Real Estate Marketing in Vancouver: A Guide for Agents and Brokerages

Real estate marketing in Vancouver has to work around more housing rules than any other Canadian market. Prices are the highest in the country, and governments have responded with taxes on foreign buyers, on vacant homes, on speculation and on quick resales, along with a cooling-off period for buyers and limits on short-term rentals. Buyers and sellers arrive confused. The realtors who explain the rules clearly are the ones they hire.

The Lower Mainland’s Submarkets

Downtown, Yaletown and the West End are condo markets with lifestyle buyers, downsizers and investors.

The West Side and West Vancouver are detached-home areas at the top of the price range.

East Vancouver attracts buyers who want character houses, duplexes and a neighbourhood feel.

Burnaby, especially Metrotown and Brentwood, is dominated by towers and presale developments.

Richmond, Surrey, Coquitlam and Langley each have their own buyer base, and in Richmond and Surrey marketing in Mandarin, Cantonese or Punjabi is standard.

The Taxes Buyers Ask About First

British Columbia charges property transfer tax on every purchase, with exemptions for qualifying first-time buyers and for some newly built homes. Foreign buyers pay an additional transfer tax in the Lower Mainland and other specified areas, although the federal ban means most non-Canadians cannot buy at all until at least 2027.

Owners face further charges if a home is left empty: the province’s speculation and vacancy tax and the City of Vancouver’s empty homes tax. Since the start of 2025 the province has also taxed profits on homes resold within two years.

These rules decide who is buying. The investor who planned to hold a unit empty or resell quickly has mostly left the market, and owner-occupiers and long-term landlords have replaced them. Marketing should be written for those buyers.

Presales and Strata

Condos here are called strata properties, and much of the new supply is sold as presales, years before completion. Buyers want to know the deposit structure, the developer’s record, what happens if the market moves before completion, and whether the contract can be assigned.

For resale strata, buyers and their lenders look closely at the building: the depreciation report, the contingency fund, recent special levies, rental and pet bylaws, and insurance deductibles. Guides that show buyers how to read strata documents are among the most useful things a Vancouver realtor can publish, and they attract serious buyers.

The Buyer’s Cooling-Off Period

Since 2023, buyers of most residential property in British Columbia have had three business days after an accepted offer to withdraw, for a small fee. It changed how offers are written and how sellers weigh them. Both sides ask about it, and a short, accurate explanation belongs on your site and in your follow-up emails.

Short-Term Rental Limits

Provincial rules that took effect in 2024 limit short-term rentals in most larger communities to the host’s principal residence, plus a secondary suite or laneway home on the same property. Units once bought to run as full-time holiday rentals no longer work that way. Listings and investor content should say so plainly, because buyers will check.

Paid Channels That Work in Vancouver

Google Search works for neighbourhood and building names, presale project names, and seller terms. Keep each campaign tight, since broad Vancouver terms are costly.

Meta suits video tours, presale guides and seller campaigns. Housing ads cannot be targeted by age, gender or postal code, and the minimum radius is about 25 kilometres. Use the creative, and the language it is written in, to reach the right audience.

Mandarin, Cantonese and Punjabi campaigns reach large established communities, and work best with landing pages and a contact person in the same language. Many Chinese-speaking buyers also expect to find you on WeChat.

YouTube reaches buyers moving from other provinces and newcomers planning a move.

Buyers Leaving, Buyers Arriving

Vancouver loses some residents to Alberta and the Interior every year because of cost, and gains newcomers and buyers from elsewhere in Canada. Sellers planning to leave are a good audience for content on timing a sale and the tax consequences. Arriving buyers need neighbourhood comparisons and an honest picture of what their budget buys.

CASL and Follow-Up

Marketing emails and texts require consent under Canada’s anti-spam law, and each message must identify you and offer an unsubscribe option. Capture consent on every form and keep the record. Vancouver buyers often take a long time to act, so steady, useful follow-up is where much of the return comes from.

Planning campaigns in Vancouver? See how our real estate digital marketing agency service works with agents, teams and brokerages.

This post is part of our guide to real estate marketing in Canada.