Buy first or sell first?
The four ways to move from one home to the next, what each one risks, and which this market favours.
READ THE GUIDE ↓Your sale is the first number in any move. Ask for a private appraisal, in person or online.
Every move inside the peninsula is two deals that have to meet. The question is which one you let wait.
If you sell first, you know your budget and you cannot end up owning two homes; the risk is having nowhere to go. If you buy first, you get the home you want; the risk is carrying two homes while yours sells, or selling it for less to get out.
Which risk is bigger depends on the market you are selling into, and right now that market has a lot of choice in it.
About ten months of houses for sale.
In September 2026 there were 600 detached homes for sale on the peninsula against 60 sales, about ten months of supply at that pace, a buyers’ market on the board’s measure. Townhomes, at 6.0 months, and condos, at 7.2, sat in balanced territory.
Detached homes that did sell from July to September took a median of 34 days and went for about 95.6% of the asking price. Those figures count only the homes that sold; the ones still waiting are not in them.
When supply is this high, selling first, or at least having a firm sale before you commit to the next home, takes the largest risk off the table: owning two homes while one waits for a buyer.
On the buying side, the same supply means choice. You can afford to be the buyer with a condition attached.
Four ways from one home to the next.
Sell, then buy
You list and sell your home, then buy with a known budget. Ask for a long completion date or a rent-back, so you have time to find the next one. The risk is a gap between homes; the cure is time built into the sale.
Buy on the condition your home sells
You make an offer on the next home that depends on yours selling by a set date. Expect the seller to keep marketing their home and to ask you to firm up or step aside if another offer arrives. With plenty of supply, more sellers will consider it.
Buy with bridge financing
Once your own sale is firm, a lender can bridge the down payment on the new home until your sale completes. Bridge financing usually needs a firm sale behind it, so it solves a timing gap, not an unsold house. Ask your lender for its terms.
Buy first and carry both
You buy the new home outright and sell the old one after. It works when you can carry both homes for as long as the sale takes and the sale price is not critical to the budget. With about ten months of supply, plan for the long end.
The order matters more when you move up.
Downsizers have the easier version: the gap between the two prices is large, so the sale funds the purchase with room to spare. In September 2026 the detached benchmark was $1,068,100 above the condo benchmark ($1,612,500 against $544,400), down from $1,151,600 a year earlier. Our downsizing guide covers the options.
Moving up is where the order matters most, because the purchase depends on the sale. Get a realistic number for your home before you shop, tested against the homes it will compete with, not last year’s sales.
Four things to know first.
- A realistic price for your home today, from recent sales and the homes it will compete with.
- Your lender’s answer on what you qualify for with and without the sale, and on bridge terms.
- How long homes like yours are taking to sell, remembering that the median counts only the ones that sold.
- A plan for the gap: a long completion, a rent-back, or somewhere to stay.
Planning a move? Ask it here.
Your home, the next one, the order and the timing. Twenty years on the peninsula; a plain answer, usually the same day.
Looking for the next home? Tell Hamish the type of home, your budget and your must-haves. He will contact you in the way you prefer when a suitable home comes up.
More for a move on the peninsula.
Downsizing on the peninsulaRanchers, townhouses with the bedroom down and condos with an elevator, and what the move frees up.
What is your home worth?A private appraisal of your home against what is selling and what it competes with now.
The market reportThe monthly White Rock and South Surrey report: benchmarks, sales, supply and what they mean.The questions people ask us most about moving.
Is it better to buy first or sell first in White Rock and South Surrey?
With about ten months of detached supply on the peninsula (September 2026), selling first, or at least having a firm sale before committing to the next home, takes the largest risk off the table. Buying first can work if you can carry both homes for as long as the sale takes, or with an offer that depends on your sale.
What is a subject-to-sale offer?
An offer to buy that depends on your current home selling by a set date. The seller usually keeps marketing their home and can ask you to firm up or step aside if another offer arrives. It is more workable when there is plenty of supply.
How does bridge financing work?
It is a short-term loan from your lender that covers the down payment on the new home until the sale of your current home completes. Lenders usually want your sale to be firm, with subjects removed, before they bridge. Ask your lender for its terms and costs.
What is a rent-back?
An agreement to stay in the home you have sold for a set period after completion, renting it from the buyer. It gives you time to find or move into the next home.
How long are homes taking to sell?
Detached homes that sold on the peninsula from July to September 2026 took a median of 34 days, at about 95.6% of the asking price. Those figures count only homes that sold; with about ten months of supply, many listings take longer.
Source: Fraser Valley Real Estate Board MLS®, October 2026 market report (September 2026 data) for White Rock and South Surrey; days and percent of list are medians for July to September, weighted by sales. General information, not financial or legal advice: ask your lender and your lawyer or notary about your own situation.