Buy the Fear: Why Right Now Is the Time to Buy — or Upsize — in the Tri-Cities

By Colin Colpitts, Apex Real Estate Group

If you've been sitting on the sidelines waiting for a "sign" that it's safe to buy again, this is it.

Investors have a saying for moments like this: buy the fear. It means the best opportunities usually show up exactly when everyone else feels nervous — not after the headlines turn rosy and the crowd pushes prices back up. Real estate works the same way, and right now, Greater Vancouver — especially our own Tri-Cities corridor of Coquitlam, Port Moody, and Port Coquitlam — is sitting in one of those windows.

Here's the data behind that claim, and why I think it matters for anyone thinking about buying their first home or upsizing into more space.

The Big Picture: A Market That's Quietly Turning

After a few slow, cautious years, Greater Vancouver just posted one of its more encouraging months in a while. Residential sales across the region climbed to 2,390 in June 2026, up close to 10% from June 2025. What stood out wasn't just the number — it was that every major property type (detached, attached, and apartments) posted gains at the same time, something the region's own economists flagged as unusual after years of a sideways, mixed market. That kind of broad-based movement is often an early tell that sentiment is starting to shift before prices do.

At the same time, inventory is still generous. Active listings across the region sit well above the 10-year seasonal norm, and the region-wide sales-to-active-listings ratio is hovering in balanced-market territory — not the 2021-style frenzy, and not a buyer's free-for-all either, but a market where you can still negotiate, include financing and inspection conditions, and take your time on due diligence. The average detached home price across Greater Vancouver actually sits a little below where it was a year ago, even as sales pick up.

In other words: demand is warming up, but pricing hasn't caught up to it yet. That gap is the opportunity.

Why Interest Rates Are Finally on Your Side

The other half of the "buy the fear" case is borrowing costs. The Bank of Canada has now held its overnight rate at 2.25% for six straight decisions, with the prime rate steady at 4.45% and five-year fixed mortgages generally landing in the low-to-mid 4% range. Independent economists surveyed by the C.D. Howe Institute expect the Bank to hold roughly at this level into early 2027 before any modest increase — which means the rate environment buyers are facing today is about as stable and predictable as it's been in years.

Yes, there's been some noise: an earlier-2026 technical recession, elevated oil prices tied to Middle East tensions pushing headline inflation up temporarily, and unemployment sitting near 6.5%. That's exactly the kind of uncertainty that keeps hesitant buyers on the sidelines — and exactly why the buyers who move now, while others wait for a "perfect" all-clear signal, tend to get the best selection and the least competition.

The Tri-Cities Advantage

Zoom into Coquitlam, Port Moody, and Port Coquitlam specifically, and the buyer's-market conditions are even clearer than the regional averages suggest.

Coquitlam is showing a genuine two-speed market. Detached homes are taking a reported 113 days on average to sell, with sellers landing close to — but modestly under — asking price, giving buyers real room to negotiate and time to do their homework rather than racing a bidding war. Attached homes and townhomes are moving faster, closer to 65 days, which tells you where the competition is concentrated. If you're looking to upsize from a townhome into a detached home in neighbourhoods like Burke Mountain or Coquitlam West, the detached segment is currently the more forgiving side of that trade.

Port Moody has cooled the most of the three, with prices down roughly 4–6% year-over-year across property types and detached inventory rising significantly. Detached homes and condos are both firmly favouring buyers right now; townhomes remain the exception, still fielding solid demand. For a city with SkyTrain access, waterfront trails, and some of the best schools in the Tri-Cities, that kind of pricing softness rarely lasts long once broader sentiment turns — which ties directly back to the regional shift we're already starting to see.

Port Coquitlam tells an interesting story: it's still classified as a buyer's market for detached homes, with plenty of time to negotiate and an absorption rate suggesting real inventory choice — yet recent sold prices have actually ticked up compared to the trailing 90-day average. That's often what the early innings of a turning market look like: conditions still favour the buyer, but the price trend is quietly starting to bend upward. For families being priced out of Vancouver or Burnaby, Port Coquitlam remains one of the few places in the region where a proper detached lot is still attainable in the mid-$1 million range.

Buying or Upsizing: Why Now Works for Both

• First-time buyers get something they haven't had in years: negotiating room, financing and inspection conditions, and stable, forecastable mortgage rates instead of a moving target.

• Upsizers benefit from the two-speed market directly. If your current condo or townhome is in the more competitive, faster-moving segment, you may sell well while buying into the softer, slower-moving detached segment — effectively upgrading on both ends of the transaction at once.

• Long-term owners and investors are still buying into a region with genuine structural demand: Metro Vancouver added more than 45,000 new residents over the past year, and new density and transit-oriented rezoning hasn't come close to catching up with that growth.

The Window Doesn't Stay Open Forever

This is the heart of the "buy the fear" argument. June's broad-based sales rebound, easing rate uncertainty, and a Bank of Canada that's signalling stability rather than more hikes are all early indicators that confidence is starting to return. Once it fully returns, inventory tightens, days-on-market shrink, and sellers regain the upper hand — and by then, the "fear" that created this window will be gone, along with the leverage it gave buyers.

What to Weigh Before You Act

To be fair to the other side of the ledger: the broader economy is not without risk. Inflation has been running hotter than target due to oil prices, unemployment remains elevated, and forecasts can shift with little notice. None of this is a guarantee that prices will rise on any particular timeline, and every buying decision should be weighed against your own budget, job security, and financing pre-approval — ideally with a mortgage professional alongside a REALTOR®. I'm not a financial advisor, and this article is market commentary, not personal financial advice.

What I can tell you, based on the numbers above, is that the conditions that typically precede a stronger market — rising sales, stabilizing rates, and inventory still favouring buyers — are lining up right now across the Tri-Cities.

Let's Talk Strategy

Whether you're buying your first home, moving up into more space, or just want an honest read on what your specific street or building looks like in today's data,

We'd be glad to walk through it with you.

www.ApexREG.ca

Colin Colpitts Apex Real Estate Group Serving Coquitlam, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, and the wider Tri-Cities

Market data referenced from Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR/REBGV) monthly reports, CREA statistics, Bank of Canada Monetary Policy Reports, the C.D. Howe Institute Monetary Policy Council, and local Tri-Cities market reports current as of July 2026. Figures reflect market conditions at time of writing and are subject to change — always confirm current pricing and inventory for your specific property type and neighbourhood.