Greater Vancouver real estate is still catching up from pent-up demand. Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) data shows record home sales in November. The increase was largely divided by segment however, sending detached prices soaring, while condo prices are dropping just as fast.
Greater Vancouver Detached Prices Are Rising, While Condos Are Falling
The price of a typical home across Greater Vancouver is up from last year. REBGV’s composite benchmark price reached $1,044,000 in November, down 0.1% from the month before. Compared to the same month last year, this represents a 5.8% increase. Prices dropped $1,100 from the previous month, but are still higher than last year. REBGV also notes prices for the composite are still down -0.1% from three years ago. There is a highly unusual trend of divergence between segments though. Let’s break them down so you can see what’s happening.
Greater Vancouver Composite Benchmark Price
The price of a typical home across Greater Vancouver, in Canadian dollars.
Source: REBGV, Better Dwelling.
Greater Vancouver Detached Prices Increased $15,100 Last Month
Greater Vancouver’s detached home prices represented all of the monthly gains. The detached benchmark reached $1,538,900 in November, up 1.0% from the month before. This represents an increase of 9.4%, when compared to the same month last year. In dollar amounts, that monthly increase is a whopping $15,100 higher – huge by pretty much any standard. REBGV data shows detached prices are still down 2.8% from 3 years ago, but this is largely due to Vancouver West’s substantial declines. Generally, like other markets around Canada, the detached segment is seeing much higher than usual activity.
Greater Vancouver Composite Benchmark Price Change
The annual percent change of a typical home across Greater Vancouver.
Source: REBGV, Better Dwelling.
Greater Vancouver Condo Prices Fell $7,000 Last Month
Condo apartment prices on the other hand, made a sharp monthly drop lower. REBGV reported a condo benchmark of $676,500 in November, down 1.0% from the same month last year. Compared to the same month last year, this represents a 3.2% increase. In dollar amounts, the monthly decline is also massive, with prices dropping $7,000 over just a month. Over the past 3 years, condo apartment prices are up just 1.6%, but they are arcing lower. Despite high demand for detached homes, condo apartments are fairly soft.
Greater Vancouver Real Estate Sales Jump Over 22%
Greater Vancouver real estate sales are still benefiting from the pent-up demand. REBGV reported 3,064 home sales in November, down 16.9% from a month before. This represents an increase of 22.7% from the same month last year. This is another record month, largely due to the shifted comparison period.
Greater Vancouver Composite Sales Vs. Listings
The number of homes sold vs total inventory in Greater Vancouver.
Source: REBGV, Better Dwelling.
New Greater Vancouver Real Estate Sells Hit The Market
New listings for Greater Vancouver real estate are also up considerably from last year. REBGV reported 4,068 new listings in November, down 27.0% from the month before. This represents an increase of 36.2% from the same month last year. The same trend that pushed real estate buyers later into the season, is also pushing sellers later. Growth of new sellers hitting the market outpaced buyers, compared to last year.
Total inventory made a seasonal decline, but is higher than last year as well. There were 11,118 active listings in November, down 10.5% from the month before. Compared to the same month last year, inventory is 3.2% higher. More inventory than last year, but it didn’t quite increase as much as sales did. This is resulting in a tighter market, but mostly just for detached homes.
Greater Vancouver real estate is performing in a similar manner to the national market. Low interest rates are fueling detached home sales, applying pressure to relatively low inventory. Demand for condo apartments is falling however, as listings rise even faster than sales for the segment. This has led to rapidly rising prices for detached homes, while condo apartments are falling fast.
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TORONTO – One expert predicts Ottawa‘s changes to mortgage rules will help spur demand among potential homebuyers but says policies aimed at driving new supply are needed to address the “core issues” facing the market.
The federal government’s changes, set to come into force mid-December, include a higher price cap for insured mortgages to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
CIBC Capital Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal calls it a “significant” move likely to accelerate the recovery of the housing market, a process already underway as interest rates have begun to fall.
However, he says in a note that policymakers should aim to “prevent that from becoming too much of a good thing” through policies geared toward the supply side.
Tal says the main issue is the lack of supply available to respond to Canada’s rapidly increasing population, particularly in major cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17,2024.
OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.
The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”
The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.
The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.
Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.
She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.
The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.
One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
