates by a quarter point. On paper it may sound small, but in reality it was a major signal. Central banks rarely move in tandem unless the global economy is flashing warning signs. In this case, the cuts were not acts of strength, but indications of a weakening economy. The Fed acted on the back of softening labour and inflation data. The Bank of Canada responded to one of the worst employment reports the country has seen since the financial crisis, alongside a GDP contraction and a decade-long stagnation in productivity. Canada has shed 106,000 jobs in just two months, the steepest decline since 2009 outside of the pandemic years. The unemployment rate sits at 7.1%, though the reality is worse given the growing number of discouraged workers who are no longer counted in the labour force. GDP shrank 1.6% on an annualized basis in the second quarter, far worse than expected (0.6%), and per capita GDP has not grown since 2016. Productivity has declined in 15 of the past 18 quarters, leaving Canada stuck while the United States continues to pull ahead. Against that backdrop, rate cuts were inevitable. They are not preemptive adjustments - rather it feels like recession management. What holds the system together in moments like these is confidence. Confidence in the housing market, confidence in the stock market, confidence in government. Yet for many Canadians, that confidence has already been shaken. Housing prices have surged far faster than wages, eroding real purchasing power year after year. Families increasingly feel that elected officials have failed them, and the erosion of trust has become a slow leak. Rate cuts might offer a momentary reprieve for borrowers, but they cannot restore confidence on their own. Vancouver, by contrast, is experiencing a rental paradox. Sales ticked up slightly in August, but remain nearly 60% below peak levels. The sales-to-new listings ratio has fallen below 40%, a threshold that historically precedes price declines. Inventory continues to rise, months of supply sit at their highest since 2012, and the price index slipped again last month. At the same time, rental construction is surging. Metro Vancouver will see a 17% increase in rental supply over the next two years, while Kelowna is on track for a staggering 33% increase. With population growth slowing, this supply wave will inevitably push vacancies higher, something Vancouver has not experienced in years. Renters will see relief in the short term, but single-family permits are at record lows, which points to severe shortages by the late 2020s and a return to undersupply by the 2030s for both asset classes. The central bank cuts will ease borrowing costs slightly, and some buyers will return to the market. But rate cuts cannot create demand where none exists, nor can they resolve structural oversupply. In fact, by keeping weak projects alive longer, they may extend the correction rather than shorten it. What truly matters is confidence. Rate cuts feel like gifts, but they are really warning signals. They tell us that fragility is here, not ahead. The question is whether we treat this fragility as a chance to reset and rebuild trust, or whether we allow confidence to erode further. Because when confidence is restored—in our homes, in our markets, and in our leaders—the system doesn’t just hold. It thrives. _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

Vancouver’s rental market is undergoing substantial rental correction. For years, the story was one of relentless increases: month after month of record-high rents, bidding wars for apartments, and vacancy rates scraping along the bottom. But the tide has shifted. In fact, Vancouver has just recorded the sharpest annual drop in average asking rents among Canada’s major markets. According to Rentals.ca, apartment listings in Vancouver fell nearly 10% year over year to around $2,820. One-bedroom units led the way down, declining more than 8% to an average of $2,515, while two-bedrooms also softened. The notable exception is three-bedroom units, which remain in scarce supply and saw rents climb more than 6% year over year. But while headline rents on newly listed apartments are retreating, the broader picture is more complicated. CMHC data shows that rents across the existing purpose-built rental stock in Vancouver continue to rise, up about 5.5% year over year, even as the vacancy rate nudged higher to 1.6%. That is the highest vacancy rate the region has seen in a decade, aside from the pandemic period, yet it is still well below what most economists would consider a balanced rental market. The discrepancy between falling asking rents and rising average stock rents highlights a fundamental dynamic: newcomers to the market may be finding more leverage, while existing tenants continue to see increases when they renew or adjust their leases. Another major factor reshaping the market is supply. For years, Vancouver was criticized for under-building purpose-built rental housing. That has changed. Metro Vancouver added roughly 2,467 new rental units in 2024 alone, with the City of Vancouver accounting for more than 500 of them. In fact, Vancouver represented nearly half of the region’s new rental housing starts. Developers, facing more difficult financing conditions and slower condo absorption, are increasingly pivoting away from strata sales and delivering rental product instead. The result is a short-term bulge in completions that is giving renters more choice, while also forcing landlords of new projects to offer incentives like free months of rent or reduced parking fees to fill units. The question, then, is