According to the BC Real Estate Association (BCREA), housing sales will plunge 23% this year and the projected 2019 recovery will be led by centres outside of the Lower Mainland, particularly in the Kamloops region and the north.

In Metro Vancouver, the real winners in 2019 will be existing residential landlords who can expect high demand, less competition, and low vacancy rates.

According to a recent  “Rental Market Report” published by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the current Metro region rental vacancy rate of 1.1% would rise almost imperceptibly to 1.3% over each of the next two years but the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment will increase 16% to $1,400 per month by 2020.

Metro Vancouver housing sales slump

If you drive around your local area, you will see more and more for sale and open house signs. That’s why, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), there were more than 20,000 homes for sale in October through the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, up 42% from a year earlier, as sales cratered in both markets.

Growing Metro Vancouver population

As with other top desirable provinces in the world, the population grows year over year. BC welcomed 59,300 new residents this year and will welcome another 61,000 in 2019, more than 90% of whom will move into the Lower Mainland. The majority of the newcomers will be renters until they find their way.