Hello, numbers. Goodbye, spin. We prepped a no-nonsense, receipts-attached autopsy of Greater Vancouver’s August 2025 housing report. The press office gave the city a soothing bedtime story; the table in the back yelled plot twist. And because this is an expose, we’re going to do something wild: read the whole thing—headline, footnotes, and the pages most people never open.

The official press release headline for August 2025 beams like a freshly whitened smile:

“Easing home prices help lift sales in August.”

It’s the kind of sentence you can hear being read aloud on the 6 o’clock news while a stock photo of downtown Vancouver plays behind the anchor. It’s cozy, reassuring, and just vague enough to mean whatever you want it to mean. Buyers can hear, “Look, sales are back! Time to dive in before it’s too late.” Sellers can hear, “Prices have stopped falling, buyers are reappearing, hope is alive.” And policymakers can hear, “See? The market is balancing, no need to panic.”

In short: one sentence, three audiences, zero panic. PR genius.

But then you open the actual report. Not the cover sheet, not the quotes, but the Listing & Sales Activity Summary — the table with month-over-month percentage columns that don’t know how to smile. And suddenly, the story shifts from brunch vibes to broccoli.

The Math That Refuses to Clap

Here’s what those tables say, in cold type:

• Detached homes: 660 sales in July → 575 in August. That’s –12.9% MoM.

• Townhomes: 459 → 409. –10.9% MoM.

• Apartments: 1,158 → 956. –17.4% MoM.

Meanwhile, new listings took their own swan dive:

• Detached listings: –23.7% MoM.

• Townhome listings: –23.9% MoM.

• Apartment listings: –26.6% MoM.

So sales were down, and listings were down. That’s not “lift.” That’s a party where half the guests left early and the other half just didn’t show up.

The Year-Over-Year Escape Hatch

How do you spin this into a headline about recovery? Easy: switch the denominator. Instead of comparing August 2025 to July 2025 (the actual month-to-month market pulse), you compare it to August 2024 — a weaker month. Voilà:

• Total sales up 2.9% YoY (1,959 vs. 1,904).

• Detached sales up 13% YoY.

• Townhomes up 10.5% YoY.

It’s technically true, but it’s like bragging you beat last year’s marathon time when last year you tripped over a water bottle at kilometer three.

Yes, compared to August 2024, the numbers look friendlier. But compared to the market you actually lived through last month? Red ink across the board.

The Word “Easing” Is Doing Heavy Lifting

Let’s talk about that cozy euphemism: “easing.”

The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) shows:

• Composite benchmark: $1,150,400, down –1.3% MoM, down –3.8% YoY.

• Detached: $1,950,300, down –1.2% MoM, down –4.8% YoY.

• Townhomes: $1,079,600, down –1.8% MoM, down –3.6% YoY.

• Condos: $734,400, down –1.3% MoM, down –4.4% YoY.

That’s not “prices easing to unlock pent-up demand.” That’s “prices eased again, and so did sales.” Gravity is not a growth strategy.

But “easing” sounds better than “falling.” It’s the same reason airlines say “experiencing turbulence” instead of “dropping like a rock.”

SALR: The Ratio That Refused to Cheer

Then there’s the sales-to-active listings ratio (SALR):

• Composite: 12.4%.

• Detached: 9.3%.

• Townhomes: 15.8%.

• Apartments: 14%.

The industry crib sheet is simple:

• Below 12% for months = downward pressure on prices.

• Above 20% for months = upward pressure.

So what we actually have is a market balanced on the “meh” line, with detached fully tilted toward buyers at 9.3%. Yet the press release still drops a line about how the “window of plentiful opportunity for buyers may begin closing soon.”

That’s like standing in the rain, umbrella in hand, and telling everyone they’d better rush because the storm might stop someday.

Headline vs. Table: Two Markets, One Month

The split screen looks like this:

• Headline world: Prices “eased,” sales “lifted,” recovery “confirmed,” buyer window “closing.”

• Table world: Sales fell across all property types from July. New listings fell even harder. Prices slipped again. SALR at 12% says balanced-to-soft. Inventory still sits +36.9% above the 10-year seasonal average.