where does this market go next? The outlook is nuanced. On one hand, more supply is coming, immigration is expected to moderate, and the labour market is showing signs of strain. All of these factors point toward softer rent growth and potentially more incentives in the short term, especially in smaller, premium units that already face price resistance. On the other hand, family-sized rentals remain undersupplied, and demand for two- and three-bedroom units remains resilient. In this episode, we sit down with Keaton Bessy, owner of GVTPM, to break down what’s really happening on the ground. We look at the contradictions in the data, the impact of new purpose-built supply, and the growing divide between small apartments and larger family homes. We also discuss the potential influence of interest rate cuts, the tactics landlords can use to stay competitive in a cooling market, and the kinds of concessions renters are now beginning to ask for. _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

Canada has long lived off its mythology: a country of opportunity, stability, and growth. But 2025 is stripping away that veneer. For the first time in a generation, the country is experiencing a profound reversal of the very forces that powered its ascent — population, jobs, and GDP — and nowhere are the consequences clearer than in the housing market. Last year, more than 106,000 Canadians left the country — the largest exodus since the late 1960s. At the same time, Ontario and B.C., the twin engines of the national economy, have registered record-low population growth, a stark reversal for regions once defined by relentless inflows. This hollowing-out of the demographic base isn’t just a number; it’s the erosion of demand, the shrinking of ambition, and the quiet departure of the very people meant to sustain the future. The labour market tells a similar story of unraveling. Toronto’s unemployment rate has breached 9% for the first time in 15 years. Construction jobs — the bedrock of Canada’s housing-dependent economy — are vanishing by the tens of thousands. The irony is suffocating: even as cranes dot skylines, the hands that once built Canada’s growth are being sidelined. EI claims are surging, unemployment benefits ballooning, and yet the only jobs being created are in government. Housing — once Canada’s great safety blanket — now exposes the fragility. Toronto just suffered its worst July for new home sales in more than 40 years. Inventory has ballooned to nearly 60 months’ supply. Sales volumes are lower than at any point in modern history, plunging beneath the brutal downturns of the 1990s. And in a historical first, more Canadians are signing leases than purchase agreements. Renting has become not just an economic choice, but an existential one: a sign that ownership, the foundation of middle-class identity, has slipped out of reach. Vancouver, long sheltered by its global allure, is not immune. September numbers reveal prices sliding for a fifth straight month, down to levels last seen in early 2023. Detached homes, once the city’s crown jewel, are now weighed down by foreclosures, while days on market stretch longer with each passing month. Inventory sits well above the 10-year average, foreshadowing further declines. Meanwhile, the broader economy has hit an iceberg. GDP shrank in the second quarter, with exports collapsing nearly 8% and business investment plummeting. Machinery spending, non-residential construction, the very lifeblood of productivity, is bleeding out. What keeps the economy afloat? Government spending and consumer credit. Households dip into savings to buy cars, Ottawa borrows to mask deficits, and capital flees anything resembling long-term growth. The illusion of stability is preserved only through debt. The housing correction now unfolding is one of the sharpest on record. Real home prices are down 24% since 2022 — faster than the infamous crashes of the ’80s and ’90s. Affordability remains shattered, even as values fall, because incomes refuse to keep pace. What once felt like a bubble slowly deflating is beginning to look like a collapse. The story of 2025 is not just about numbers on a chart. It is about a country forced to reckon with its limits, its illusions, and its future. And the question hanging over it all: is Canada prepared for what comes after the myth of endless growth? _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

In this week’s episode, we sit down with Canada’s No. 1 BMO Mortgage Specialist, Mychal Ferrera, to break down what’s really happening in the housing and lending markets as we head into the fall season. Historically, autumn has been one of the busiest times of year for Canadian real estate—but 2025 is shaping up to be anything but typical. Between lingering inflation pressures, a sluggish jobs market, and whispers of a U.S. rate cut, buyers and homeowners alike are wondering whether now is the moment to act—or wait on the sidelines. Mychal offers his perspective on where fixed and variable mortgage rates are likely to trend in the coming months. With the Bank of Canada holding steady since June, and speculation mounting that further easing may be required to stimulate growth, the conversation tackles whether locking in a fixed rate still makes sense—or if a variable product may offer more flexibility in an uncertain environment. We also explore the big picture: affordability. While home prices across Canada remain, on average, about $150,000 lower than their 2022 peak, affordability is still the No. 1 barrier for many would-be buyers. Mychal shares how clients are navigating