Something in the Richmond townhouse numbers caught my attention this week and I want to walk you through it because I think it changes the calculus for anyone who has been sitting on the upsizing decision.

The absorption rate for townhouses in Richmond right now is 8.7 percent. That number might not mean much to you on its own so let me give you the context. The absorption rate for Richmond as a whole, across all property types, sits at 5.4 percent. The absorption rate for detached houses specifically is 4.7 percent. The townhouse segment at 8.7 percent is the most active part of the Richmond market right now by a significant margin. It means that of the 403 active townhouse listings in the city, 35 sold in the last 30 days. Homes in this segment are selling in an average of 33 days, faster than the overall Richmond market average of 40 days.

For anyone thinking about upsizing, here is what that tells you. The townhouse buyers are already back. They are not waiting for a clearer signal. They are acting now, in this market, at these prices, and the inventory is starting to move as a result. The average sold price for Richmond townhouses right now is $1,025,442, which is up 1.3 percent compared to the 90-day average. In the same market where overall prices have been correcting, townhouses in Richmond are already showing price stabilization and early upward movement.

I want to be straight with you about what this means. You are not in a panic situation. The absorption rate at 8.7 percent is still technically buyer's market territory. You still have negotiating room. You can still write an offer with subjects, take the time to review the strata documents properly, and avoid the pressure of competing against multiple offers on the same property. But if you have been planning to upsize and you have been waiting for the townhouse segment to find its floor before you move, the data is telling you that floor may already be forming.

On the condo side, which is the other half of your transaction as a move-up buyer, the picture is still very much in your favour as a seller. Richmond overall has 2,059 active listings and an absorption rate of 5.4 percent, meaning the condo segment specifically is softer than townhouses. If you own a condo in Richmond and you are selling into this market, your buyer pool is patient and rate-conscious, which means pricing correctly and presenting well matters enormously. But the buyers are there. Condos that are priced right and well-maintained are selling in 40 days on average across the city.

The spread between what you are selling and what you are buying is the number that actually matters for upsizers. Right now the condo benchmark across Greater Vancouver sits at $695,200 and the townhouse benchmark sits at $1,046,200 based on the GVR June 2026 data. That is a gap of roughly $351,000. Depending on how much equity you have built up in your condo, your down payment on the townhouse, and what your mortgage looks like at current rates in the low to mid four percent range, the monthly carrying cost of making this move is often more manageable than people assume before we sit down and actually model it out.

What I tell every upsizer I work with is this. The decision is never just about the market timing. It is also about where you are in your life. If you have been living in a one or two bedroom condo in Richmond and you are feeling the squeeze, whether that is a growing family, a need for a proper home office, a desire for a garage, or just wanting to feel like your home actually fits your life, that quality of life improvement does not wait for a perfect market. The best time to make that move is when the numbers work for you personally and the market conditions are reasonably favourable. Right now, both of those things are true.

The townhome product available in Richmond at the moment is genuinely good. Hamilton and West Cambie have newer builds with EV charging, modern floor plans, and well-funded stratas. Steveston has tighter supply but exceptional long-term value. The areas around Brighouse and Capstan Village have townhome options that keep you connected to the Canada Line while giving you the square footage and outdoor space that makes the daily difference.

If you are ready to have a real conversation about what the move from your condo to a Richmond townhome looks like for your specific situation, I am here for that conversation. Let's look at the numbers together.

Neville Mak, REALTOR® The Real Brokerage 778-688-6667 | nevillemakre@gmail.com | nevillemak.ca Serving Richmond and Burnaby

I want to share something with you that I have been watching quietly over the last few weeks, because I think it changes the conversation for first-time buyers in Richmond in a meaningful way.

Richmond home prices are trending up 4.2 percent compared to the 90-day average. That is not a headline you have been reading anywhere. The broader narrative has been all about a buyer's market and falling prices, and that narrative is still largely true. But underneath it, something is starting to shift in Richmond specifically. The market here is waking up before most people realize it.