One is brunch on Instagram. The other is your bank app after a vacation splurge.

THE SPIN MACHINE: HOW TO TURN A SLUMP INTO A STORY

The art of a real estate market press release isn’t about numbers — it’s about angles. Think of it as Instagram for data: you don’t show the laundry pile, you show the corner of the room with a houseplant and decent lighting.

The August 2025 release is a masterclass in this craft. It takes a table where almost every number is pointing down and somehow produces a headline that whispers momentum. How? Let’s break down the toolkit.

Trick #1: Denominator Gymnastics

When month-over-month makes you look like you tripped over your shoelaces, switch the denominator to year-over-year.

August 2025 vs. July 2025? Sales fell double digits across detached, townhomes, and condos. New listings fell by a quarter. Prices fell across the board. It was basically a synchronized slump.

But August 2025 vs. August 2024? Suddenly the music changes:

• Sales up 2.9% YoY (1,959 vs. 1,904).

• Detached sales up 13% YoY.

• Townhomes up 10.5% YoY.

Technically true. And very headline-friendly. But also cherry-picking the friendliest comparison. August 2024 was weak — so beating it by a nose does not mean we’re sprinting.

It’s like bragging about running a faster marathon than last year… when last year you ran with a sprained ankle.

Trick #2: Euphemisms That Make Red Ink Sound Cozy

The word of the month is “easing.”

The MLS® Home Price Index shows:

• Composite benchmark: –1.3% MoM, –3.8% YoY.

• Detached: –1.2% MoM, –4.8% YoY.

• Townhouse: –1.8% MoM, –3.6% YoY.

• Condo: –1.3% MoM, –4.4% YoY.

That’s four categories, four negative signs. But instead of “prices fell again,” we get “prices eased.” Sounds like yoga, not gravity.

And the phrase “helped lift sales”? Cute — but the sales numbers didn’t lift this month. They dropped like a phone slipping out of your pocket on the SkyTrain.

It’s spin by diction. “Down” becomes “eased.” “Fell” becomes “balanced.” It’s the same way HR calls firing you a “restructuring.”

Trick #3: The SALR Smoke Bomb

The sales-to-active listings ratio (SALR) is like the blood pressure monitor of the market. At 12.4% overall, detached at 9.3%, townhomes at 15.8%, and condos at 14%, it screams: meh, maybe soft.

The industry crib sheet is clear:

• Below 12% for a sustained period → downward pressure on prices.

• Above 20% for a sustained period → upward pressure.

So we’re flirting with the “downward” line, nowhere near the “upward” line. Detached is flat-out under the 12% bar. Yet the press release flips this into FOMO fuel: “The window of plentiful opportunity for buyers may soon begin closing.”

Translation: ignore the fact that SALR is still pointing toward “prices soften,” and focus on the possibility that someday soon, it won’t. That’s like standing outside in February, watching your breath fog, and being told to hurry because summer might be coming.

Trick #4: The 10-Year Average Detour

The release notes that new listings in August (4,225) were +2.8% above August 2024 and +1.3% above the 10-year seasonal average. Active listings (16,242) were +17.6% YoY and +36.9% above the 10-year seasonal average.

Which sounds like: plenty of product, healthy balance, stability!

But what it really means is:

• There’s a ton of inventory compared to history.

• Buyers have options.

• The market is not tight.

If anything, it undercuts the “window closing” narrative. When you’re nearly 40% above your decade norm for active inventory, the window isn’t closing — it’s wide open with a draft.

Trick #5: Conditional FOMO

The most subtle trick: conditional tense. The release says, “If these trends continue, the window for buyers may soon begin closing.” The if does all the heavy lifting. If trends continue. If sales rise. If SALR climbs. If inventory thins.

But that’s not what happened in August. In August, sales fell, listings fell, prices fell, SALR stayed mid-teens. The release doesn’t lie; it just fast-forwards to a future that hasn’t arrived yet.

It’s like saying, “If I keep eating kale, I may soon become a triathlete.” Sure. But right now you’re still ordering fries.

Trick #6: Composite Averages to Hide the Weird

Talk about the market in one composite number and you blur the edges. Say “the market is balanced” and people nod. But the truth is in the disaggregated numbers:

• Detached: SALR 9.3%, fully buyer-tilted.

