For several years, buyers across Metro Vancouver signed presale contracts on roughly the same assumption: by completion the property will be worth more. Pay the deposit, wait a few years, and the value takes care of itself — you might even assign it at a profit before completing at all.
2026 has been an expensive correction to that assumption. Units bought near the peak are reaching completion into a market that has moved.
That shows up in four ways at once:
- The lender’s appraisal may come in below the purchase price
- Financing may not come together the way it was expected to
- Household cash flow is tighter than it was when the contract was signed
- The assignment market is thinner than people assume — and not completing carries its own consequences
Most buyers in this position aren’t refusing to complete. They don’t yet know whether they can. They aren’t avoiding a decision. They don’t know where to start the arithmetic.
Why this cycle is harder than previous ones
The defining feature of a presale is the gap between signing and completing — two years, three, sometimes more.
Inside that gap, everything can move: interest rates, income, lender policy, household cash flow, and resale pricing in the surrounding area. The contract price was set at one point in the cycle. The valuation applies at another.
One number worth knowing: 80%. Reuters has reported that OSFI cautioned major lenders that approving loans on outdated valuations in a declining condo market creates compliance risk, and that uninsured lending should not exceed 80% of market value at the time of completion.
A low appraisal does not release a buyer from the contract. Walking away can mean losing the deposit and can carry further legal consequences. When the market changes, the financing has to be recalculated — the obligation doesn’t recalculate itself.
Complete or assign? Work out three sets of numbers first
The worst way to decide this is emotionally. Don’t hold on purely because you can’t accept a loss. Don’t abandon it purely because the situation is frightening.
The completion numbers. What is the lender’s appraised value? What is the maximum they will advance? What is the resulting shortfall against the down payment? What are the closing costs? And after completion, what is the monthly cash flow gap?
The assignment numbers. What are comparable presales and resale units actually trading at? Is there a buyer? Does the developer have to consent? What are the assignment fee, commission and tax consequences?
The default numbers. What does your contract say about buyer default? Is the deposit forfeited? Can the developer pursue you for the difference on a resale? Does this need a lawyer’s assessment?
Until all three are worked out, any choice you make is a guess.
It takes three different specialists to answer properly
Because the question isn’t one question.
From the market side — what buyers are actually running into right now, how the resale and assignment markets have shifted, and which projects, areas and price bands are under the most pressure. Real conditions, not theory.
From the legal side — which clauses in a presale contract carry the most weight, whether an assignment needs developer consent, and what failing to complete actually exposes you to. The most dangerous position a presale buyer can be in is not having properly read their own contract.
From the financing side — how to prepare when the appraisal comes in under the purchase price, how the stress test affects the assessment, and whether there is a plan B and a plan C when plan A doesn’t work. Most buyers who get stuck aren’t unwilling to complete. Their financing options simply ran out.
The point
Pressure at completion isn’t really a question of whether prices went up or down. It’s the contract you signed years ago, today’s valuation, today’s lending policy, your household’s cash flow, and your potential legal exposure — all arriving on the same date.
A completion coming due doesn’t mean absorbing it and hoping. A low appraisal doesn’t mean there is nothing to be done. Tight financing doesn’t mean there is no alternative structure. And wanting to assign doesn’t mean the contract can be left unread.
Work out the numbers. Then choose.
Poster for the 15 July 2026 session. It was held in Mandarin, so the poster is in Chinese only.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financing advice. Contract terms, lender criteria and assignment rules differ by project and by lender; your own position would need to be reviewed individually.
First published on Guaranti’s WeChat account.