Let me give you the full picture so you can make sense of that number. Richmond currently has 2,059 active listings and an absorption rate of 5.4 percent, which means only about five in every hundred listed properties sell each month. Homes are averaging 40 days on market. By any traditional measure, this is still a buyer's market and buyers still have negotiating room. But that 4.2 percent price trend upward over the last 90 days tells you that demand is quietly returning. The people who waited for the clearest possible signal that the bottom was in are now the people competing against each other for the same listings.

Across Greater Vancouver, the GVR June 2026 data released July 3rd confirmed that all housing types posted year-over-year sales gains in the same month for the first time in recent years. GVR chief economist Andrew Lis described it as a rare occurrence and a potential early sign of a broader market shift. The apartment benchmark across the region sits at $695,200, down 7.1 percent from a year ago. But the direction of travel is changing and Richmond is one of the markets where that change is most visible right now.

Here is what this means practically for a first-time buyer who has been on the fence.

The programs that make buying more accessible have not changed. The First Home Savings Account, the RRSP Home Buyers Plan giving you access to up to $100,000 in tax-sheltered savings for your down payment, the federal GST rebate on new builds under one million dollars, the 30 year amortization for insured mortgages introduced at the end of 2024. All of that is still on the table. What is changing is the competitive environment. Six months ago you could take your time, write an offer well below asking, and expect a response. That window is narrowing in Richmond as prices start to find their floor and tick upward.

The Canada Line corridor remains the part of Richmond I would have any first-time buyer focused on. Brighouse, Lansdowne, and Aberdeen give you transit walkability that changes your daily life and supports resale demand that is among the most consistent in the city. There is still real product available in the $580,000 to $720,000 range depending on building age, size, and floor level. A prepared buyer with financing in order and a clear sense of what they are looking for can still move decisively in this market. But the window where you can be completely leisurely about it is getting shorter.

I am not going to tell you that prices are about to spike or that you need to panic buy this week. That is not how I operate. What I will tell you is that the data in Richmond right now is pointing in one direction and first-time buyers who have been waiting for a signal are looking at one. The question is whether they are paying attention.

If you want to sit down and figure out what your actual buying power looks like in Richmond right now, what neighbourhoods make sense for your situation, and what buildings I would and would not recommend based on what I know about their stratas and long-term value, let's talk. That conversation costs you nothing and might be the most useful hour you spend this summer.

Neville Mak, REALTOR® The Real Brokerage 778-688-6667 | nevillemakre@gmail.com | nevillemak.ca Serving Richmond and Burnaby

I want to be direct with you today because I think there are a lot of Richmond condo owners who are sitting on a decision they have been putting off for too long, and the market right now is actually set up quite well for them to act.

If you bought a condo in Richmond before 2021, you are almost certainly sitting on meaningful equity. Even if you bought in 2021 or 2022 near the peak, the picture is more nuanced than you might think. Yes, apartment prices in Richmond are down 4.7 percent year over year according to the latest GVR sub-area data. But here is what people miss when they fixate on that number. The townhome you want to move into has also come down. The GVR June 2026 benchmark for attached homes across Metro Vancouver sits at $1,046,200, down five percent from a year ago. You are not selling a corrected asset to buy something at full price. Both sides of your transaction have moved in the same direction.

Richmond right now has 2,059 active listings and an absorption rate of 5.4 percent. Properties are selling in an average of 40 days. That is a buyer's market in every meaningful sense of the word, and it applies to the townhome you are buying just as much as it applies to the condo you are selling. The negotiating room exists on both ends.

Here is what the upsizer transition actually looks like when we sit down and map it out. You take the equity in your current condo, whether that is $150,000 or $400,000 depending on when you bought and what you put down, and you understand exactly what that gets you as a down payment on a townhome in Richmond or Burnaby. You look at what your new mortgage payment is going to be at current rates, which are sitting in the mid four percent range for a five year fixed. You factor in what the strata fees look like at the townhome level, which are typically lower than in a high-rise condo because there are fewer shared amenities to maintain. And you look at what you are gaining in terms of square footage, a garage, outdoor space, and the kind of daily living environment that a condo simply cannot give you.

