$768,000. That is the September gap between the Metro Vancouver detached benchmark ($1,784,700) and the attached benchmark ($1,016,700), from Greater Vancouver REALTORS®’ September 2026 statistics released October 2. The first number tracks what a multiplex site costs. The second tracks what a finished ground-oriented unit sells against. Over twelve months land gave up 7.3% and exits gave up 4.7%, so the year still favours the builder by 2.6 percentage points. Inside September it went the other way: the exit index fell 1.2% while land fell 0.8%. That is the number to watch this fall.
The September Numbers
Benchmark prices first. These are MLS® Home Price Index values for the whole Greater Vancouver REALTORS® region, not valuations of any particular lot or unit.
| Benchmark (MLS® HPI) | September 2026 | Year over year | From August |
|---|---|---|---|
| Composite (all residential) | $1,075,900 | -5.5% | -0.6% |
| Detached | $1,784,700 | -7.3% | -0.8% |
| Attached / townhouse | $1,016,700 | -4.7% | -1.2% |
| Apartment | $682,500 | -6.2% | -0.5% |
Then the activity side.
| Activity measure | September 2026 | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Total residential sales | 1,717 | Down 8.4% from 1,875 in September 2025; 25% below the 10-year seasonal average of 2,289 |
| Detached sales | 575 | Up 4.2% from 552 |
| Attached sales | 358 | Up 0.6% from 356 |
| Apartment sales | 777 | Down 18.6% from 954 |
| New listings | 5,852 | Down 10.3% from 6,527; 5.7% above the 10-year seasonal average of 5,537 |
| Active listings | 16,394 | Down 4% from 17,079; 24.3% above the 10-year seasonal average of 13,186 |
| Sales-to-active ratio | 10.9% overall | Detached 9.7%, attached 12.2%, apartment 11.4% |
Source: Greater Vancouver REALTORS®, September 2026 MLS® Residential Market Report, released October 2, 2026.
Andrew Lis, GVR’s chief economist and vice-president of data analytics, put the month this way: “By contrast, sales of attached and detached homes finished slightly up from last September, consistent with our view that end-users are primarily driving the market, as investor-driven demand awaits more favourable market conditions.”
For a builder that sentence decides who buys your units. The people buying right now are buying homes to live in. The people buying small units to rent out are mostly waiting. Apartment sales fell from 954 to 777, which is 177 sales, more than the 158 sales the whole region lost on the year.
What This Does to the Land Side
The detached benchmark is your acquisition line. Multiplex projects start on single-family lots, so $1,784,700, down 7.3% on the year and down 0.8% in the month, is the index for what a fresh deal costs to enter.
The detached sales-to-active ratio was 9.7%, almost the same as August’s 9.6%, and still under the 12% level GVR ties to downward price pressure when it holds for a sustained period. Inverted, 9.7% is 10.3 months of supply. That is my arithmetic on the board’s ratio, and it is the same calculation I used last month.
Two things changed from August. Detached sales rose 4.2% on the year, to 575, so more end-user buyers are bidding on houses than a year ago. And sellers came back after Labour Day: new listings across all types rose to 5,852, from 4,100 in August, though still 10.3% below last September.
Practical version: you still have time on a lot purchase, and more lots to choose from than in August. Write conditional offers and take the full due diligence period. The difference from August is that you are now competing with more owner-occupier buyers for the same houses, so the best-priced lots may move faster than the 10.3-month figure suggests.
What This Does to the Exit
The attached benchmark is the closest board proxy for what a finished ground-oriented multiplex unit sells against. In September it fell 1.2% from August, to $1,016,700, the largest monthly drop of the three property types. On the year it is down 4.7%, still the smallest annual decline of the three.
Attached sales held: 358 against 356 a year earlier, up 0.6%. So buyers are still showing up for family-sized ground-oriented homes. They are paying less than they did in August.
The absorption number moved the most. The attached sales-to-active ratio fell from 15.1% in August to 12.2% in September. That is still inside the balanced band, 0.2 points above the 12% line. Inverted, it is 8.2 months of supply, against 6.6 months in August.
What I take from that: the exit product still sells better than detached or apartments, and the gap has narrowed. If September’s 12.2% drops under 12% in October, the exit index will be under the same downward pressure the land index has been under all year.
