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Lower Mainland Housing Cycles, 1980–Present

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) composite benchmark price was $860,000 in October 2026, down 6.4% from October 2025. In January 2026 FVREB reported it had fallen 24% from its March 2022 peak. The Bank of Canada raised its policy rate to 2.50% on October 28, 2026.

Prices below begin in December 2015. Interest rates begin in 1981. Every price is the composite benchmark in the current MLS Home Price Index (HPI) series.

Prices, December by December

Composite benchmark price for the Fraser Valley and the Lower Mainland, December 2015 to October 2026
MonthFraser ValleyLower MainlandWhat happened around it
December 2015$532K$754KSeven months later, on August 2, 2016, BC began a 15% tax on foreign buyers in Metro Vancouver.
December 2020$757K$892KThe Bank of Canada cut its policy rate to 0.25% on March 27, 2020.
December 2022$947K$1,052KFVREB’s composite peaked in March 2022. The Bank of Canada began raising its rate on March 2, 2022.
December 2024$964K$1,101KThe Bank of Canada made its first cut on June 5, 2024. FVREB printed $965,000 and $1,101,300 for this month at the time.
December 2025$906K$1,044KAs printed: $905,900 and $1,044,200. FVREB: down 6.0% over 2025 and 24% below the March 2022 peak.
October 2026$860,000$999,500As printed: $860,000, down 6.4% on October 2025, and $999,500, down 5.5%.

FVREB’s December 2025 package prints the one-, three-, five- and ten-year change for both areas. The 2015, 2020, 2022 and 2024 figures are worked back from those changes and are good to about $1,000. The December 2025 and October 2026 rows are printed as is. FVREB restated its index in 2022, so a figure printed before then does not compare with these.

The Bank of Canada policy rate

Bank of Canada target for the overnight rate, dates each change took effect
Took effectRateNote
March 27, 20200.25%Cut from 0.75%.
March 2, 20220.50%First increase of the cycle.
July 13, 20235.00%Highest of the cycle: 475 basis points above March 2022, in 16 months.
June 5, 20244.75%First cut.
October 30, 20252.25%Last cut before the October 2026 increase.
October 28, 20262.50%First increase since July 2023.

The five-year conventional mortgage rate offered by chartered banks went from 4.79% in January 2022 to 7.04% in December 2023. It was 6.19% on November 4, 2026, against 6.09% a year earlier.

The 1981 peak was higher. The Bank Rate averaged 21.03% in August 1981. The five-year conventional mortgage rate stood at 21.75% every week from August 12 to October 7, 1981. Prices on this page start in 2015, so the years before show rates only.

Rules that changed who could buy

  • August 2, 2016. BC added a 15% tax on foreign buyers of residential property in Metro Vancouver. It is now 20% in five regional districts, four of which were added on February 21, 2018.
  • January 1, 2018. The federal bank regulator’s revised Guideline B-20, the mortgage stress test, took effect.
  • January 1, 2023. The federal ban on most foreign purchases of residential property took effect. It was extended to January 1, 2027. The federal budget of November 5, 2026 proposes extending it to January 1, 2029 for existing homes, with new homes exempt; that is not law yet. Check Finance Canada before relying on the date.

The page does not say how much any of these moved prices. It has no source that separates them from the rate path.

Where the market stood in October 2026

FVREB recorded 1,051 sales in October, 14% more than September and 6% fewer than October 2025. Active listings were 9,164, 10% fewer than a year earlier. The ratio of sales to active listings was 11%. A ratio of 12% to 20% is typically called balanced, so the Fraser Valley remained a buyer’s market.

By type, the October benchmark was $1,293,800 for a detached home, $742,300 for a townhome and $460,800 for an apartment. Each was down from October 2025, by 8.5%, 5.5% and 8.1%. In September FVREB’s chair put the detached benchmark $460,000 below its March 2022 peak.