tighter budgets and what strategies lenders are using to help people make the numbers work. We revisit one of the most stressful chapters in recent mortgage history: trigger rates and payment shocks. Last year, homeowners feared widespread defaults as record-low pandemic mortgages reset into a much higher-rate world. Mychal walks us through what actually happened, how most borrowers weathered the storm, and what he’s seeing now as a massive 60% of all mortgages are set to renew in 2025–2026. With billions in household debt up for repricing, the stakes are enormous—and the way Canadians respond could define the housing market for the rest of the decade. But it’s not all doom and gloom. Mychal also gives us an inside look at new mortgage originations heading into fall. Are buyers cautiously stepping back into the market, hoping to snag a deal? Are refinances stabilizing? Or is the wait-and-see mentality still dominating? His insights cut through the noise and provide actionable guidance for both buyers debating their next move and homeowners staring down a renewal. Finally, we look ahead: will there even be a fall market in 2025? Activity has been muted through much of the year, but history shows Canadians can’t stay on the sidelines forever. Whether it’s pent-up demand, lower rates, or simply buyers adjusting to the “new normal,” this season could surprise us. This episode is a must-listen for anyone curious about where rates, affordability, and market activity are heading. _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

Canada’s housing market just dropped a fresh set of numbers, and depending on your lens, the story looks like either the start of a recovery - or the next chapter in a much longer crisis. In this episode of The Vancouver Life Real Estate Podcast, we take a comprehensive look at the national sales figures, falling rental rates, long-term home price forecasts, softening inflation, and the controversial foreign buyer ban. The narrative forming around Canadian real estate is one of contradiction - where current data trends directly oppose the longer-term projections. Starting with national home sales, July marked the fourth straight month of gains, with sales rising 3.8% month-over-month and a cumulative 11.2% increase since March. The GTA led the rebound, surging 35.5% from spring lows. Year-over-year, sales rose 6.6%. However, new listings and inventory remained virtually flat, with total active listings up 10.1% from last year. Despite these gains, sales volumes remain historically low. Benchmark prices are still down 3.4% compared to last year, though average prices are up a modest 0.6%, painting a picture of a market in limbo — balanced, but directionless. On the rental front, data from Rentals.ca and Urbannation shows a surprising national decline of 3.7% in average rents, bringing the Canadian average to $2,121/month. Vancouver saw a notable 9% drop year-over-year, with tenants now spending 37.5% of their income on rent — well above the 30% affordability threshold. One-bedroom units in North Vancouver now average $2,630, the highest in the country. However, the GTA presents a dramatically different picture. A report shows that Toronto is on track for a 235,000-unit rental deficit over the next decade, driven by a collapse in condo presales and a 50% drop in housing starts. Meanwhile, a new long-term forecast from Concordia University suggests that Vancouver detached home prices, currently averaging $2.4 million, could reach $3 million by 2032. Even if housing completions double — a goal many doubt is achievable — prices are still projected to rise to $2.8 million. On paper, this equates to a manageable 3.2% annual increase, yet it underscores the structural imbalance in supply and demand that continues to define Vancouver’s market. One of the most thought-provoking topics in this episode is the renewed conversation around Canada’s foreign buyer ban. Developers are lobbying to lift the ban for pre-construction units to revive sales, but public sentiment remains firmly opposed. Yet few acknowledge the irony: Canadians are the second-largest group of foreign buyers in the U.S., purchasing $6.2 billion worth of real estate in the past year. While countries like New Zealand and Switzerland restrict foreign ownership, Canadians remain free to buy abroad without similar restrictions. The U.S. has not imposed any such ban — and Canadians continue to snap up property there, especially in Florida. Ultimately, this episode doesn’t offer a clean conclusion because the data doesn’t either. Sales are up, but from record lows. Prices are down, but future projections remain more bullish. Rents are falling in the West but threaten to explode in the GTA in the years to come. _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

