November 2026: Most Metro Vancouver homes are selling below assessed value

Sam Tabrizi

18 hours ago

5 min read

Featured image for Sam Tabrizi blog post on Metro Vancouver homes selling below assessed value in November 2026

If you have been watching your BC Assessment notice as a guide to what your home is worth, this year's numbers are a reality check. According to Zealty.ca, a B.C. real estate data platform, about three in four homes sold across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley so far in 2026 closed below their 2026 BC Assessment value. The figures were reported by the Vancouver Sun on Nov. 1, 2026.

One important note before we dig in: these numbers come from Zealty, a private data platform — not from a real estate board. Zealty told the Sun it uses MLS® data from Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR) and the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, and compares every residential sale price with the assessed value of the same property. Neither board published this analysis.

The numbers at a glance

18,168 of 24,426 homes sold between Jan. 1 and Oct. 25, 2026 closed below their 2026 assessed value — roughly 74%, or about three in four.
Since July, the share has climbed to "more than four-in-five," according to Zealty president Hamidreza Etebarian.
On average, homes sold for 4.6% less than their assessed value, with plenty of outliers in both directions.
Richmond and New Westminster were the weakest, each averaging 7.1% below assessed value.
Whistler (6.2% above) and Squamish (0.6% above) were the exceptions, on average selling above assessed value.
As of Oct. 27, 44% of active B.C. listings were priced below assessed value.
Of homes bought in 2022 and resold in 2026, 78% sold for less than the owner originally paid.

Why assessed value and market value are drifting apart

Your 2026 assessment is a snapshot, not a price tag. BC Assessment values every property as of July 1 of the previous year, so the 2026 assessments reflect the market on July 1, 2025 — not what buyers are paying in November 2026. When prices are falling, sales naturally start landing below a number that was set more than a year earlier.

And prices have been falling. Greater Vancouver REALTORS® reports the Metro Vancouver composite benchmark at $1,075,900 in September 2026, down 5.5% year over year, with the sales-to-active listings ratio at 10.9%. GVR's historical analysis suggests downward pressure on prices when that ratio stays below 12% for a sustained period — buyer's market territory.

What this looks like in Coquitlam

Zealty's below-assessment figures were reported for the region and for selected cities; a Coquitlam-specific below-assessment number was not published in the coverage, so we won't guess at one. What we can show is the latest board data for Coquitlam (GVR, September 2026):

Composite benchmark (all home types): $971,700 — down 1.0% from August and 6.3% from a year ago
Detached benchmark: $1,584,400 (-6.6% year over year)
Townhouse benchmark: $976,600 (-6.5% year over year)
Apartment benchmark: $640,100 (-7.3% year over year)
Sales: 141 homes, compared with 165 in September 2025 (about -14.5%)

With Coquitlam benchmark prices down roughly 6% to 7% across property types over the past year, it is no surprise that many local sales are landing under assessments set back in July 2025.

A separate Zealty analysis, reported by the Tri-Cities Dispatch in October, adds another local signal: 38% of the 1,516 Coquitlam homes sold in the first nine months of 2026 had a previous listing that expired or was withdrawn, with a median of 50 days to sell measured from the first listing attempt. Across Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, homes that had to be relisted ultimately sold at a median 13% below their original asking price, versus 3.5% below asking for homes that sold on the first try.

What it means for sellers

Your assessment is not your list price. It reflects July 1, 2025. Buyers are pricing off what comparable homes sold for in the last few weeks, not off your notice.
Pricing right the first time matters more than ever. The relisting data above tells the story: homes that start too high tend to sit, get relisted, and sell for less than they might have with a realistic launch price.
Look at the whole move, not just the sale. If you are selling and buying in the same market, a softer sale price is often offset by a softer purchase price. As one Vancouver agent put it in the Sun's coverage, the opportunity is often in what you are able to buy next.
Presentation and timing still count. In a buyer's market, well-prepared homes priced to the current comps still sell; the rest wait.

What it means for buyers

You have negotiating leverage. With most sales closing below assessed value and 44% of B.C. listings already priced below assessment, a list price at or above assessment deserves a hard look at recent comps.
Don't treat "below assessment" as a bargain by itself. Since assessments are more than a year old, a price below assessment may simply be today's market value. Compare against recent sales of similar homes, not the assessment.
Use conditions and time. With more listings and slower sales, buyers can often keep subject-to-financing and inspection conditions that were hard to win a few years ago. Keep an eye on mortgage rates too — the Bank of Canada raised its policy rate to 2.5% on Oct. 28.

What it means for owners: your 2027 assessment and appeals

What it will reflect: your 2027 assessment will estimate your home's market value as of July 1, 2026.
When it arrives: BC Assessment mails notices on Dec. 31, so most owners receive them in early January 2027.
Lower assessment does not automatically mean lower property taxes. BC Assessment notes that tax changes depend on how your value moved relative to the average change for your property class in your municipality, not on the size of the change itself.
If you disagree: BC Assessment encourages owners to contact them first at 1-866-valueBC (825-8322); many concerns are resolved without a formal complaint. To request an independent review by the Property Assessment Review Panel, the written notice of complaint must be filed by BC Assessment's deadline — the last working day of January, typically Jan. 31. In 2027, Jan. 31 falls on a Sunday, so check the exact date printed on your notice.
Gather evidence: recent sales of comparable homes around July 1, 2026, and any condition issues as of Oct. 31, 2026 (BC Assessment's physical condition date) are the most useful support.

The bottom line

A home selling below its assessed value is not a sign that something is wrong with that home — it is a sign that the market has moved since July 2025. For sellers, that means pricing to today's comps. For buyers, it means room to negotiate. For every owner, it is a good time to understand what your 2027 assessment will and will not mean when it arrives in January.