What this means if you own or buy now

  • Buying. Property Transfer Tax is due on completion day on top of the price. The Property Transfer Tax calculator works it out for your price.
  • Financing. The policy rate is 2.50% after the October 28, 2026 increase. The mortgage calculator shows the payment at today’s rates.
  • Selling. The Fraser Valley benchmark was $860,000 in October 2026, down 6.4% on a year earlier. The net proceeds calculator shows what a sale leaves after costs.

Frequently asked questions

  • What was the highest mortgage rate in the Bank of Canada's records?
    August 1981. The Bank's series for the five-year conventional mortgage rate stood at 21.75% every week from August 12 to October 7, 1981. That is the highest value in the series, which begins in January 1975. The Bank Rate averaged 21.03% in August 1981, the highest monthly average since that series begins in 1935. Prices on this page start in 2015, so those years show rates only. Source: Bank of Canada, Valet series V80691335 and V122530 (bankofcanada.ca).
  • What is BC's foreign-buyer tax, and where does it apply?
    It began on August 2, 2016 as a 15% tax on residential transfers involving foreign buyers in Metro Vancouver. It is now 20% in five regional districts: Metro Vancouver, Capital, Fraser Valley, Nanaimo and Central Okanagan. The four outside Metro Vancouver were added on February 21, 2018. This page does not say what the tax did to prices. Source: Government of British Columbia, Additional property transfer tax (gov.bc.ca).
  • How does HPI differ from average sale price?
    The Home Price Index (HPI) holds the type and features of a typical home fixed, so it isolates price change from changes in what sells. The Canadian Real Estate Association launched the MLS HPI in 2012 and measures it against January 2005. It rebuilt the index on June 1, 2022 and reviews it each June 1, so past values are restated. FVREB printed $965,000 for December 2024 at the time, and its current series gives about $964,000. Average sale prices move with the mix of homes sold, so this page uses only the benchmark. Source: Canadian Real Estate Association, MLS HPI methodology, June 2022 (crea.ca).
  • When did the mortgage stress test start?
    The federal bank regulator, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, set January 1, 2018 as the date its revised Guideline B-20 took effect. The qualifying rate it requires changes over time, so this page does not print one. The stress test guide on this site carries the current rule. This page does not say how much the test changed borrowing power, because it found no source for a figure. Source: Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, Guideline B-20 (osfi-bsif.gc.ca).
  • What happened to the Fraser Valley market between 2022 and 2024?
    The Bank of Canada raised its policy rate in steps from 0.25%, starting March 2, 2022, to 5.00% on July 13, 2023. Its series for the five-year conventional mortgage rate went from 4.79% in January 2022 to 7.04% in December 2023. FVREB's composite peaked in March 2022. In FVREB's current series it was about $947,000 in December 2022 and about $964,000 in December 2024. The Bank made its first cut on June 5, 2024. Source: Bank of Canada, Valet series V39079 and V80691335 (bankofcanada.ca); Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, December 2025 package (fvreb.bc.ca).
  • How can I see the underlying monthly data instead of these December figures?
    FVREB publishes a monthly statistics package. The archive starts with January 2008 and runs to the latest month. The market insights pages on this site present the monthly figures we hold. For a sub-area, a property type or a particular window of time, the monthly letter is where to ask. Source: Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, statistics archive (fvreb.bc.ca).
  • Why does this page show mostly the Fraser Valley?
    The prices are FVREB's composite benchmark. FVREB's package also prints a Lower Mainland composite, and the table reproduces it. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver publishes on a site that blocks automated readers. We do not route around that, so no Greater Vancouver figure here comes from that board. Source: Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, statistics package, December 2025 (fvreb.bc.ca).
Sources(7)

Also drawn from: Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, Bank of Canada, Province of British Columbia, Department of Finance Canada, Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.

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Last reviewed by Bronson Job PREC, REALTOR®. Licence CC BY 4.0. How we verify.

I’m Bronson Job, a REALTOR® (PREC) with Momentum Realty Inc., so I earn a commission when I help someone buy or sell. This is general information, not advice on your situation, and I take no payment from any third party named here. How I verify.