Jon Bennest is watching Western Canada’s housing market turn a corner, but not in the way many expected. As 2026 approaches, the familiar players are changing, the pressure points are shifting, and a new kind of buyer is quietly taking the lead. The result is a market on the brink of something different and potentially defining for anyone hoping to get the keys to a new home next year.

2026 should be an interesting year for Western Canada’s new home market. Indicators suggest that the market is stabilizing, but it’s still apparent that pre-sales investors are absent and the demand is coming from end-users looking to progress in their lives.

As the end user is most likely to be the dominant buyer in 2026, efficiently designed and well-priced townhome and low-rise condominium projects are anticipated to be the top performers in the market. Investor purchasers seeking discounts or incentives for move-in ready product may find opportunities in the concrete high-rise sector as this housing type represents the majority of standing inventory of new homes in a market such as Metro Vancouver.

We’ve heard from industry stakeholders that due to rising financing, material, government, and labour costs, many new home communities today are not profitable for home builders. Unless something fundamentally changes on reducing input costs, the lack of feasibility of future supply could result in a shortage of housing after current housing inventory is absorbed.

2026 represents an opportunity for first-time buyers as they will be able to take advantage more selection and improved pricing relative to the past five years. Further, this group will also be able to utilize the first-time homebuyers’ GST relief program once it becomes available.

~ Jon Bennest | Vice-President | Product Development | Zonda Urban | Vancouver Canada

Zonda Urban Jon Bennest : Western Canada’s New Home Market Poised for A Shift in 2026 by Erin Nicks | Livabl