Vancouver’s court-ordered property listings are nearing a 20-year high — and they’re not selling

Skip to Content News Archives Economy Defence Energy Oil & Gas Renewables Electric Vehicles Mining Commodities Agriculture Real Estate Mortgages Mortgage Rates Finance Banking Insurance Fintech Cryptocurrency Defence Work Wealth Smart Money Wealth Management Investor Personal Finance Family Finance Retirement Taxes High Net Worth FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials More Innovation Information Technology FP500 Podcasts Small Business Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Financial Post Store Obituaries Place a Notice Advertising Advertising With Us Advertising Solutions Postmedia Ad Manager Sponsorship Requests Classifieds Place a Classifieds ad Working Profile Settings My Subscriptions My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ News Economy Energy Mining Real Estate Finance Defence Work Wealth Investor FP Comment Executive Women Puzzmo Newsletters Financial Times Business Essentials This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.HomeReal EstateMortgagesVancouver's court-ordered property listings are nearing a 20-year high — and they're not sellingRobert McLister: This is not for buyers who like certainty — or sleep. But on the upside, few investors are buying right now. Plus, rates are on the rise, so bottom fishers should find the pond a lot less crowdedA home for sale in Vancouver, B.C. Photo by Jennifer Gauthier/Bloomberg filesGreater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley are closing in on a record that few real estate types want broken: the most court-ordered residential listings in at least two decades.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLYSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESCreate an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountThat’s the forecast from Zealty.ca, says Hamidreza Etebarian, president of the real estate listing site.Through September, he tells me, the two regions had racked up 946 court-ordered listings. The high in Zealty’s records is 1,174, set in 2012 — in the hangover from the global financial crisis.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.But the number of listings is one thing. How long they’re taking to sell is another.SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE: FP West: Energy Insider brings you behind the oilpatch’s closed doors with exclusive insights from insiders every Wednesday morning.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of FP West: Energy Insider will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againIn a typical year, about 60 per cent of court-ordered listings (more than 80 per cent of which are foreclosures) would sell, says Etebarian. And 50 per cent are usually gone by September.In 2026, just 38 per cent have sold so far.“It’s a soft market,” he said. “That’s the main reason.”“All these court-ordered sales are a sign of the economic times.”The distress has also moved upmarket.Through August, court-ordered listings in West Vancouver were running at nearly four times their crisis-era pace, while the city’s pricey Westside was at about two and a half times.“We just saw one in Shaughnessy listed for $17 million and it sold for $10 million,” he says. (A $7-million haircut, for those keeping score.)“These are wealthier families who stretched themselves too thin,” Etebarian said.Many need to renew and are finding they can no longer service the debt. Surging fixed mortgage rates aren’t helping, and now they have to liquidate.Court-ordered sales were never speedyThis year, according to Zealty, they’re taking three times as long to sell as regular listings (a median of about 70 days versus 23).This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.Etebarian’s list of reasons is long: the process is slower, closing is more complicated, buyers have to bid, the seller may not be pricing the home right, and the place might be in rough shape.“They aren’t fire sales,” he explained, as courts try to ensure a property is sold as close as possible to its fair market value.But you can still get a deal, he said. Lenders can be motivated on properties that sit because they’re losing money each month.Year-to-date, court-ordered properties are selling for about 14 per cent below assessed value, Zealty reports. A regular sale might trade at roughly a five per cent discount.“You’re not getting the 30 to 40 per cent off that people assume.”So it’s a better bargain, but not a heist.If foreclosures interest you — as a buyer, hopefully — Zealty is one of the few places to find them free.And if one catches your eye, here’s the typical path from offer to keys, according to the company:Step 1: The lender accepts your offer, subject to court approval. This can take a week or more.Step 2: The buyer removes all subjects within one to two weeks. (The court only approves unconditional offers.)This advertisement has not loaded yet.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.Step 3: The lender’s lawyer books a hearing, usually four to six weeks later.Step 4: On the hearing day, other buyers can hand in sealed bids by 9:45 a.m. and the judge approves the best offer. (Yes, you can do all that waiting and still lose the home.)Step 5: The sale completes about two weeks after the judge’s order.As you can see, courts don’t do rush orders. All in, it’s typically a two- to three-month process, and one adjournment can add weeks.In other words, this is not for buyers who like certainty — or sleep.On the upside, few investors are buying right now, Etebarian said. Plus, rates are on the rise, so bottom fishers should find the pond a lot less crowded.Robert McLister is a mortgage strategist, interest rate analyst and editor of MortgageLogic.news. You can follow him on X at @RobMcLister.For the best national insured and uninsured mortgage rates, updated daily, please visit our mortgage rate page here.This advertisement has not loaded yet.Notice for the Postmedia NetworkThis website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. 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