Majority of Metro Vancouver homes selling at below assessed value

Three-quarters of homes sold across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley this year have been sold for below their assessed value, according to Zealty.ca, a B.C. real estate data platform.

“Since July, it’s more than four-in-five,” added Zealty.ca president Hamidreza Etebarian.

Records show that 18,168 of the 24,426 homes sold between Jan. 1 and Oct. 25 closed below their 2026 B.C. Assessment Authority valuation. This valuation was set on July 1, 2025.

While it’s an attention-grabbing statistic, it’s important to note that assessed value and market value are two different numbers, said longtime Oakwyn Realtor Gary Serra.

“One thing a lot of people get stuck on is B.C. Assessment value. What we always tell our clients is the 2026 assessments reflect July 1, 2025, market values, not October 2026 prices,” he said. “What happened then isn’t what’s happening now. You can’t put too much weight in them. It’s a snapshot of where the market was, not necessarily where it is today. And as the market corrects, we’re seeing that pendulum swing from properties selling above to selling below.”

On average, the sale price is 4.6 per cent less than assessed value, but there are many outliers.

For example, a home on Viscount Place in New Westminster sold in September for $1.365 million and had an assessed value of $1.9 million. A home on Hayward Street in Mission sold in August for $1.725 million and had an assessed value of $2.43 million. Etebarian noted that Whistler and Squamish were exceptions, with Whistler homes selling for, on average, 6.2 per cent above assessed value and Squamish homes for 0.6 per cent above.

Richmond and New West homes were the worst performers, each selling for, on average, 7.1 per cent below assessed value.

While this is unwelcome news for sellers, it’s unsurprising. Serra said it also represents an opening.

He sold a renovated east Vancouver home he had owned since 2017 and made the move to the west side of Vancouver, a move that surprisingly was net positive.

The owners of the Point Grey home he had purchased had originally bought it in 2017 for over $3.1 million. After being vacant and sitting on the market since last October, Serra bought it for $400,000 less.

“We actually paid less money for our Point Grey house than we sold our East Van house for, which is kind of incredible,” he said. “In every market, there is always opportunity, whether it’s a strong seller’s market or a strong buyer’s market.

“Right now, like we’re seeing … a lot of opportunities for people, for buyers, and especially move-up buyers.”

Etebarian said sellers are taking note, with 44 per cent of active listings in B.C. as of Oct. 27 listed at below assessed value. He noted that of homes bought in 2022 and resold in 2026, 78 per cent sold for less than what the owner initially paid.