• Townhomes: SALR 15.8%, slightly firmer but not hot.

• Condos: SALR 14%, a shrug.

The composite masks the fact that detached is struggling harder than condos, and that townhomes had some isolated pops. Averages create comfort — but comfort isn’t clarity.

The Spin in Action

The result of all this? A press release that says:

• “Prices eased” (instead of “prices fell again”).

• “Sales lifted” (instead of “sales fell from July”).

• “Window may close” (instead of “SALR mid-teens, inventory high”).

• “Balanced market” (instead of “buyers still have leverage in detached”).

It’s a vibe, not a verdict.

Why It Works

Because most people don’t read past the headline. Newsrooms rewrite the first two sentences. Brokers forward the release with emojis. And the public absorbs the story: things are improving.

No one mentions that August sales were –19.2% below the 10-year average. No one lingers on detached SALR at 9.3%. No one wants to print “MoM sales down double digits across all types.”

But that’s why we’re here.

GRAND TOTALS: WHERE THE STORY ACTUALLY LIVES

If the headline is the sales pitch and the quotes are the brochure copy, the Grand Totals row is the bank statement. It doesn’t flatter, it doesn’t soothe, it just spits out the numbers — and in August 2025, those numbers were about as cheerful as a rain-soaked barbecue.

The Grand Totals Table: August in One Brutal Snapshot

Let’s lay it out:

• New Listings (MoM):

  • Detached: –23.7%

  • Townhomes: –23.9%

  • Apartments: –26.6%
    
    

• Sales (MoM):

  • Detached: –12.9%

  • Townhomes: –10.9%

  • Apartments: –17.4%

That’s the entire market, across all property types, moving down. It’s not a dip in one segment or a seasonal quirk. It’s a broad pullback.

If this were an ECG, your doctor would already be paging cardiology.

Sales: Down is Down

Detached sales fell from 660 in July to 575 in August (–12.9%). That’s nearly 1 in 8 buyers deciding not to bother this month. Townhomes dropped from 459 to 409 (–10.9%). Apartments plunged hardest, from 1,158 to 956 (–17.4%).

Now, the release wants to emphasize that sales were up 2.9% YoY (1,959 vs 1,904). True. But momentum is a month-to-month story, and in August the arrow was pointing firmly down.

Think of it like a treadmill: last year you walked at 4 km/h, this year you’re walking at 4.1 km/h. But in July, you were jogging at 5 km/h. Calling August a “lift” because it beat last year ignores the fact you just slowed down.

Listings: The Vanishing Act

New listings pulled back sharply:

• Detached: 1,789 → 1,365 (–23.7%)

• Townhomes: 1,132 → 862 (–23.9%)

• Apartments: 2,718 → 1,994 (–26.6%)

On paper, you could spin this as “supply tightening.” In reality, it means fewer sellers wanted to test the waters in August. Maybe they were on vacation. Maybe they didn’t like July’s price feedback. Either way, supply pulled back.

But here’s the kicker: active listings (the total stock on the market) still sat at 16,242 — that’s +17.6% YoY and a whopping +36.9% above the 10-year seasonal average. That’s not scarcity. That’s Costco.

Prices: Death by a Thousand Eases

The MLS® HPI composite: $1,150,400, down –1.3% MoM and –3.8% YoY.

Detached benchmark: $1,950,300, down –1.2% MoM.
Townhouses: $1,079,600, down –1.8% MoM.
Condos: $734,400, down –1.3% MoM.

Every category in the red. Small declines, yes, but consistent. And consistency is what matters. A one-month drop can be shrugged off as noise; repeated “easing” is a trend.

It’s not collapse. It’s erosion. And erosion wins in the end.

SALR: Balanced, Which Isn’t the Compliment It Sounds Like

Sales-to-active listings ratio (SALR): 12.4% overall.

• Detached: 9.3%.

• Townhomes: 15.8%.

• Condos: 14%.

Remember the thresholds:

• <12% for a sustained period → downward pressure on prices.

• >20% for a sustained period → upward pressure.

Detached is already under the line. Townhomes and condos are hovering just above it. The composite is barely clinging to “balanced.”