The Canadian real estate landscape is undergoing a tectonic shift. This week’s episode dives deep into the fast-moving changes reshaping how Canadians think about buying, building, and even owning their homes. From pre-sale condo collapses to landmark legal rulings, the real estate rulebook is being rewritten in real time. Toronto’s pre-construction condo market has plunged to its lowest sales levels in over 30 years. With 57 months of unsold inventory (5x the long-term average), developers are frozen. This isn’t just a housing problem — it’s a credit crisis. When developers can’t sell, they can’t refinance or start new projects, and that slowdown ripples through the economy, triggering job losses, GDP contraction, and shrinking tax revenues. Already, 22,000 construction jobs have been lost across Canada. One bold proposal gaining traction could dramatically lower the cost of new homes — without cutting a single development charge. It’s called the Direct-to-Buyer Development Charge System, where instead of developers burying fees into the final home price (then layering taxes and financing costs), buyers would pay DCs directly to the city at closing. The result? On an $800,000 home, buyers could save up to $68,000. It’s a rare win-win: cities keep their funding, developers lower their pricing, and buyers skip tax-on-tax penalties. But to work, all three levels of government would need to cooperate — and that’s the biggest hurdle. Perhaps the most profound shift this week? The B.C. Supreme Court’s decision to grant Aboriginal title over significant land in Richmond, including areas held under private and Crown ownership. For the first time, fee-simple title — the gold standard of ownership — was ruled “defective and invalid” in part. This ruling has massive implications for property law, title insurance, financing, and long-term investor confidence. An 18-month moratorium has been put in place for negotiation — but the uncertainty could put an even deeper freeze on real estate activity across B.C. From failing condo sales and falling land prices to new ownership models and legal ambiguity — the way Canadians perceive real estate is being reshaped at an unprecedented pace. Whether you're a buyer, seller, investor, or policy maker, this episode unpacks the trends, risks, and opportunities redefining the market. 🎧 Tune in for the full breakdown and what it means for your next move. #CanadianRealEstate #TorontoCondos #BCHousingCrisis #BuildingPermits #JobsReport #LandPrices #DCCReform #IndigenousLandRights #PropertyOwnership #RealEstatePodcast #VancouverRealEstate _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

Canada’s Housing Market Is Hitting a Breaking Point — and the August 2025 numbers prove it. Vancouver home prices have slipped to their lowest level in over two years. Toronto prices? Wiped back to 2020 levels — erasing nearly all the gains from the pandemic boom. Inventory is piling up, sales are stagnant, and in some cases, sellers are watching hundreds of thousands in value disappear. Meanwhile, the rental market — long thought to be untouchable — is cracking. Landlords are offering months of free rent to lure tenants, vacancy rates are climbing, and incentive-adjusted rents are falling fast. Investors are quietly exiting, major developers are hitting pause, and Canada’s construction pipeline is suddenly at risk. It’s not just housing feeling the pinch. Job vacancies have plunged to an 8-year low, the labour market is weakening at a worrying pace, and more Canadians are putting off retirement entirely — not by choice, but because the rising cost of living has left them with little or nothing to save. The “Bank of Mom & Dad” is under strain, debt is rising among older Canadians, and an entire generation is staring down the possibility of working well into their 70s. In this episode, we break down: lessThis isn’t just another market update — it’s a snapshot of a housing and economic system under pressure from all sides. Whether you’re a homeowner, renter, investor, or simply trying to understand where Canada’s economy is headed, this is an episode you can’t afford to miss. Watch to the end, then let us know in the comments: Do you think this is the start of a slow decline — or a sharper correction waiting to happen? _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

Canada’s real estate industry is officially in crisis mode. In this week’s episode, we break down why some of the country’s most powerful developers — names like Polygon, Westbank, Beedie, and Mosaic — have joined forces to publicly plead for help. From record-breaking drops in pre-construction sales to massive project cancellations and widespread layoffs, the development industry is sounding the alarm louder than ever. Why now? Because new housing starts are collapsing. Because financing has dried up. And because if nothing changes, tens of thousands more jobs are on the line. So what are they asking for? A controversial — and potentially game-changing — solution: lifting the foreign buyer ban to unlock critical investment capital. Is this the lifeline the industry needs, or just another band-aid on a broken system? We explore both sides of this heated issue and propose alternative solutions, including government-backed construction financing to ensure new homes can still be built for Canadians — by Canadians. Plus: 🏦 What the latest Bank of Canada rate hold really means for buyers and mortgage rates 📉 Arrears data that may surprise you — and why Canadians are still paying on time 🏘️ How the multiplex movement is growing — but faces new challenges in affordability and design 📊 July 2025 sales just broke a decades-long trend, and it could signal a major market shift If you're a buyer, investor, developer, renter, or anyone tied to Canada’s housing economy — this is an episode you don’t want to miss. The real estate industry is standing on a cliff, and the decisions made in the coming weeks could shape the future of housing for years to come. Watch now and join the conversation. Your thoughts matter. Job Loss Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVC-UCbXO3M Real Estate Crash Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM8O3075hjA&t=9s _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

