Homes Selling Below Their Last Sold Price in BC 2026

The Average Shortfall Is $122,086

For recent buyers selling below their purchase price, the average gap was $122,086, or 10.7 percent of the original price. That number is the raw price difference only. It does not include the property transfer tax paid on the way in, the commission and legal fees on the way out, or any money spent on the home in between.

A seller in that position is usually not choosing to sell. Job relocations, separations, rate resets and strata levies drive most of these transactions, which is why they keep occurring even in a slow market.

What This Means If You Are Buying

A seller who bought in 2022 and needs to move has a different problem than a seller sitting on a decade of gains. They are more constrained on price, but they are also more motivated to transact once they accept the number.

Before you write an offer, look up what the owner paid and when. If the last sale was in 2021 or 2022 near today's asking price, expect the negotiation to be tighter, because dropping below their purchase price is a real decision rather than a smaller gain. If the last sale was in 2016, there is far more room.

Zealty shows the full price history on every property page it covers, including previous sale prices, previous list prices and the dates attached to each. You can also compare against recent sold comparables in the same building or street to see whether the asking price reflects the current market or the seller's original cost.

What This Means If You Are Selling

If you bought after 2021, price to the current market rather than to your purchase price. The resale data is blunt about what happens otherwise: homes that need a price correction take far longer to sell, and most of them still end up transacting near where the market was all along.

Check your own price history first, then look at what similar homes in your area have actually sold for in the past 90 days, not what they are asking. Start with the Metro Vancouver housing market page for the regional picture, then work down to your building or street.

The Bottom Line

One in five BC resales is now closing below the previous sale price, and among people who bought within the last five years it is two in three. The pattern is driven almost entirely by when the seller bought, not by where the home is. Knowing a property's purchase history before you negotiate tells you how much room the other side actually has.