The Spread
$1,784,700 minus $1,016,700 is $768,000. That distance, between the index for the land you buy and the index for the units you sell, is the gross development margin of this business before construction, soft costs, financing, fees, and GST take their share.
Over the year, the ratio still favours the builder. Land fell 7.3%, exits fell 4.7%. The attached benchmark is 57.0% of the detached benchmark.
Within September, it moved against the builder. The attached benchmark was 57.2% of detached in August and 57.0% in September, and the dollar gap narrowed by $2,600. One month is not a trend. I will be watching whether October repeats it.
The regional figures hide large differences between areas. The board publishes the same two benchmarks by sub-area:
| Sub-area (September 2026) | Detached benchmark | Townhouse benchmark | Gap | Townhouse as % of detached |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Vancouver | $1,784,700 | $1,016,700 | $768,000 | 57.0% |
| Port Coquitlam | $1,240,600 | $834,300 | $406,300 | 67.2% |
| New Westminster | $1,356,900 | $854,200 | $502,700 | 63.0% |
| Coquitlam | $1,584,400 | $976,600 | $607,800 | 61.6% |
| North Vancouver | $2,042,000 | $1,230,400 | $811,600 | 60.3% |
| Vancouver East | $1,630,500 | $980,400 | $650,100 | 60.1% |
| Richmond | $1,871,100 | $1,025,000 | $846,100 | 54.8% |
| Burnaby East | $1,694,900 | $857,900 | $837,000 | 50.6% |
| Burnaby South | $1,894,600 | $942,100 | $952,500 | 49.7% |
| Burnaby North | $1,808,500 | $880,400 | $928,100 | 48.7% |
| Vancouver West | $2,916,100 | $1,298,500 | $1,617,600 | 44.5% |
Benchmark prices are from the September 2026 GVR HPI tables. The percentage column is my arithmetic on those two published figures, nothing more.
Port Coquitlam has the highest ratio in the table at 67.2%, and New Westminster is next at 63.0%. Vancouver West is the lowest at 44.5%. One sub-area deserves a note for anyone building in East Vancouver: the Vancouver East townhouse benchmark is down 7.1% over three months and 7.9% over the year, a larger annual drop than its detached benchmark (7.7%). That is the one area in the table where the exit side fell faster than land over twelve months.
None of this ranks where to build. Servicing, tree retention, frontage, DCLs, and construction cost sit outside this table and often decide the project. It is a starting filter.
The illustration, with its assumptions labelled
Take the regional benchmarks and assume, purely for illustration, a four-unit project. Four units at the attached benchmark is $4,066,800 of gross revenue against a land index of $1,784,700, leaving $2,282,100 to cover everything else. In August the same arithmetic left $2,315,800, so the envelope shrank by $33,700 in a month.
Every one of those numbers except the two benchmarks is an assumption. The unit count is assumed. The idea that four new multiplex units each sell at a regional benchmark that blends townhouses of every age across the sixteen areas GVR covers is an assumption. Construction cost, soft costs, financing, municipal fees, GST, and profit are all absent, because the board publishes none of them. The exercise gives you the size of the envelope, not the answer.
The Financing Backdrop
The Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.25% on September 2, 2026, two days into the September data month. The rate has been 2.25% at every announcement in 2026. The next scheduled announcement is October 28.
The policy rate reaches a multiplex deal from two directions. It anchors the floating rate on the construction facility, which is the carrying cost you pay every month from demolition to occupancy. And it sets the mortgage rate your end buyer qualifies at, which decides how much of that $1,016,700 a family can finance.
My read is that 2.25% is a workable base for starting a build. That is opinion, not forecast. Do not write a proforma that only works if October 28 brings a cut.
What I’d Do This Month
If you already own the lot. Your basis is set. Your question is the exit. Re-run your project at the September attached benchmark of $1,016,700 instead of August’s $1,028,800, and add time to your sales assumption: attached absorption went from 6.6 months of supply in August to 8.2 in September by the arithmetic above. If the project clears at those numbers, it is still worth starting.
If you are shopping for a lot. Conditions still favour you. The detached ratio is 9.7%, active listings are 24.3% above the seasonal average, and new listings rose after Labour Day. Detached sales rose 4.2% on the year, so expect more owner-occupier competition on the best lots than in August. Use the sub-area ratio table as a first filter and keep conditions in every offer.