The townhome inventory in Richmond right now is genuinely worth exploring. There are 432 active townhouse listings across the city. Hamilton and West Cambie have newer product with modern floor plans, EV charging, and well-funded stratas. Steveston has tighter supply and stronger long-term value retention because new development there is limited. The areas around Brighouse and Capstan Village have townhome product that keeps you connected to the Canada Line while giving you the ground-oriented living that makes the biggest difference when you actually experience it day to day.

Burnaby is part of this conversation too. I cover both markets and I will always tell you where the better value is for your specific situation rather than defaulting to Richmond because that is the familiar name. The Edmonds and South Burnaby corridors have townhome inventory right now that compares very favourably on a price per square foot basis, with SkyTrain access and school catchments that work well for families.

The GVR chief economist Andrew Lis noted in the June 2026 release that broad gains across all housing types in the same month was a rare occurrence and could be an early signal of a shift in market conditions. That does not mean prices are about to spike. But it does mean that the sustained buyer's market conditions that have made the last eighteen months such a favourable environment for move-up buyers may not be permanent. The sales-to-active listings ratio across Metro Vancouver moved from 13.1 percent in May to 14.6 percent in June. The direction matters even when the numbers are still in buyer territory.

I am not here to pressure anyone. But if you have been thinking about making this move and the thing holding you back is uncertainty about the process, the timing, or what your numbers actually look like, that is exactly the conversation I want to have with you. I work in Richmond and Burnaby every single day. I know this market the way you know your own neighbourhood. And I genuinely believe that for the right buyer, right now is a moment worth taking seriously.

Reach out. Let's look at your equity, your options, and what the move actually looks like for you specifically.

Neville Mak, REALTOR® The Real Brokerage 778-688-6667 | nevillemakre@gmail.com | nevillemak.ca Serving Richmond and Burnaby

I want to talk to you like a friend who happens to know this market inside and out, because I think that is exactly what first-time buyers in Richmond need right now and are not always getting.

There are 953 active condo listings in Richmond as of this week. The average asking price sits at $754,075. The city has 2,059 total active listings across all property types, with homes selling in an average of 40 days and an absorption rate of 5.4 percent. If those numbers feel abstract, let me translate them into something that actually means something to you.

An absorption rate of 5.4 percent means that for every 100 condos available in Richmond right now, only about five are selling each month. That is a slow market by any measure. And in a slow market, the buyer has the power. Full stop.

What that means practically is that you are not rushing into anything. You are not writing an offer the same day you walk through a unit because someone else is lined up behind you. You have the time to look at five or six buildings, compare their strata financials, read the depreciation reports, ask hard questions about upcoming special levies, and make a decision that you genuinely feel good about. That kind of process was essentially impossible in 2021 and 2022. Right now it is completely normal and sellers expect it.

The GVR June 2026 data backs this up at the regional level too. The apartment benchmark across Greater Vancouver is $695,200, down 7.1 percent from a year ago. Richmond specifically saw apartment prices down 4.7 percent year over year according to the mid-2026 GVR sub-area breakdown. You are entering a market where prices have corrected meaningfully from their peak and where the inventory gives you real choice.

Now let me tell you what I actually think about buying a condo in Richmond specifically, because I am not just throwing statistics at you. I live and work in this city. I know which buildings have well-run stratas and which ones are struggling. I know which Canada Line corridors are going to hold their value better over the next decade because of what is coming in terms of density and development. I know which blocks in Brighouse are walkable in a way that genuinely changes your day, and which ones look good on a map but feel disconnected when you actually live there.

The $754,000 average asking price across Richmond condos is a starting point, not the ceiling. There is real product in the $580,000 to $680,000 range for buyers who are willing to look at slightly older buildings or smaller floor plans, and a lot of those buildings have better bones than the shiny new towers that come with $700 a month strata fees and a depreciation report that has never been tested. Knowing the difference between those two categories of building is something I can actually help with.

For first-time buyers who are eligible for the First Home Savings Account, the RRSP Home Buyers Plan, the federal GST rebate on new builds, and the 30 year insured amortization that has been available since late 2024, the financial picture is more accessible than the headlines suggest. The stress test is still a reality and strata fees need to be factored in carefully. But for a buyer who is prepared and has the right guidance, Richmond in July 2026 is one of the most navigable markets this city has seen in years.

