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- Life triggers are the reliable ones<\/strong>: stairs getting harder, upkeep falling behind, wanting to be closer to family or medical care. Those reasons don’t disappear when the market wobbles.<\/li>\n
- Sell first or buy first?<\/strong> In today’s market, buyers have time and sellers need patience \u2014 selling first usually keeps you in control of both money and schedule. If the right smaller home appears first, a longer completion can bridge the gap.<\/li>\n
- Give yourself runway<\/strong>: decades of belongings don’t sort themselves in a month. Three to six months from decision to listing is the comfortable pace.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/jackrealty.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/interior14-webp.webp\")
Downsizing trades square footage for easier days<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Costs: both transactions charge admission<\/h2>\n
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- Selling costs<\/strong>: commission (the common Greater Vancouver structure is 7% on the first $100,000 plus 2.5% on the balance, plus 5% GST), legal fees, sensible repairs and staging, and movers \u2014 itemized in our guide to what it costs to sell a home in Vancouver.<\/li>\n
- Buying costs<\/strong>: property transfer tax applies to the next purchase too. Downsizers generally don’t qualify for the first-time buyer exemption, but a brand-new home may qualify for the newly built home PTT exemption within its price limits. Legal and inspection costs apply as usual.<\/li>\n
- The equity gap<\/strong>: the difference between the two prices is a key piece of retirement cash flow \u2014 worth a session with your accountant before, not after.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Taxes: the principal residence exemption does the heavy lifting<\/h2>\n
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- The gain on your principal residence<\/strong> is generally fully sheltered by the principal residence exemption \u2014 the single most valuable rule for most downsizers.<\/li>\n
- If part of the home was rented, it contains a suite, or your principal residence changed over the years, the calculation gets more complex. Have an accountant map the years early.<\/li>\n
- If the next home may be partly rented out later, the ownership structure you choose on day one shapes the tax outcome on exit.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/jackrealty.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/interior5-webp.webp\")
A smaller home: less maintenance, more freedom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Where to: the four common landings<\/h2>\n
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- A condo<\/strong>: lock-and-leave living with elevators and amenities \u2014 Oakridge and Kerrisdale are West Side favourites. Read the strata documents and reserve fund carefully (see our strata documents guide).<\/li>\n
- A townhouse<\/strong>: keeps a front door and a patch of outdoors, at half the upkeep.<\/li>\n
- A 55+ community<\/strong>: BC still allows 55+ age bylaws in stratas; these communities are quiet and peer-oriented.<\/li>\n
- Rent for a year first<\/strong>: sell, rent, and shop slowly \u2014 a buffer many downsizers choose in a shifting market.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- A townhouse<\/strong>: keeps a front door and a patch of outdoors, at half the upkeep.<\/li>\n
- Buying costs<\/strong>: property transfer tax applies to the next purchase too. Downsizers generally don’t qualify for the first-time buyer exemption, but a brand-new home may qualify for the newly built home PTT exemption within its price limits. Legal and inspection costs apply as usual.<\/li>\n
- Sell first or buy first?<\/strong> In today’s market, buyers have time and sellers need patience \u2014 selling first usually keeps you in control of both money and schedule. If the right smaller home appears first, a longer completion can bridge the gap.<\/li>\n