So when the release says the “window may be closing for buyers,” it’s trying to hypnotize you into ignoring the fact that detached SALR is literally in the “downward pressure” zone. That’s like calling a diet “successful” when the button on your jeans is still begging for mercy.

Totals vs. Averages: A Tale of Two Realities

Here’s the fork in the road:

• Headline reality: Sales up YoY, prices “eased,” buyers returning, balance achieved.

• Table reality: MoM sales down double digits across the board, listings down even harder, prices slipped again, detached firmly buyer-tilted, inventory still thick compared to history.

Both are technically true. Only one is useful if you’re actually trying to make decisions.

What the Grand Totals Really Mean

1. Buyers: You still have leverage, especially in detached. Inventory is plentiful, sellers are realistic, and SALR is low.

2. Sellers: If you’re waiting for bidding wars to come back, you might be waiting a while. Price to sell in the first two weeks or get ready to chase the market down.

3. Narrative vs. Numbers: The release sells a vibe. The totals sell the truth. Always, always check the totals.

MUNICIPALITY-BY-MUNICIPALITY: THE RECEIPTS (AND THE ROAST)

The press release headline pretends August was a lift. The Grand Totals already showed us it wasn’t. Now we get to the real entertainment: the municipal breakdown, where every row of the tables contradicts the vibe and proves the spin.

I’ll walk through city by city, giving each its own chapter — what the numbers say, and what that really means.

Burnaby — The Attached Buyer Vanishing Act

• Detached listings: –22.9% MoM (144 → 111)

• Detached sales: –29.6% MoM (54 → 38)

• Townhome listings: –28.8% (118 → 84)

• Townhome sales: –43.6% (55 → 31)

• Apartment listings: –31.6% (376 → 257)

• Apartment sales: –25.1% (215 → 161)

Burnaby in August looked less like a market and more like a group project where everyone stopped showing up. Detached fell hard, attached collapsed, and condos followed suit.

This is the kind of data that should make headlines like: “Burnaby Attached Sales Fall Nearly 44% in August.” Instead we get, “Sales lifted.” Lifted where? Into witness protection?

North Vancouver — The Market Took a Hike

• Detached listings: –33.3% (150 → 100)

• Detached sales: –42.5% (73 → 42)

• Townhome listings: –28.4% (67 → 48)

• Townhome sales: –40.0% (30 → 18)

• Apartment listings: –37.8% (156 → 97)

• Apartment sales: –4.2% (72 → 69)

North Van is famous for hiking trails, but this August, it was the market that hiked down the mountain. Detached sales sliced nearly in half. Townhomes followed. Condos were the only ones who didn’t faceplant — but even they slipped.

This isn’t momentum. It’s a month-long staycation.

Vancouver East — Two Unicorns and a Banana Peel

• Detached listings: –27.3% (308 → 224)

• Detached sales: +4.8% (105 → 110)

• Townhome listings: –21.5% (121 → 95)

• Townhome sales: +20.6% (63 → 76)

• Apartment listings: –22.2% (333 → 259)

• Apartment sales: –34.8% (115 → 75)

Finally, some green arrows! Detached and townhomes actually ticked up in sales. Cue confetti. Except condos — which fell off a cliff at –34.8%.

So Vancouver East is a mixed bag: two unicorns, one banana peel. The press release, of course, cherry-picks the unicorns.

Vancouver West — Townhomes Pop, Condos Flop

• Detached listings: –14.9% (416 → 354)

• Detached sales: –11.3% (62 → 55)

• Townhome listings: –22.8% (57 → 44)

• Townhome sales: +28.6% (21 → 27)

• Apartment listings: –28.4% (477 → 342)

• Apartment sales: –7.2% (292 → 271)

Townhomes had a rare burst (+28.6% MoM), but detached slid and condos slipped again. And remember, VW condo prices fell –1.9% MoM, and –5.7% YoY. That’s not strength — that’s a slow decline in the “blue-chip” address of the city.

So when someone tells you Vancouver West is “picking up,” ask: which part?

