It
wasn't that long ago
that, when a pre-
sales office opened
for a new high-rise
condo tower in Metro
Vancouver, there'd
be a lineup down the street of eager
buyers jockeying to put a deposit down.
But economic uncertainty from U.S.
tariffs, interest rates, surplus supply, sky-
rocketing material and labour costs, rising
municipal fees and a crackdown on investor
capital has dramatically changed all of that.
Not only are the lineups gone, so are
most of the other buyers too.
"If you're looking at a condo for a
potential investment, you might be under-
water cash flow–wise if you are carrying
a mortgage on it," says Brendon Ogmund-
son, chief economist at the BC Real Estate
Association. "Rents were rising but are now
falling, so maybe you're not going to get the
rent you expected or need on an investment.
And price appreciation is not there."
"It's all kind of stacked up to create an
insurmountable wall for the industry to now
get over, or through," adds Greg Zayadi,
president of Rennie group.
Rennie, Greater Vancouver's leading con-
do-marketing firm, made waves in May by
laying off 31 people—one-quarter of its staff.
Wesgroup Properties followed suit in June,
cutting 12 percent of its workforce.
"Over the last eight months we've seen
a number of companies cutting staff—
only two have been public," says Zayadi.
Rennie wanted to be upfront about the
challenges, he adds. "If nobody talks about
the reality, nobody understands how big
a problem it is."
Residential condo towers typically
require the presale of 60 to 70 percent of
units in order to obtain financing for con-
struction. Anne McMullin, president and
CEO of the Urban Development Institute
(UDI), says the vast majority of projects that
have launched or gone to market are not
getting near to that.
"The issue is the cost of building homes
is now more expensive than what 80 percent
of the population can afford," she says.
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30 | BC B U S I N E SS OCTOB ER 2025
"Over the last eight months we've seen a
number of companies cutting staff—only
two have been public. Rennie wanted to be
upfront about the challenges... If nobody
talks about the reality, nobody understands
how big a problem it is."
GREG ZAYADI,
PRESIDENT, RENNIE GROUP
