Vancouver's multiplex bet hits a wall: 1,360 units approved, only 308 sold

Vancouver's plan to ease its housing shortage with multiplex homes is hitting a reality check. The Globe and Mail reported on November 13, citing data from realtor and analyst Eni Mece, that 1,360 multiplex units have been approved in Vancouver since 2024 but only 308 have sold — more than four approved for every one sold.

About 1,100 under construction, 190 for sale

The figures show about 1,100 multiplex units under construction and 190 currently for sale — four times the number on the market at the end of 2024 — while about 110 multiplex homes have already been taken off the market without selling. New east-side units have sold at around $861 per square foot since July, down about 23% from $1,118 per square foot in late 2024. Mece said a builder needs about $990 per square foot to break even on a fourplex built on a standard 33-foot east-side lot bought for about $1.7 million.

B.C.'s Bill 44 faces repeal or amendment

Multiplexes are at the heart of British Columbia's Bill 44, passed in 2023: it rezoned single-family areas in municipalities of at least 5,000 people for multi-unit housing, without public hearings, and the province forecast the small-scale multi-unit housing would deliver 130,000 units over a decade. Vancouver's own R1-1 zoning reform, approved in 2023, allows three to six homes on a single-family lot. But the new provincial government that took office after last month's election says it plans to repeal or amend Bill 44 and hand decision-making back to municipalities; Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson has also said he will scrap the housing completion targets set for each municipality.

The numbers count listed sales only

Mece's figures cover only units listed on the Multiple Listing Service, not private sales, and units built by families to live in themselves are not counted. He expects stalled sites, price cuts and units quietly turned into rentals over the next 12 to 24 months.

Sources: The Globe and Mail; Eni Mece.