West Vancouver / Howe Sound — Trophy Homes, Tired Buyers

• Detached sales: –35.0% (40 → 26)

• Townhome sales: –40.0% (10 → 6)

• Apartment sales: –23.5% (17 → 13)

This is supposed to be the “high-end recovery” story. Instead, it’s a retreat. Detached sales fell a third, townhomes 40%, condos nearly a quarter.

The detached benchmark price here also slid –2.8% MoM, –8.2% YoY. The yacht crowd isn’t rushing in. They’re still circling.

Port Moody / Belcarra — The Case of the Missing Sellers

• Detached listings: –70.2% (47 → 14)

• Detached sales: up slightly, but on tiny volume

Sellers didn’t just retreat; they vanished. Listings collapsed by more than 70%. Yes, sales ticked up — but from nine to twelve. That’s not momentum. That’s statistical noise.

When you only have 14 houses to sell in a city, three extra buyers changes the math a lot. But that’s not a surge. It’s a rounding error.

New Westminster — Half Off, Not in a Good Way

• Detached sales: –50% (14 → 7)

• Apartment sales: –25.7% (70 → 52)

The royal city halved detached sales and shaved a quarter off apartments. It’s not a blip; it’s a collective shrug.

You’d think this would make headlines: “Detached Sales Halved in New Westminster.” Instead, you got: “Sales lifted.” Lifted where? Into the Thames?

Port Coquitlam — The Dive, Not the Dip

• Detached sales: –38.7% (31 → 19)

This is not what “lift” looks like. This is what gravity looks like. Period.

Richmond — The Sideways Slide

• Apartment sales: –18.2% MoM

• Listings also down

Richmond condos quietly slipped, and detached/townhomes weren’t much livelier. This is what a sideways market looks like when you zoom in: everything soft, nothing screaming.

Coquitlam — Do Not Disturb

• Detached sales: –9.2%

• Townhome sales: –23.4%

• Condo sales: –26.9%

Every category dipped. If August had a ringtone here, it was silence.

Squamish — Lifestyle Pause

• Detached sales: –59.3%

• Listings: –30.1%

This one looks seasonal — buyers traded contracts for climbing gear. But still, a 60% sales plunge is a 60% plunge.

Whistler / Pemberton — Waiting for Snow

• Apartment sales: –26.3%

• Listings: –32.3%

Tourist towns live by seasons. August was not theirs. Sales thinned, listings thinned, and everyone’s waiting for ski season.

Heatmap of August: Mostly Red

If you painted August’s MoM sales % changes on a heatmap, you’d get a sheet of crimson with a couple of green freckles. Burnaby: red. North Van: red. West Van: red. PoCo: red. New West: red. Vancouver East & West had isolated green pops — but not enough to outweigh the blanket of declines.

The story is not “lift.” The story is “drift.”

Delta — Quiet Streets, Quieter Buyers

• Detached listings: –19.5% MoM

• Detached sales: –12.7% MoM

• Townhomes: listings –37.3%, sales –12.0%

Delta has a reputation for being a “steady Eddie” kind of market, but August showed it wasn’t immune to the drag. Detached dipped, but the real story was townhomes: supply collapsed by more than a third, and sales still slipped. That’s not “buyers rushing in.” That’s “everyone sat out.”

If you’re a seller here, the message is simple: don’t mistake silence for stability.

Maple Ridge — The False Comfort of Shrinkage

• Detached listings: –21.2%

• Detached sales: –7.6%

• Townhome listings: –20.7%

• Townhome sales: –11.3%

• Apartment sales: –14.3%

Both listings and sales shrank — but that doesn’t mean balance. It means contraction. The problem with “supply fell too” arguments is that buyers don’t care. They’re not saying, “Phew, fewer listings, so my fewer offers are fair.” They’re just not buying.

Pitt Meadows — A Market on Mute

• Detached sales: –14.3%

• Townhomes: sales –25.0%

Tiny sample sizes, yes, but directionally still soft. When your market’s already small, every dip looks larger, but the theme holds: buyers stayed home, sellers trimmed listings, and the press release looked elsewhere for its storyline.

