“Why Is My House Not Selling?” – Decoding Vancouver’s Shifting Real Estate Maze in 2025

Sam Huang
November 19th, 2025
Vancouver Housing Market

Vancouver real estate has undergone a significant shift, forcing many longtime home sellers to face a brutal truth: home prices in 2025 are down approximately 10% from 2024. This market volatility means the era of reliably high pricing—what we call the “Old Cheese”—is over. Many Vancouver home sellers are asking, “Why is my house not selling?”

For many sellers, this required adjustment is a harsh reality check. We are encountering many who are struggling to accept the new valuations, believing that the peak prices will always be there. In the simple parable “Who Moved My Cheese?“, the characters Hem and Haw developed an “arrogance of success”, becoming so comfortable with their ample supply of “Cheese” (their high prices) that they didn’t even notice when the supply began to shrink. When faced with the empty reality of lower offers or stale listings, many sellers behave like the Little people in the story, who, unprepared for the loss, stood “immobilized like two statues”, resisting the market change.

To help sellers navigate this complex period, we turn to the profound truths revealed in that simple parable. The story follows four characters who search for “Cheese”—a metaphor for what you want in life—in “The Maze”. In the context of the Vancouver housing market, the high prices of 2024 are the “Old Cheese” that has run out, and the current, challenging 2025 environment is “The Maze”. Finding a successful sale requires sellers to acknowledge the loss and move beyond the denial that keeps them frozen in place.

Table of Contents

Key Lessons from the Maze: The Handwriting on the Wall

The story of “Who Moved My Cheese?” serves as a guide for sellers navigating the 2025 market shift, offering insights from Haw’s journey through the Maze. By moving past denial and embracing a new path, sellers can learn to navigate change, reduce stress, and find success.

Change Happens (Accepting the Loss of the Old Cheese)

The greatest obstacle sellers face is the inability to accept that the high prices of 2024—the “Old Cheese”—are gone and will not return. When Hem and Haw found that Cheese Station C was empty, Hem reacted by yelling, “No Cheese? No Cheese?” hoping that if he shouted loud enough, someone would restore it. Haw eventually realized that change is a natural phenomenon that will continually occur, regardless of whether you expect it. He understood that the denial displayed by sellers who insist on old valuations is dangerous because “they’re never going to put yesterday’s Cheese back”. Dwelling on the injustice of the market can lead to being stuck, as Haw acknowledged in one of his first inscriptions on the wall: “If You Do Not Change, You Can Become Extinct.”

Anticipate Change (Sniffing Out Market Shifts)

The mice, Sniff and Scurry, were not surprised when the Cheese disappeared because they had been inspecting the area daily and had noticed that the supply was getting smaller. Haw, too, eventually realized that the change would likely not have surprised him if he had been watching what was happening all along and had anticipated it. He realized that the Cheese at Station C had been getting smaller and might even have “grown old,” or possibly had mould growing on it, though he hadn’t noticed. In the context of Vancouver real estate, this means sellers should have observed cooling buyer interest or stagnant list-to-sale price ratios that signalled a shift before the full 10% drop. Haw decided that he would stay more alert, look for change, and trust his basic instincts to sense when change was coming. This led to one of the most critical warnings: “Smell The Cheese Often So You Know When It Is Getting Old”.

Adapt to Change Quickly (Moving from Hem to Haw)

Once change is recognized, swift action is essential. Haw observed that the longer they stayed in their “Cheeseless situation” at Station C, the weaker and worse off they became. Hem and Haw wasted time trying to figure out “what’s really going on here?” or attempting ineffective solutions, like chiselling a hole in the wall, which Haw realized was “activity” and NOT “productivity“. Haw had learned that it was taking him longer and was more painful to get through the Maze because he had waited too long, leaving him weak from hunger and stress. He concluded that if you do not adapt in time, you might as well not adapt at all. To encourage speed in moving on from the idea of the 2024 price, one might consider what Haw wrote on the wall: “The Quicker You Let Go Of Old Cheese, The Sooner You Find New Cheese”.

Change (The Power of Belief and Action)

When high price expectations immobilize sellers, they are often “weighed down by fearful beliefs”. Hem believed they were “entitled” to the high price because they “didn’t cause this problem”. Haw realized that most of his fears were irrational and had kept him from changing when he needed to, noting that the fear you let build up in your mind is worse than the situation itself. By starting to move, Haw discovered that he was behaving differently than when he kept returning to the same empty station. This led to a crucial insight: “When You Change What You Believe, You Change What You Do”. Sellers can choose to believe that accepting change will harm them and resist it, or they can feel that finding the “New Cheese” (a successful sale) will help them and embrace the market change. He also asked a powerful question to overcome mental paralysis: “What would I do if I weren’t afraid?”.

Enjoy Change (Finding the New Cheese/The Better Outcome)

After starting his journey, Haw began to smile and realize that moving in a new direction had freed him. He found that overcoming his fear made the change more enjoyable than he had initially believed. He realized that focusing on what he could gain, rather than what he was losing, made him realize that change could lead to something better. In fact, Haw discovered that the shift had turned out to be a “blessing in disguise” because it led him to find better Cheese than he had before. Even before finding a plentiful supply of New Cheese, Haw realized that what made him happy was not just having the Cheese, but not letting his fear stop him. His final advice for those ready to enter the Maze and embrace the current market conditions was to “Savour The Adventure And Move With The Cheese”.

From Denial to Dollars: Mastering the Modern Market

The current Vancouver real estate environment demands a choice: sellers can be like “Hem”, who “denies and resists change as he fears it will lead to something worse,” remaining “immobilized like two statues” in the empty Cheese Station. Or, they can follow the path of “Haw”, who “learns to adapt in time when he sees changing can lead to something better”. Haw ultimately found that the fastest way to change was to “laugh at your own folly”—his fear and refusal to move—which enabled him to let go and move on quickly. Haw’s powerful message to anyone facing market change is profound and straightforward: “Move With The Cheese!”.

We understand that stepping back into the “Maze”—the current challenging market—can be daunting, as it involves uncertainty. Our role is to be your expert guide, helping you “get past your fear” and envision the “New Cheese”. Haw realized that focusing on the image of finding and enjoying New Cheese made the process less fearful and more enjoyable. We help sellers paint a realistic and optimistic picture of a successful sale at the current valuation, showing them that “there is always New Cheese out there” waiting to be found when you go past your fear and embrace the adventure.

Ready to stop asking, “Why isn’t my house selling?” and “Who moved my cheese?” and start moving with the market? Contact us today to map your path to New Cheese (your successful sale).”