This page compares the two, using the Real Estate Development Marketing Act for pre-sales and the Property Law Act for homes already built. Our pre-sale guide goes deeper into deposits, delays and completion.
The short version
- A pre-sale buyer can cancel by written notice within 7 days after the later of signing and acknowledging the disclosure statement (Real Estate Development Marketing Act, section 21).
- A pre-sale deposit must be held in trust by a brokerage, lawyer, notary or other prescribed person (section 18).
- A buyer of most homes already built can cancel within 3 business days after acceptance, by paying the seller 0.25% of the price (Property Law Act section 42 and its regulation).
- The 3-day right does not apply where the 7-day pre-sale right applies, or to homes on leased land, leasehold homes, auction sales or court-ordered sales.
- A pre-sale fixes the price early. A move-in ready home lets you see exactly what you are buying.
What you can see, and what you cannot
A pre-sale is bought from plans, renderings, a list of finishes and a disclosure statement, which is the document the seller must file and give you under the Real Estate Development Marketing Act. You can study the floor plan, but you cannot stand in the kitchen, check the light at four in the afternoon, or hear the street.
A move-in ready home is finished. You can walk through it, measure it, open the cupboards, look at the neighbours' homes and have it inspected. What you see is what you get, subject to the contract and any conditions you add.
In our view, buyers who are hard to please on light, noise and layout do better with a finished home, and buyers who want a specific location or plan that is not yet built do better with a pre-sale.
Your right to change your mind
Both ways of buying come with a legal right to cancel, and the two rights are different.
For a pre-sale, section 21 of the Real Estate Development Marketing Act lets the buyer cancel the purchase agreement by serving written notice on the seller within 7 days after the later of two dates: the date the agreement was made, and the date the seller obtained the buyer's written statement that they had a chance to read the disclosure statement.
For most homes already built, section 42 of the Property Law Act and the Home Buyer Rescission Period Regulation give the buyer 3 business days after the acceptance is signed to cancel by written notice. A business day is any day except a Saturday or a holiday. The buyer must then pay the seller 0.25% of the purchase price, taken from the deposit if one was paid, with the rest of the deposit returned. The right cannot be waived.
The two do not overlap. Section 42(2) says the 3-day right does not apply to a contract covered by section 21 of the Real Estate Development Marketing Act. If you buy a new home directly from the company that created the strata, ask whether a disclosure statement applies, because that decides which right you have.
| Pre-sale | Home already built | |
|---|---|---|
| Law | Real Estate Development Marketing Act, section 21 | Property Law Act, section 42 |
| How long | 7 days after the later of signing and acknowledging the disclosure statement | 3 business days after acceptance is signed |
| Cost to cancel | See the Act and your contract | 0.25% of the purchase price |
| Not available for | Purchasers not entitled to a disclosure statement | Leased land, leasehold, auctions, court-ordered sales |
BC Laws, read 23 October 2026. On a $1,000,000 home, 0.25% is $2,500.
Deposits and timing
A pre-sale deposit is usually larger and held longer. Section 18 of the Real Estate Development Marketing Act requires the seller to place it promptly with a brokerage, lawyer, notary or other prescribed person, who holds it in trust in a BC savings institution and may release it only in the ways the Act lists. Section 18(2) adds that the trustee holds the deposit for both the seller and the buyer, and acts as the agent of neither. The deposit may sit there until completion, which can be a year or more away.
On a home already built, the deposit is paid after the offer is accepted and conditions are met, and completion usually follows within weeks. Your money is committed for a shorter time, and you know the date you move.
Mortgage timing differs too. On a pre-sale, the lender makes its final decision close to completion, on your income, debts and rates at that time, and on the appraised value then. On a finished home, you can have a firm approval before you remove your conditions.
Price, choice and risk
A pre-sale fixes the price at the date you sign. If prices in the area rise before completion, you benefit. If they fall, you still pay the agreed price, and the lender may value the home at less, which means a larger down payment at completion. GVR's benchmarks for Greater Vancouver fell across every category in the year to September 2026, which is a reminder that this can happen.