Feeling like you’re working harder and getting less? You’re not alone — and the numbers prove it. This week’s episode of The Vancouver Life Real Estate Podcast takes a hard look at how Canada’s exploding tax burden, runaway deficits, and fleeing capital are colliding with the nation’s housing market. We connect the dots between Ottawa’s unchecked spending, falling investor confidence, and a real estate sector stuck in a high-stakes slowdown. Let’s start with the core issue: Taxes. The average Canadian household earning $114,000 now pays over $48,000 in taxes — that’s 42% of gross income, up 181% since 1961 after inflation. And yet, despite this massive government take, Canada is operating without a federal budget, projecting a $92 billion deficit — possibly rising to $147 billion — one of the largest in Canadian history outside of COVID spending. The result? Investors are running. A staggering $83.8 billion in capital has fled Canada since February, 90% of it heading to the U.S. It’s the largest recorded outflow in recent memory and a clear vote of no confidence in Canada’s fiscal policies. Canadians themselves are turning to U.S. markets, pouring $14.2 billion into U.S. stocks in May alone, more than 4x last year’s volume. Real estate is taking a direct hit. In Toronto, the new condo market is oversaturated. Urbanation forecasts over 31,000 completions in 2025 — 74% higher than the long-term average. With 64,000+ units under construction, we’re building faster than we’re buying. The result? Rising inventory, few new launches, and a ticking time bomb for pricing — especially if rates remain elevated. In Vancouver, the BC government has stepped in with “relief” for developers by backstopping $250 million in DCC feesto keep projects alive. But make no mistake — this isn’t a discount. It’s a taxpayer-funded subsidy. You are footing the bill, even as housing remains out of reach for many. Rents are shifting, too. Vancouver’s 1-bedroom unfurnished rents rose $9 to $2,232/month, though still lower than last year. West Van remains highest at $2,617. But in Burnaby, rents are falling fast, down 7.6% year-over-year, with some neighbourhoods like Central Burnaby dropping over 16%. Why hasn’t the market crashed yet? Equity. The average Canadian homeowner has 74% equity in their home — that’s $511K on a $691K home. In Vancouver, the average homeowner sits on $868K in equity. That’s why we’re not seeing widespread foreclosures or a true collapse. Homeowners still have leverage — for now. Mortgage dynamics are changing. Since 2022, mortgage debt is increasing for Canadians 55+ while decreasing among those under 35. Why? Older Canadians are taking on debt to help their children — or to cover rising living costs. The “Bank of Mom & Dad” is becoming the central lender of last resort. Real estate sentiment is weak. After a short-lived spring rebound, confidence is flatlining, echoing what we’re seeing in sales volumes. Buyers are hesitant, sellers are holding back, and uncertainty is the only constant. Where are rates headed? With inflation lingering and capital fleeing, don’t expect the Bank of Canada to cut anytime soon. Fixed mortgage rates remain in the mid 4% range, while the U.S. holds firm at nearly 7%. The result? A stagnant, supply-heavy, high-cost housing market — with no easy way out. _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

In this week’s episode of The Vancouver Life Real Estate Podcast, we unpack a tidal wave of economic data that’s painting a clear — and sobering — picture for Canada’s housing and financial landscape. The big headline? There will be no rate cut in July. Inflation is ticking up again, job numbers came in scorching hot, and bond yields are surging — all of which are keeping fixed mortgage rates in the uncomfortable mid-4% range. — We begin with an announcement for homeowners: our team is hosting a live webinar that breaks down how Bill 44 (the Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing Initiative) is reshaping Vancouver’s real estate game. With over 700 building permits already submitted between Vancouver and Burnaby and projects under construction right now, homeowners can now partner with developers, leverage new zoning allowances, and walk away with up to $1 million more than a traditional home sale. Curious? We’ll show you real numbers, real case studies, and a clear step-by-step process on how to get involved. Register at www.thevancouverlife.com/multiplex Next, we highlight the launch of our latest project, Sarena, a new 7-unit boutique townhome development in Richmond. Each 3-bed, 3-bath home is priced under $1M, allowing first-time buyers to claim the GST rebate while enjoying private outdoor space, timeless design, and air conditioning. Visit SarenaLiving.com for details. — On the macro side, Canada’s June jobs report beat expectations, adding 83,100 jobs instead of the predicted 3,000 loss. While impressive on paper, most were part-time roles. Youth unemployment remains stuck at 14.2%, and wage growth continues to outpace inflation. Speaking of inflation — it’s back up to 1.9%, and core measures remain sticky. That’s why bond markets are pricing in zero chance of a July rate cut. We then shift to the June housing data for Canada: home sales are up modestly month-over-month and year-over-year, especially in the GTA. Inventory is hovering just below long-term averages, and national home prices are down only 1.3% year-over-year. It’s what we call a "flatline market" — stable, slow-moving, and possibly already past the bottom of this cycle. Toronto gets its own spotlight. While condo prices are down 22% from peak and back to March 2021 levels, cash flow metrics are improving. Negative carry is down from -$950/month to -$300, and factoring in mortgage pay down, investors are now in slightly positive territory. Still, sales are tepid and inventory is high — a tipping point is coming, but we’re not there yet. Then comes the gut punch: Toronto’s pre-sale condo market is collapsing. Q2 saw only 502 new condo sales — a shocking 91% below the 10-year average. Over 4,300 units have been cancelled since 2024, and inventory has ballooned to 60 months of unsold stock. Developers are pulling back, new launches are rare, and some are converting to rentals to stay afloat. This episode is a wake-up call and a roadmap — whether you’re a homeowner, investor, or buyer, understanding what’s happening beneath the headlines is critical to making informed real estate decisions in 2025. 