I am not the realtor who is going to tell you to buy now because the market is about to explode. I am the realtor who is going to sit down with you, look at your actual numbers, walk you through the buildings that make sense, and make sure you understand exactly what you are getting into before you sign anything. That is what I would want from someone helping me make the biggest financial decision of my life.

If you are thinking about buying your first place in Richmond, I would love to talk. No obligation. Just an honest conversation about what is realistic for you right now.

Neville Mak, REALTOR® The Real Brokerage 778-688-6667 | nevillemakre@gmail.com | nevillemak.ca Serving Richmond and Burnaby

The GVR June 2026 data landed on July 3rd and the number that jumped out at me most for upsizers was not the headline sales figure. It was the attached home segment specifically.

Townhome sales across Metro Vancouver came in at 527 units in June 2026, up 11.4 percent from the same month last year. That is the strongest year-over-year gain of any housing type in the region. It happened in the same month that the overall market finally posted broad gains across every segment for the first time in recent years. And it happened while the townhome benchmark price stayed essentially flat month over month, sitting at $1,046,200 for June 2026, down five percent from a year ago but barely moving from May.

What that combination tells me is that buyers who want ground-oriented living, real square footage, a garage, and outdoor space have started coming back to this segment in a meaningful way. They are buying at prices that are still well below last year. But they are buying. The attached segment also has the highest sales-to-active listings ratio of any housing type in the region right now, at 17.8 percent, compared to 15.5 percent for apartments and 12 percent for detached. That means the townhome segment is actually the tightest part of this market right now. Not tight enough to create bidding wars, but tight enough that the window of having maximum selection and a relaxed negotiating environment is worth taking seriously rather than assuming it is permanent.

For anyone sitting in a Richmond or Burnaby condo right now and thinking about making the move up, this data deserves your attention.

Let me address the thing that I know holds a lot of upsizers back, which is the feeling that your condo has lost value and you are somehow selling at a loss. I understand that feeling. But here is what the numbers actually say. The apartment benchmark is $695,200, down 7.1 percent year over year. The townhome benchmark is $1,046,200, down 5 percent year over year. The spread between what you are selling and what you are buying into has both come down. You are not selling a corrected asset and buying something at full price. You are operating in a market where the correction has touched both sides of your transaction, and in many cases the gap between your condo value and your townhome entry point is more manageable than it would have been at the peak.

The days on market for townhomes across Metro Vancouver was 35 days in June based on the GVR data. In the Fraser Valley, it was 33 days. Homes are moving. Not frantically, but steadily. That tells you there is genuine end-user demand in this segment, families who need the space, people who have been patient and are now acting.

In Richmond, the townhome inventory I would have you focused on right now is concentrated in Hamilton, West Cambie, and the newer builds coming out of the East Richmond area. These are ground-oriented homes with private garages, proper outdoor space, and floor plans that are genuinely designed for how families live today. If you have been living in a one or two bedroom condo and you are starting to feel the squeeze, the difference in daily quality of life when you move into a three bedroom townhome with a garage and a patio is something that is hard to overstate.

In Burnaby, the Edmonds and Metrotown corridors continue to offer compelling value in this segment. There are newer townhome builds there with EV charging infrastructure, well-run stratas, and SkyTrain access that is comparable to or better than much of Richmond. If your life or your commute takes you east, Burnaby may actually deliver more home for your money right now.

Here is the honest read of where this market is heading. Andrew Lis at GVR specifically noted that new listings are coming to market at a slower pace than last year, which means the standing inventory is no longer climbing and may be showing early signs of reversing. Prices have not moved much yet because the inventory has been big enough to absorb the demand. But when that inventory starts shrinking and demand continues to come back, prices follow. That sequence has happened in this market before.

You do not need to panic. But if you have been waiting for a clear signal that the townhome market is finding its floor, June 2026 is giving you one.

If you want to understand what your equity looks like right now and what you can realistically step into in Richmond or Burnaby this summer, let's have that conversation.

Neville Mak, REALTOR® The Real Brokerage 778-688-6667 | nevillemakre@gmail.com | nevillemak.ca Serving Richmond and Burnaby