End-users, rather than investors, expected to drive Vancouver housing market higher

Vancouver real estate agents and mortgage brokers expect a boost of activity as they head into the fall market in one specific category: family-sized units intended for end users – not investors.

Speculators and investors have lost interest in the current market amid a regulatory environment that restricts short-term rental, foreign property purchases and flipping properties for quick profit. Instead, those now in the market are first-time buyers, upsizers needing space for a growing family, or downsizers entering retirement. That means areas in the Vancouver region that are livable and central, with family-friendly housing, are doing far better than areas that had seen major development of new, small condos intended for rental or luxury condos not geared to local incomes.