Barton Lui

Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR) released the February 2026 stats and the headline is clear: slower‑than‑average sales, elevated inventory, and a market that’s settling into a new “normal.” City‑wide, we saw about 9.8% lower than last year and almost 29% below the 10‑year seasonal average, while active listings climbed to roughly 13,500. What I’m Seeing On The Ground Now for the part you won’t  find in the stats was how buyers are actually behaving. Recently, I listed a renovated,...

If you know someone who's been saying "we'll move when the market settles"—send them this. Because the "right time" they've been waiting for? It's happening right now. The Secret Math That Changes Everything In a hot market, the house you want runs away from you faster than the equity you're building. But in a cooling market? The gap shrinks. Here's the actual math: Let say you own a townhome... Was $800,000 → Now $760,000 (down 5%) Paper loss: $40,000 The detached home you want: Was...

I've been getting the same question from almost every first-time homebuyer I meet with lately: "Barton, should I move to Surrey to save money? I can get a condo for $500,000 instead of spending $710,000 in Vancouver. That's $200,000 I could save." The answer isn't a simple yes or no. It depends on one critical factor: how you plan to get to work. Let me break down the real numbers so you can decide if Surrey is actually right for you. The Price Gap is Real (And Huge) Surrey Benchmark...