If you are mid-build and weighing sell versus hold. Look at who is buying. Lis says end-users are driving the market and investors are waiting, and apartment sales fell 18.6%. Small one-bedroom units compete with apartments, the weakest part of the market. Three-bedroom ground-oriented units sell to families, and attached sales held level with last year. If your mix is family-sized, the sell case at completion is intact, priced to September’s benchmark. If you hold, price the carry off 2.25% and revisit after October 28.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the Metro Vancouver detached benchmark price in September 2026?
The Metro Vancouver detached benchmark price was $1,784,700 in September 2026, down 7.3% from September 2025 and down 0.8% from August 2026, per Greater Vancouver REALTORS®’ September 2026 report released October 2. For a multiplex builder this is the acquisition index, because projects start on single-family lots. It is a regional index value, so it does not price any particular lot.
What is the Metro Vancouver townhouse benchmark price in September 2026?
The Metro Vancouver attached, or townhouse, benchmark price was $1,016,700 in September 2026, down 4.7% year over year and down 1.2% from August. That monthly drop was the largest of the three property types, while the annual drop was the smallest. It is the closest board proxy for what a finished ground-oriented multiplex unit sells against, though it blends townhouses of every age across the GVR region.
What is the spread between land and exit prices for a Vancouver multiplex in September 2026?
The spread between the Metro Vancouver detached and attached benchmarks was $768,000 in September 2026, which is $1,784,700 minus $1,016,700. The attached benchmark equals 57.0% of the detached benchmark, down from 57.2% in August. That gap is the gross development margin before construction, soft costs, financing, municipal fees, and GST, so it sizes the envelope rather than answering whether a project works.
Are multiplex-style units still selling in Metro Vancouver in September 2026?
Yes. Attached sales reached 358 in September 2026, up 0.6% from 356 in September 2025, and detached sales rose 4.2%, while apartment sales fell 18.6%. The attached sales-to-active ratio fell from 15.1% in August to 12.2% in September, still inside the balanced range. Family-sized ground-oriented homes are still selling, at prices 1.2% lower than in August.
Why did Vancouver condo sales fall in September 2026?
Apartment sales fell to 777 in September 2026, down 18.6% from 954 a year earlier. GVR chief economist Andrew Lis said end-users are primarily driving the market while investor-driven demand waits for better conditions. For a multiplex builder, it means small units compete in the weakest part of the market this fall, while family-sized units compete in the attached segment, where sales held level.
Is September 2026 a good time to buy a multiplex development lot in Metro Vancouver?
Conditions favour lot buyers. The detached sales-to-active ratio was 9.7% in September 2026, below the 12% level GVR ties to downward price pressure, and active listings of 16,394 sat 24.3% above the 10-year seasonal average. Detached sales rose 4.2% on the year, so owner-occupiers are competing for houses again. Every lot still has to clear its own proforma.
Which Metro Vancouver sub-areas have the highest land-to-exit ratio for multiplex development?
In September 2026 the townhouse benchmark sat highest relative to the detached benchmark in Port Coquitlam at 67.2% ($834,300 against $1,240,600), then New Westminster at 63.0% and Coquitlam at 61.6%. Vancouver West was lowest at 44.5%. These percentages are arithmetic on GVR’s published sub-area benchmarks and are a first filter only, since servicing, trees, frontage, fees, and construction cost decide projects.
What did the Bank of Canada do with interest rates, and how does it hit a multiplex build?
The Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.25% on September 2, 2026, and the rate has been 2.25% at every announcement in 2026. The next announcement is October 28, 2026. The rate anchors the floating cost on a construction facility between demolition and occupancy, and it sets what an end buyer can qualify to pay for a finished unit.
Sources
- Greater Vancouver REALTORS®, September 2026 MLS® Residential Market Report (news release and HPI tables, released October 2, 2026), including the Andrew Lis commentary quoted above and the sub-area benchmark tables. Accessed October 9, 2026.
- Bank of Canada, key interest rate (policy rate held at 2.25% on September 2, 2026; next announcement October 28, 2026). Accessed October 9, 2026.
- Previous month: The $770,600 Spread: Vancouver Multiplex, August 2026
The board publishes the market, and your proforma decides the project. To see how the September numbers land on your specific lot, run it through the VanPlex proforma, or start with the Vancouver multiplex data we maintain across the R1-1 stock.
David Babakaiff, CEO & Co-Founder of VanPlex
PlexRank™ | Profit with Multiplex