Surrey — The Giant Yawns

• Detached listings: –25.3%

• Detached sales: –14.6%

• Townhome listings: –22.3%

• Townhome sales: –15.2%

• Apartment listings: –26.1%

• Apartment sales: –18.0% 

Surrey is the monster in the regional dataset — its numbers can sway the totals. And in August, Surrey slumped like the rest: fewer new listings, fewer sales, soft ratios. If Surrey isn’t leading a rally, there is no rally.

This is like watching the Canucks’ goalie pull himself out mid-game — the whole team suffers.

Langley — Middle of the Pack, Middle of Nowhere

• Detached listings: –25.0%

• Detached sales: –18.6%

• Townhome listings: –25.3%

• Townhome sales: –20.5%

• Apartment listings: –27.1%

• Apartment sales: –23.0% 

Langley is often touted as “where the action is” when buyers get priced out of Vancouver proper. Not this August. Nothing here screamed “momentum.” It whispered “balanced-ish,” which is realtor-speak for “bring snacks, this will take a while.”

Tsawwassen — The Sharp Condo Decline

• Apartment sales: –23.5%

• Apartment benchmark price: $734,400 → –2.9% MoM, –10.1% YoY

That’s not easing, that’s erosion. Double-digit YoY losses in condo values are the stuff you’d expect to see in a stressed market — not in one being described as “lifted.” Sellers here aren’t easing. They’re bleeding.

White Rock — Sun, Sand, and Slippage

• Detached listings: –25.7%

• Detached sales: –21.7%

• Apartment listings: –25.9%

• Apartment sales: –21.2%

This is supposed to be the lifestyle sell: walkable waterfront, retirement-friendly, community vibes. But August showed buyers weren’t seduced. Prices eased, sales slipped, and the only thing moving fast was the tide.

Sunshine Coast — Vacation Mode, Market Pause

• Detached listings: –24.4%

• Detached sales: –25.5%

• Benchmark price: $885,000, basically flat MoM (0.0%) but down slightly over six months (–0.1%)

Seasonality explains some of this — August is more paddleboard than purchase contract. But the data still says what it says: fewer deals, fewer new listings, and momentum absent.

MUNICIPAL WRAP-UP — THE HEATMAP DOESN’T LIE

By the time you’ve scrolled through the municipal table, the story is obvious:

• Widespread double-digit MoM declines in both listings and sales.

• A few isolated bright spots (Vancouver East detached/townhomes, Vancouver West townhomes) — but not enough to change the regional total.

• Condo weakness glaring: Richmond –18%, Vancouver East –35%, Coquitlam –27%, New West –26%.

• Luxury softness entrenched: West Van detached –35%, benchmark –8.2% YoY.

The “lift” narrative collapses in a pile of red numbers. If you plotted August as a heatmap, it would look like a nosebleed.

PRICES & RATIOS: THE SOFT SLIDE WITH A SMILE

If August 2025 had a soundtrack, it wouldn’t be a triumphant crescendo. It would be elevator jazz: soft, slow, and vaguely melancholy. That’s because prices didn’t rally. They didn’t stabilize. They slipped again. But the release frames this slip as “easing” — a word so cozy it could knit you a sweater.

The Composite: A Thousand Cuts

• MLS® HPI composite benchmark price: $1,150,400

• Change: –1.3% MoM, –3.8% YoY

That’s the entire market in one line. A $15,000 loss in one month on the “typical” property. A $45,000 loss compared to last year.

Is that a crash? No. But it’s not “lift.” It’s what economists call a drift lower. It’s slow erosion — like a leak in your roof that doesn’t drown you, just ruins the drywall.

Detached: The Buyer’s Playground

• Benchmark price: $1,950,300

• Change: –1.2% MoM, –4.8% YoY

• SALR: 9.3%

Detached is the heavyweight segment — the one with the biggest mortgages, the most investor eyeballs, and the most spin. And the truth is brutal: prices slid again, nearly 5% below last year, with a ratio firmly in buyer’s market territory.

Yet the release still says “higher-end buyers are re-entering.” Sure, they bought 575 houses — down from 660 last month. That’s like re-entering the pool while holding onto the edge.

Townhomes: The Middle Child

• Benchmark price: $1,079,600

• Change: –1.8% MoM, –3.6% YoY

• SALR: 15.8%

Townhomes often act like the market’s middle child: squeezed between the luxury of detached and the affordability of condos. In August, they held up a little better — SALR at 15.8% kept them from outright buyer’s market territory.

