BC Budget 2025, Federal Housing Policy, PTT & DRPO Changes

April 07, 2025

March home sales hit their lowest level since 2019, even as listings surged. Metro Vancouver’s housing market is offering the best conditions for buyers in years, yet demand remains weak. There were 2,091 sales last month, down 13.4% from March 2024 and 36.8% below the 10-year average. Meanwhile, new listings jumped 29% year-over-year to 6,455, pushing total active listings to 14,546—up nearly 38% from last year. The sales-to-active listings ratio hit 14.9% in March, near the 12% threshold that typically signals downward pressure on prices. Detached homes saw the weakest demand at 10.3%, while attached properties remained closer to a seller’s market at 21.5%. Prices have eased, and inventory is at decade highs. Condo inventory in the Fraser Valley hit record highs, coinciding with a record number of new condos completing over the next 18 months.

Benchmark home price: $1,190,900 (-0.6% YoY, +0.5% MoM)
Detached homes: $2,034,400 (+0.8% YoY, +0.4% MoM)
Apartments: $767,300 (-0.9% YoY, +1% MoM)
Townhouses: $1,113,100 (-0.8% YoY, +0.2% MoM)

Greater Vancouver home sales have risen over the past three months but remain below last year’s levels. March was slower, with buyers held back by uncertainty over tariffs, though demand hasn’t disappeared. Sellers, on the other hand, were much more active, with a surge in new listings providing buyers with more options and negotiating power. Inventory levels have jumped significantly, particularly for condos and townhomes, pushing the market toward a more balanced state.

Despite slower sales, mortgage delinquencies remain low, and talk of distress sales is overblown. With political clarity improving, trade uncertainty easing, and potential interest rate cuts on the horizon, confidence could return quickly. Buyers now have choice, leverage, and one of the best opportunities to get into the market.

Conditions resemble early 2023, when a slow start turned into momentum later in the year. With an election on the horizon, both Conservatives and Liberals are rolling out housing promises—GST cuts on new builds, capital gains relief, and ambitious supply targets. Whoever forms government will need to prioritize investment in Canada, with housing front and center. Without the right incentives, capital will go elsewhere.

BC Budget 2025
BC’s 2025 budget focuses on economic stability rather than new housing initiatives, expanding existing programs like BC Builds and adjusting tax policies.

BC Builds Expansion: Launched in 2024, BC Builds converts public land into housing with low-cost financing. Budget 2025 adds $318 million over three years to scale the program.
Higher Speculation and Vacancy Tax: The tax rises from 0.5% to 1% for most owners and from 2% to 3% for foreign and untaxed worldwide earners. Effective January 2026, this is expected to generate an extra $47 million annually.
Secondary Suite Program Cut: BC is shutting down its secondary suite incentive program, citing financial constraints and upcoming federal plans for a similar initiative offering low-interest loans up to $80,000.

Federal Housing Policy
With a snap election set for April 28, housing policy is front and center. Prime Minister Mark Carney pledges to eliminate GST on homes under $1M for first-time buyers, saving up to $50,000 per home. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre proposes nixing GST on new homes under $1.3M, claiming it would save buyers up to $65,000 and speed up construction by 36,000 units annually.

PTT to include beneficial ownership transfers
Now, BC is considering expanding the Property Transfer Tax (PTT) to include beneficial ownership transfers, like the sale of shares in a company that owns real estate. Currently, PTT only applies when legal title changes hands. That could soon change. It’s not in effect yet, but it’s likely coming—worth planning for now. Many real estate professionals don't support this change, as it would discourage investment and put more pressure on an already strained real estate and development market.

Irrevocable aspect of the offer presentation rules removed
The way offers are handled in competitive real estate situations is changing. As of March 17, a seller’s instruction to delay the presentation of offers will no longer be required to be an irrevocable client instruction.

To facilitate this change, GVR will phase out the Irrevocable Direction Regarding Presentation of Offers (IDRPO) form on March 17 and revert back to a Direction Regarding Presentation of Offers (DRPO) form.

For instance, if you direct your Realtor to only present offers on a certain day and time, and you get an acceptable offer beforehand, you are able to revoke the direction without repercussion, so long as you communicate to all parties beforehand.

Housing Design Catalogue unveiled
As part of Canada’s Housing Plan, the Government of Canada has unveiled final renderings, floor plan layouts, and key building details of the Housing Design Catalogue. The catalogue offers low-rise housing designs each tailored to the different regions across the country.

These designs can help reduce construction costs and timelines as well as barriers to entry in the homebuilding sector. They emphasize gentle density, providing more housing options, such as row-housing, fourplexes, sixplexes, and accessory dwelling units, for our existing neighbourhoods.

This catalogue draws inspiration from CMHC’s post-war housing design catalogue, developed between the late 1940s and 1970s. The original catalogue provided builders with cost-effective standardized plans to accelerate housing construction.