👉 Register for our free webinar at www.thevancouverlife.com/multiplex 👉 Explore Richmond’s newest townhomes at SarenaLiving.com _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

Even with high interest rates, record-breaking mortgage renewals, a historic surge in pre-sale inventory, and the highest resale listings we've seen in over a decade, Vancouver real estate prices haven’t crashed. Over the past 12 months, prices have only declined 2.8%, and though they’re down 7% from the peak three years ago, they’re still up 12% compared to five years ago. So, the obvious question is: Why? Why have home prices remained so stable—especially when consumer sentiment is low, lending standards are tighter than ever, and the economic outlook feels bleak? The answer lies in a series of critical financial indicators that reveal the underlying resilience of the Canadian housing market. Let’s start with household net worth, which reached a record $17.7 trillion in Q1 2025, up 0.8% in the quarter and a staggering 82% over the last decade. Debt-to-disposable income has improved to 172%—a 10-year low—and the debt servicing ratio is down from last year’s peak. Most significantly, Canada’s asset-to-debt ratio now stands at $6.68 to $1, near all-time highs. This means Canadians, on average, hold six times more assets than they owe in debt. This growing wealth has profound implications. Over 50% of Vancouver homes are mortgage-free. And when sellers don't get their desired price, they’re increasingly choosing to delist rather than drop their asking price. In May, delistings jumped 47% year-over-year. This is not a market where sellers are forced to capitulate—many are simply choosing to wait. That said, this resilience doesn’t reflect the experience of younger Canadians. Homeownership remains elusive, and as Boomers eventually look to sell, there’s real concern about whether younger buyers will have the purchasing power to step in—unless wealth starts being more evenly distributed. Even insolvency data suggests a market in transition. While consumer insolvencies fell 2.6% in May, they’re still 7.6% higher than pre-pandemic levels. Business insolvencies are down 13.3% year-over-year, indicating stabilization, but we’re far from robust economic health. And a deeper divide is growing. The Bank of Canada’s latest vulnerability report shows the highest share of delinquent borrowers in a decade—now at 2.6%. People are skipping payments on retail installment loans, credit cards, and car loans before defaulting on their mortgage or HELOC. This reflects rising stress among middle-income Canadians, the group that drives the broader economy—and that stress is slowing GDP and pushing unemployment higher. Meanwhile, developers are facing their own struggles. But a recent win: the BC government now allows 75% of development fees to be deferred until occupancy, easing the upfront financial burden. In Burnaby, for example, that could mean deferring up to $375,000 on a sixplex—money that can be used to fund construction instead. This episode breaks it all down: the financial landscape, the market psychology, the policy shifts, and what it all means for buyers, sellers, renters, and developers. Whether you’re navigating the market today or preparing for what’s next—this is a must-watch. Subscribe for more Vancouver real estate insights, and don’t forget to check the links in the description for how to connect with us directly! _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

In this week’s Vancouver real estate update, we dive into the latest data and indicators painting a complex picture of the market. We start with the Housing Affordability Index, a measure of median household income against mortgage payments, taxes, and utilities. According to this index, Canadian homes have never actually been considered affordable—not once in the last 40 years. The most affordable period came in the late 1990s, when the metric dipped to 34%, just shy of the “ideal” target of 33%. Today, affordability sits at 55%. While that’s a meaningful improvement from the record high of 63.5% in Q4 2023, it still remains well above the threshold of sustainable home ownership. Interestingly, Canadian affordability is now at the same level it was in 1990—just before a decade-long improvement in affordability followed. Whether or not that trend repeats remains to be seen. RBC’s latest forecast doesn’t think so. They project affordability will bottom later this year around 52%, then begin worsening again in 2026. On the inflation front, May CPI came in at 1.7%, unchanged from April. This marks the 18th consecutive month within the Bank of Canada’s 1–3% target range. Core inflation registered at 2.9%, the upper end of the band but still acceptable. Mortgage interest costs remain a key driver, adding 0.4% to the CPI. It’s important to note that most other countries exclude mortgage interest from