But prices still slipped nearly 2% in a single month. That’s $20,000 shaved off the average townhome in 30 days. “Balanced” doesn’t feel very balanced when your paper wealth is evaporating.

Condos: The Quiet Weak Spot

• Benchmark price: $734,400

• Change: –1.3% MoM, –4.4% YoY

• SALR: 14%

Condos are supposed to be the “entry-level” safe zone, the dependable mass market. Instead, they’re looking wobbly. Sales fell hardest MoM (–17.4%), and prices kept sliding. Richmond’s condo sales dropped 18%. Vancouver East’s plunged 35%.

If this is stabilization, it’s the kind where the patient is still hooked up to a monitor.

SALR: Reading Between the Ratios

The sales-to-active listings ratio is the one metric the release quotes most honestly, because it knows most readers won’t parse it. Let’s do the parsing:

• Composite SALR: 12.4%

• Detached: 9.3% (below the “downward pressure” threshold)

• Townhomes: 15.8% (neutral-ish)

• Condos: 14% (neutral-ish)

Here’s the plain-English guide:

• If SALR sits below 12% for a sustained period, prices fall.

• If it sits above 20% for months, prices rise.

• Right now? Detached already under 12%. Condos and townhomes hovering just above.

This is not the setup for rising prices. It’s the setup for more “easing.”

Why Ratios Matter More Than Headlines

Headlines are about vibes. Ratios are about probabilities. With SALR mid-teens, the probability of sideways-to-down pricing is much higher than any near-term rally. That’s why every HPI cell in the tables shows red for the one-month column.

But “sales-to-active listings ratio signals mild downward pressure on prices” doesn’t fit neatly into a press release. So instead, you get “window may soon close.”

It’s not a lie. It’s a horoscope.

The Euphemism Economy

Let’s play a quick translation game:

• “Eased” = Fell again, but gently.

• “Balanced” = Not good for sellers, not good for buyers, just kind of sad.

• “Lifted” = Up compared to last year’s weak base, but down compared to last month.

• “Window closing” = Inventory high, ratios low, but maybe someday this changes.

It’s the kind of language you use when you don’t want anyone to panic — or, worse, stop transacting.

The Honest Summary

If we strip away the euphemisms, August’s prices and ratios tell one story:

• Prices fell across all property types, again.

• Detached is firmly in buyer’s market territory.

• Condos are sliding faster than the narrative admits.

• Townhomes are hanging in the middle, but still losing value.

• SALR confirms more sideways-to-down pressure, not a rally.

That’s not doom. It’s drift. But it’s also not “lift.”

MYTH VS. FACT

If you only read the press release, August 2025 looks like a market on the mend. If you read the tables, it looks like a market drifting sideways-to-down. To clear the air, here’s a spin-to-receipts breakdown.

Myth #1: “Easing prices helped lift sales in August.”

Fact: Prices fell again. Sales fell again compared to July. The “lift” only exists when you compare to August 2024 — a weak base. MoM, detached sales –12.9%, townhomes –10.9%, condos –17.4%. Prices slid 1–2% across all types. That’s gravity, not lift.

Myth #2: “The window for buyers may soon close.”

Fact: Active listings sat at 16,242 in August — nearly 37% above the 10-year seasonal average. Detached SALR was 9.3%, condos 14%, townhomes 15.8%. That’s not a closing window. That’s a wide-open Costco aisle with bulk packs still on the shelf.

Myth #3: “Higher-end buyers are re-entering in a meaningful way.”

Fact: Detached sales were up 13% YoY, but down 13% MoM. Benchmark price –1.2% MoM, –4.8% YoY. SALR under 10%. If this is “re-entering,” it’s more like dipping a toe in the pool than cannonballing back.

Myth #4: “Balanced conditions suggest stability.”

Fact: Balanced is PR-speak for “not great, not terrible.” Composite SALR at 12.4% is barely above the downward-pressure line. Detached is already below it. Prices slid again, exactly what you’d expect in a “balanced-ish” market.

