Presale vs. Completed New Construction in Vancouver
Buying a floorplan versus a finished new home you can walk through: warranty clock, timing, financing, tax and where the negotiating room actually is.
Most buyers think the choice is new versus used. There is a third option sitting between them that almost nobody shops properly: a brand-new home that is already built, standing, and available to walk through today.
Both are new construction. Both come with warranty. But buying a floorplan and buying a finished unit are genuinely different transactions, with different risk, timing, tax treatment and warranty position, and critically a completely different amount of room to negotiate. Here is the honest comparison.
The three things you might be looking at
- Presale (pre-construction). The building does not exist. You buy from floorplans, renderings and a disclosure statement, pay a staged deposit, and complete in roughly two to four years.
- Under construction. The building is going up. Sometimes you can see the actual floor, occasionally the actual unit. Completion is months away, not years.
- Completed new construction, often called standing inventory or move-in ready. The building is finished and registered, the unit has never been lived in, and you can walk through the exact home you are buying and take possession in weeks.
That third category exists because developers rarely sell out at launch. Whatever has not sold by the time the building completes becomes finished inventory the developer is now carrying, and carrying costs money.
What you can actually see
This is the obvious difference, and it is bigger than buyers expect. On a presale you are buying a drawing. You are trusting the renderings, the ceiling height on paper, and your ability to read a floorplan. On a completed unit you stand in the room. You see the real light at four in the afternoon in November, the real view rather than an artist’s interpretation from a drone height nobody lives at, the real hallway noise, the real finish quality, and the actual neighbours’ balconies.
A meaningful number of presale buyers are disappointed at orientation not because the builder did anything wrong, but because a 720 square foot two-bedroom reads very differently in person than on paper. With finished inventory that risk is zero.
Certainty of timing
Presale completion dates move. Delays of several months are normal, and your contract will reference an estimated completion date and a much later outside date. If you have a lease ending, a sale closing, or children changing schools, that uncertainty is a real cost. A completed home closes on a date you can plan around, usually within 30 to 60 days.
The warranty clock, the difference nobody checks
Every new home in BC carries mandatory 2-5-10 warranty insurance: two years on labour and materials, five years on the building envelope, ten years on structure. But the clock starts when the first owner takes possession, not when you buy.
- Buy a presale and you are the first owner, so you get the full clock, unstarted.
- Buy a completed unit the developer still owns and has never conveyed, and you are typically still the first owner, so the clock still starts for you at possession.
- Buy a finished unit that already conveyed once, such as an unlived-in unit being resold or an assignment that completed, and you inherit only the remainder. A building that completed in 2023 has already spent its entire two-year labour and materials coverage and three years of its envelope and structural coverage.
All three are “brand new.” Only some come with a full warranty runway. Always ask when the building completed and whether title has ever transferred.
Deposits, financing and price direction
Presale spreads 15% to 20% over the construction period, which is easier on cash flow but locks that capital up for years with no return and no ability to use the home. A completed purchase works like a normal transaction: a deposit, then the balance at closing, typically financed. Your money is tied up for weeks, not years.
Financing differs just as much. On a presale you are qualifying for a mortgage you cannot actually secure for years, and rates, lending rules and your own income can all change before completion. Buyers do get caught. On a completed home you get a real rate hold and a real approval on a real appraisable property, right now.
Presale is also a bet that prices rise during construction. When they do, you win. When they do not, you are still committed to a price set years earlier, and buyers who bought at the top of a cycle have completed into units appraising below their contract price, creating a financing gap they have to cover in cash. With completed inventory you are buying at today’s price, with today’s information and today’s appraisal.
Rescission rights and tax
The seven-day REDMA rescission period applies to development marketing. Depending on how a finished unit is being sold, your cooling-off rights may differ, because a home sold under a standard resale contract instead falls under the shorter Home Buyer Rescission Period. Confirm which regime applies before you sign.
On tax, both are new homes, so 5% GST applies, and the first-time buyer GST rebate and BC’s newly built home PTT exemption may be available. Eligibility depends on contract dates, price thresholds and whether the home has been previously occupied, so this is one to confirm on the specific unit rather than assume.
Where the negotiating room actually is
Here is the part most buyers do not understand, and it is the strongest argument for looking at finished inventory.
At a presale launch, the price is the price. Developers hold firm on headline pricing because discounting early units reprices the entire building and undermines the sales program. What you get instead are structured incentives: a decorating allowance, a deposit structure, a parking stall, capped assignment fees. Real value, but the number on the contract rarely moves.
Completed, unsold inventory is a different conversation entirely. Once a building is finished, every unsold unit is costing the developer money through financing on the construction loan, property taxes, strata fees, insurance, marketing and staffing. Lenders want the project closed out. Sales teams have quarter-end and year-end targets. A unit that has been standing for six months is a line item somebody wants gone. That pressure creates leverage that simply does not exist at launch, on price, on closing timing, on upgrades and appliance packages, and on parking and storage.
This is where experience earns its keep. Having worked through twenty presale launches with six developers since 2014, I know which builders are carrying standing inventory, roughly how long it has been sitting, what has already traded in the building, and where each sales team’s pressure points are. That is not information published in a brochure. On finished inventory, knowing what a unit has actually been trading for and when a developer is motivated is frequently worth thousands of dollars on the contract price. If you are considering a completed new home, talk to me before you walk into the presentation centre, because once you are registered with the developer’s sales team your negotiating position is weaker.
Which one suits you
Presale tends to suit buyers with a long runway and no housing deadline, investors comfortable with construction and market risk, buyers who want first pick of the building and the ability to select finishes, and anyone who wants a full unstarted warranty clock and the maximum window for prices to move in their favour.
Completed new construction tends to suit buyers who need certainty, buyers who want to see exactly what they are getting, anyone with a firm move-in date, buyers who want a real mortgage approval today, and buyers who would rather negotiate than accept a fixed launch price.
Neither is universally better. The honest answer is that most buyers only ever get shown one of them, usually whichever the agent in front of them is selling.
Frequently asked questions
Is a completed new home still covered by the 2-5-10 warranty?
Yes, but check when the clock started. Coverage begins when the first owner takes possession, so a unit that already conveyed carries only the remainder of each period.
Can you negotiate on presale?
Rarely on headline price, more often on incentives such as deposit structure, decorating allowances, parking, storage and assignment terms. Finished inventory is where price itself becomes negotiable.
Why would a developer still have unsold units after completion?
Very few projects sell out at launch. Leftover units are normal, and carrying them costs the developer money every month, which is exactly why they are more negotiable.
Do I pay GST on a completed new home?
New homes are subject to 5% GST. Rebate eligibility depends on price, contract date and whether the home has been previously occupied, so confirm on the specific unit.
Is move-in ready the same as brand new?
Usually, but not always. Ask two questions: has anyone ever taken possession, and when did the building complete? Both answers affect your warranty position.
This is part of our Complete Guide to Buying a Presale in BC, and it pairs with our guide to the 2-5-10 new home warranty, which is the difference most buyers overlook. If you want to compare active presales against completed inventory properly, I track both across Greater Vancouver, at no cost to you as a buyer. Book a consultation.