their inflation basket. Without it, Canada’s inflation would have been closer to 1.3%. Rented accommodations contributed 0.3%, but StatsCan’s data appears to lag. While they report rents up 4.3% annually, Rentals.ca shows a 3.3% decline in the last year. Turning to interest rate expectations: markets are only pricing in a 30% chance of a rate cut at the July 30th Bank of Canada meeting. And as of now, there is just one more rate cut expected for the remainder of 2025. That outlook has cooled considerably, given earlier projections of more aggressive easing. Now to the July 2025 housing stats. Total home sales in Greater Vancouver hit 2,186 units in June, down 9.5% from last year and a staggering 26% below the 10-year average. It was the second slowest June on record—worse than the Global Financial Crisis and COVID shutdowns. This follows what was already the slowest May on record. The spring market never materialized, and current indicators suggest a muted summer and fall ahead. New listings reached 6,301 in June, up 10% year-over-year but down 5% from May. Inventory sits at 16,852 active listings, down 1% month-over-month but still 19% higher than a year ago and 44% above the 10-year average. At the time of reporting, inventory has climbed to over 18,200 active listings. The Sales-to-Active-Listings ratio remains at 13%—signaling a balanced market—for the 13th straight month. Detached homes are at 10%, townhomes at 17%, and condos at 14%. Prices continue to slide. The Home Price Index (HPI) dropped for the third straight month in 2025, down 0.3% month-over-month to $1,173,100. That puts prices 2.8% lower than one year ago. The median price stayed flat at $985,000, but remains up $70,000 year-to-date. The average price rose $9,000 to $1,275,000, its highest point in 2025, and up $68,000 YTD. The Vancouver housing market remains stable but sluggish and perhaps increasingly so. Affordability is slowly improving but remains historically poor _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

In this week’s episode, we’re diving deep into one of the most dramatic real estate stories in Canadian history — the Fraser Valley housing boom and bust. During the COVID-era market frenzy, the Fraser Valley became a magnet for buyers looking to escape the city. Between 2020 and 2022, prices in cities like Abbotsford skyrocketed, with the average home price doubling from $500,000 to over $1 million in just two years. Fueled by low interest rates, remote work freedom, and the desire for more space at a better price, the Valley quickly became one of the fastest-appreciating regions in the country. But the surge didn’t last. Since the Bank of Canada began raising interest rates in 2022, the Fraser Valley has undergone a rapid reversal. With interest rates now hovering around 5%, the market has softened dramatically, and prices are down approximately 25% from peak levels. In this episode, we’re joined by Fraser Valley real estate advisor Conor Kelly, who walks us through the highs, lows, and what’s next for this once red-hot market. From forced sales and shrinking equity to renewed commuting realities and a cooling demand, we explore how some homeowners are being pushed to sell at a loss and leave the Valley altogether. We begin by setting the stage with a look at the Fraser Valley before the pandemic. What was this market like pre-2020? And how did it shift so aggressively once the pandemic hit? Conor shares his on-the-ground insights into the feeding frenzy that took hold between 2020 and 2022, as well as how quickly sentiment shifted when interest rates started climbing. Next, we bring things to the present. The Greater Vancouver market is facing high inventory, slowing sales, and flat-to-declining prices — but is the Fraser Valley operating on a similar trajectory, or is it behaving independently? Conor compares the two markets and helps us understand how local dynamics, migration trends, and economic pressures are shaping today’s Valley. We also explore an issue that’s starting to impact the entire province — population decline. For the first time outside of pandemic anomalies, BC recorded a population contraction. And while Vancouver grabs the headlines, Conor breaks down how this trend is unfolding in the Valley and what it could mean for long-term demand. Then we turn to the pre-sale market, a sector facing serious challenges in Vancouver and Toronto, where developer bankruptcies and collapsing buyer confidence are freezing future supply. How is the pre-construction market faring in the Valley? Are developers hitting pause, or is there opportunity for those with longer timelines? Finally, we look ahead. What does Conor think is in store for the Fraser Valley over the next few years? Will prices rebound? Will affordability improve? And what should buyers or potential movers know before deciding to make the Valley their home? Whether you’re a buyer, seller, investor, or just curious about where BC’s real estate market is headed, this episode offers critical insights into one of the most volatile and revealing markets in the country. Don’t miss this one — hit play to hear what’s really going on in the Fraser Valley. _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