Myth #5: “Condo demand is stabilizing.”

Fact: Condo sales fell hardest MoM (–17.4%). Sub-areas got hammered: Vancouver East condo sales –34.8%, Richmond –18.2%, Coquitlam –26.9%. Benchmark price –1.3% MoM, –4.4% YoY. That’s not stability — that’s slippage.

Myth #6: “Inventory is thinning, supporting prices.”

Fact: New listings fell MoM (seasonal), but active inventory remains thick: +17.6% YoY, +36.9% vs 10-yr average. Buyers still have selection, which means sellers still have competition. Prices “eased” again for a reason.

Myth #7: “Momentum is building.”

Fact: Momentum is a MoM story. And MoM, every property type fell double digits in sales. Prices also fell. That’s not momentum building. That’s momentum braking.

Myth #8: “It’s just one or two weak areas.”

Fact: Pull up the heatmap: Burnaby attached –43.6%. North Van detached –42.5%. West Van detached –35%. New West detached –50%. Port Coquitlam detached –38.7%. Squamish detached –59.3%. This isn’t one market sneezing. It’s the region yawning.

Myth #9: “This is the last month of buyer leverage.”

Fact: Detached SALR = 9.3%. Inventory above norms. Prices sliding again. The only thing closing is the seller’s patience. Buyers still hold the cards, especially in detached.

Myth #10: “It’s different this time.”

Fact: It’s never different. SALR mid-teens = soft prices. Detached under 12% = buyer’s leverage. And that’s exactly what the HPI shows: all types down again. The laws of supply and demand didn’t suddenly rewrite themselves in August 2025.

Bottom Line

The myth layer is built on adjectives. The fact layer is built on columns 4 and 8 of the summary tables. And in August, those columns wrote one story: sales down, listings down, prices down.

That’s not doom. It’s not disaster. But it’s sure as hell not “lift.”

WHAT IT MEANS (AKA: HOW TO TALK LIKE A HUMAN ABOUT AUGUST)

So we’ve torn apart the headline, roasted the spin machine, shredded the totals, laughed at the euphemisms, and dragged each municipality into the daylight. The verdict is simple: August 2025 was not a rally. It was a regroup.

Prices slipped again. Sales fell double digits from July. Inventory stayed elevated. SALR hovered in the “meh” zone. YoY numbers looked a little better — but MoM momentum sagged.

The press release dressed that up as “lift.” We just undressed it into “drift.” Now, here’s how you actually use this information in real conversations.

If You’re a Seller

Forget the 2021 playbook. Overpricing is now a gift you’re giving your neighbor. The data is clear: buyers have options, ratios are low, and detached is officially tilted toward them.

If you want to sell in September, you need to price like you want it done in the first two weeks — not like you’re still daydreaming about multiple offers.

Say it out loud: “Better to sell fast at today’s price than sit on market and chase the next three price drops.”

If You’re a Buyer

Ignore the FOMO language. The “window” is not closing — it’s wide open, with 16,242 active listings and ratios that still tilt in your favor.

This doesn’t mean you can lowball every listing. Good homes — the ones with light, layout, and sane strata fees — still get scooped up. But mediocre ones? You’ve got leverage.

Your script: “Love the house, but the August data shows detached SALR at 9.3%. Here’s my offer.” (Watch the listing agent squirm when you say it.)

If You’re an Investor

This isn’t a flip market. It’s a fundamentals market. You buy now for cash flow or long-term positioning, not for quick appreciation.

Underwrite conservatively. Expect more “easing.” Look for product that survives every cycle: well-run strata, livable layouts, locations people will always want.

Your game is patience, not panic.

If You’re Just Trying to Sound Smart at a BBQ

Here’s your one-liner:
“Headline says prices eased and sales lifted, but the tables show sales fell double digits from July, prices dropped again, and detached SALR’s in buyer territory. So yeah, not exactly a lift.”

Then sip your drink and let the silence hang.

The Honest August Headline

If the report had been written without spin, here’s what it would’ve said:

“Prices fell again; sales dropped from July across all property types. Inventory remains elevated, with detached in buyer’s market territory. Balanced overall, but balanced isn’t booming.”

Not sexy. Not clickable. But true.