A pre-sale often lets you choose the home in the building, and sometimes finishes. A finished home is what it is.
Completion dates on pre-sales can move, sometimes by months. Our pre-sale guide explains what the disclosure statement says about delays and what you can do. A finished home has no such risk.
What the disclosure statement must contain
The disclosure statement is the pre-sale buyer's main document, and the Real Estate Development Marketing Act sets rules for it. Under section 14, the seller must not market a home until it has prepared a disclosure statement and filed it with the Superintendent of Real Estate. The statement must plainly disclose all material facts without misrepresentation, and must set out the buyer's right to cancel under section 21.
Under section 15, the seller must not sign a purchase agreement until the buyer has a copy of the disclosure statement, has had a reasonable opportunity to read it, and has signed a statement saying so. That signed acknowledgment is one of the two dates that start the 7-day window.
If the seller later files an amendment about a material fact that the buyer was entitled to receive and did not, section 21(3.2) gives the buyer a further right to cancel in some cases, up to one year after title is transferred. Your lawyer or notary can tell you whether an amendment you received changes your position.
A finished home bought from its owner has no disclosure statement. Its papers are the Form B, the strata documents, the title and your inspection report, which together answer most of the same questions about the building and its money.
Questions to ask for each way of buying
The questions differ because the unknowns differ. Take this list to the sales centre or the viewing.
- Pre-sale: when is the estimated completion date, and what does the disclosure statement say about delays?
- Pre-sale: how much is the deposit, when is each part due, and who holds it in trust?
- Pre-sale: does the price include GST, and does the seller help with the first-time buyers' GST rebate paperwork?
- Pre-sale: what is the interim budget, and what will the strata fee be in the first year?
- Move-in ready: is there time in the offer for an inspection, financing and reading the strata documents?
- Move-in ready: when does the 3-business-day cancel period end, and what is 0.25% of this price?
- Move-in ready: how much of the 2-5-10 warranty is left, and has any claim been made?
Taxes and warranty: the same for new homes either way
A pre-sale and a brand new home bought after completion are both new homes. Both can carry GST, both can qualify for the first-time buyers' GST rebate and BC's newly built home exemption, and both come with the 2-5-10 warranty. The new or lived-in page in this guide sets those out.
The tax picture changes only when the home has been lived in by an owner before you buy it. From then on, GST generally no longer applies, and neither do the two new-home programs.
Questions buyers ask
More in Compare Home Types
Also worth reading
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page comes from the body that issues it. Rules and rates change, so each entry says when we checked it.
- Real Estate Development Marketing Act, SBC 2004, c. 41, sections 18 (deposits) and 21 (rescission). BC Laws, King's Printer for British Columbia. Act current to 20 October 2026, accessed 23 October 2026.
- Property Law Act, RSBC 1996, c. 377, section 42 (residential real estate right of rescission). BC Laws, King's Printer for British Columbia. Act current to 20 October 2026, accessed 23 October 2026.
- Home Buyer Rescission Period Regulation, B.C. Reg. 175/2022. BC Laws, King's Printer for British Columbia. Current consolidation, accessed 23 October 2026.
- Greater Vancouver REALTORS monthly market report and MLS® Home Price Index, September 2026. Greater Vancouver REALTORS. Released October 2, 2026, accessed October 9, 2026.
- First-time home buyers' (FTHB) GST/HST rebate: what the rebate is. Canada Revenue Agency. Current page, accessed 23 October 2026.
- Newly built home exemption (property transfer tax). Government of British Columbia. Last updated January 6, 2026, accessed 23 October 2026.
- Home warranty insurance for new homes. BC Housing, Licensing and Consumer Services. Current page, accessed 23 October 2026.
General information only. The cancellation periods and the 0.25% rescission fee on this page are based on BC law as of the dates noted. They are not legal advice, and contracts and circumstances differ. Always consult an independent real estate lawyer or notary before signing or cancelling any purchase agreement.
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