Canada is entering a new and unfamiliar chapter—one defined not by explosive population growth, but by a dramatic slowdown that could rewrite the country’s real estate narrative. In fact, Canada just recorded one of the lowest levels of population growth seen in over 70 years. Only two other quarters in modern history have posted weaker numbers: the height of pandemic lockdowns in 2020 and the global energy downturn of 2015. But now, for the first time outside of a crisis, population growth is grinding to a near halt—and the implications for housing are massive. Ontario and British Columbia—two provinces that have long driven real estate demand—actually saw population declines in Q1 2025, with Ontario contracting by 5,700 people and B.C. by 2,400. That’s virtually uncharted territory for regions that typically lead the country in net migration and property price acceleration. The federal government’s 2024 decision to scale back immigration targets—both temporary and permanent—has now triggered six consecutive quarters of slowing growth. Meanwhile, non-permanent resident totals dropped by over 61,000, even as deaths outpaced births by more than 5,600. What we’re witnessing is a foundational demographic shift—one that’s sending ripples through every corner of the housing market. This episode of The Vancouver Life Podcast dives deep into what this demographic reversal means for real estate prices, rental demand, construction starts, and investor sentiment. With record-breaking levels of purpose-built rentals under construction and fewer people arriving to occupy them, we expect continued downward pressure on rental rates. In fact, Metro Vancouver rents have dropped $114 over the past year, including $52 in the last month alone, bringing average monthly rent to $2,223. Even furnished units now offer only marginal premiums, making furniture investments for landlords a poor ROI. As demand slows, so do housing prices. Canada’s national benchmark price fell for the sixth consecutive month in May, landing at $690,900—the same level we saw in May 2021 and nearly 18% below the 2022 peak. Inventory is rising, with more than 200,000 listings on the market nationwide, yet buyer sentiment remains fragile. Though sales inched up in May, they are still down over 4% year-over-year. And the only provinces seeing real price gains are smaller markets like Manitoba and Newfoundland—while the heavyweights of B.C. and Ontario drag the national average down. Housing starts are falling too. In B.C., starts dropped 29% from April to May alone. Multi-family builds fell even harder—down 33% month-over-month and 19% compared to last year. The six-month moving average for starts has dropped 30% since its peak in 2023, and that trend is expected to continue. Cities like Nanaimo and Kelowna have seen construction plummet by as much as 75% and 45%, respectively. The result? The pipeline of new housing is drying up—just as rental supply is peaking and demand is waning. _________________________________ Dan’s New Channel: www.youtube.com/@VancouversTopRealtor Ryan’s New Channel: www.youtube.com/@ryan_thevancouverlife _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

Since the 1980s, Canadian real estate prices have increased 700% faster than wages, and the consequences of that imbalance are starting to surface across the country. In this episode, we unpack a dramatic shift in the housing market that could signal the end of a four-decade bull run. We begin with new data showing that real wages have barely moved in 43 years—up just 24%—while real estate values, even after recent declines, are still up over 160% after inflation. That divergence has fuelled inequality, made homeownership feel unattainable for younger generations, and created what some economists are now calling a return to neo-feudalism—where wealth and housing access are increasingly concentrated among the few. We also explore the Bank of Canada's recent messaging, where the odds of a rate cut in July have fallen to just 25%, with markets now pricing in only one more cut for the rest of 2025. That would leave mortgage rates not far from where they are today, providing little relief for buyers. Meanwhile, the condo pre-sale market is collapsing, especially in Toronto, where there is now over 58 months of inventory—meaning it could take until 2030 to absorb what’s already built. As sales disappear, so too do new condo starts, and building permits in April dropped by 14.6% year-over-year, led by a 20.5% decline in multi-family construction, with Vancouver alone accounting for nearly $1 billion of the pullback. On the employment front, Canada’s job market is flashing warning signs. The national unemployment rate rose to 7% in May, the highest in nearly a decade outside of the pandemic. Ontario hit 7.9% and Toronto 9%, with youth unemployment hitting a staggering 20.1%—the worst since the 1990s. As hiring stalls and cost pressures mount, many students and recent grads are being locked out of the workforce entirely, casting a long shadow over household formation and future housing demand. This is a leading indicator of broader economic weakness and a key reason why the housing market could be facing deeper structural problems ahead. Finally, while average rents in Canada have now fallen for eight consecutive months year-over-year, they remain 12.6% higher than just three years ago. That’s a partial win for tenants, but another blow to investors who are already grappling with declining condo values and stagnant prices. Sales volumes are flat month-over-month and prices remain stable, but beneath the surface, Canada’s housing fundamentals are shifting fast. This episode connects the dots between affordability, generational inequality, interest rates, and a rapidly softening condo sector. If you're a buyer, seller, investor, or simply trying to understand where Canadian real estate is headed next—this is the update you can’t afford to miss. _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com