The Summer Slowdown Is Real. But the Inventory Story Is What Upsizers Should Actually Be Watching.

Every August in this market, the same thing happens. Volume drops. Listings sit a little longer. People go on holiday. And the narrative shifts to one of those recurring "quiet summer" stories that real estate commentators lean on every year when the data slows down.

The July 2026 GVR numbers fit that template on the surface. Residential sales across Greater Vancouver came in at 2,061, down 9.8 percent from July 2025. A slow month, by any read. But I want to talk about the detail underneath that headline, because for upsizers in Richmond who have been watching and waiting, it changes the picture in a way that matters.

Total inventory across Metro Vancouver continued to fall year over year in July. That is not a summer seasonality story. That is a structural shift in the supply picture that has been building quietly for several months. And when you combine falling inventory with a sales rate that, even at its current reduced pace, is gradually absorbing what is available, you get a market that is tightening from underneath while everyone is focused on the slow summer headline.

For a condo owner in Richmond thinking about upsizing to a townhome, here is what that means practically.

The Richmond townhouse market has 403 active listings with an absorption rate of 8.7 percent and an average sold price of $1,025,442. Properties in this segment are selling in 33 days on average and prices are already up 1.3 percent from the 90-day average. I wrote about this a few weeks ago and the picture has not changed. Townhouses are the most active segment in Richmond right now, and they are the segment where inventory is tightest relative to demand. As the broader inventory picture continues to tighten across the region, the townhouse segment is likely to feel that first.

On the condo side, the median home price in Richmond sits at $860,000 across all property types, down just 1.1 percent from a year ago. The apartment benchmark across Greater Vancouver is $695,200. These are not the collapsing prices that some buyers have been waiting for. The correction happened. It was real and meaningful. But the floor has largely formed and the market is showing early signs of stabilization rather than continued decline. If you bought your condo before 2022, your equity is almost certainly in better shape than the current narrative suggests.

The summer slowdown actually creates a specific tactical opportunity for upsizers that I want to name directly. When volume is lower and buyers are distracted by holidays and back-to-school planning, motivated sellers are more willing to deal. The townhome seller who has been on the market for 45 days heading into late August is thinking about the fall market and what it means to relist in September. That mindset creates negotiating room that you would not have in a higher-volume environment. August and early September is quietly one of the better times of year to make a move as a buyer.

The composite benchmark price across Metro Vancouver sits at $1,099,100, down six percent from a year ago. The townhome benchmark is $1,046,200, down five percent. The condo benchmark is $695,200, down 7.1 percent. Both sides of the upsizing equation have corrected. The spread between where you are and where you want to be is as manageable as it has been in several years.

I work in Richmond and Burnaby every day and I have a clear picture of what is available right now, what is priced well, and what the negotiating landscape looks like building by building and street by street. If you have been thinking about making the move from a condo to a townhome and you have been waiting for a reason to act, the combination of falling inventory, a motivated seller environment, and prices that have already corrected is about as clear a signal as this market gives.

Let's sit down and look at your numbers. I think you might be closer than you think.

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