Greater Vancouver real estate sales are returning to pre-pandemic levels, but it’s not quite the same. Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) data shows June sales are almost at last year’s levels. Despite the increase, new listings are hitting the market at such a rapid pace, prices are actually falling further from the peak.
Greater Vancouver Real Estate Prices Peaked In March
The price of a typical home across Greater Vancouver is higher than last year, but down from a month before. The benchmark price of all home types reached $1,025,300 in June, up 3.5% from last year. In the City, Vancouver East saw the benchmark reach $1,083,300, up 5.0% from last year. Vancouver West is also higher with prices reaching $1,272,400, up 4.9% from last year. Important to note that all three of these markets are lower in price from the month before.
Greater Vancouver Composite Benchmark Price
The price of a typical home across Greater Vancouver, in Canadian dollars.
Source: REBGV, Better Dwelling.
Since the start of the pandemic, prices have actually been falling – just not as fast as they were last year. All three numbers above are lower than they were the month before, with annual prices peaking in March. The all-time high for home prices was in June 2018, and prices are down 7.16% from then – an even bigger drop from the month before. It’s not incredibly straight forward, but not overly complicated either. Higher growth because prices aren’t falling as quickly as last year, but prices are getting further from the peak a couple years ago.
Greater Vancouver Composite Benchmark Price Change
The annual percent change of a typical home across Greater Vancouver.
Source: REBGV, Better Dwelling.
Greater Vancouver Real Estate Sales Are Nearly At Last Year’s Levels
Greater Vancouver real estate sales bounced and are moving towards normal volumes, but are still far away. REBGV reported 2,443 real estate sales in June, up 64.51% from a month before. This represents a 17.62% increase compared to the same month last year. Last year was one of the slowest June’s on record though, and sales were still 21.9% below the 10-year average for the month. The increase may sound a little more impressive than it seems.
Greater Vancouver Composite Sales Vs. Listings
The number of homes sold vs total inventory in Greater Vancouver.
Source: REBGV, Better Dwelling.
Inventory Is Low, But Sellers Are Returning In Full Force
Greater Vancouver is seeing a substantial increase of new listing activity. REBGV reported 5,787 new listings in June, up 57.1% from the same month last year. This represents an increase of 21.8%, when compared to the same month last year. The rise in new listings is somewhat surprising, considering how quickly it has jumped since the beginning of the pandemic.
The bump in new listings didn’t quite make up for the slow listing activity over the past couple of months. REBGV reported 11,424 active listings in June, up 15.1% from a month before. This represents a decline of 23.7% when compared to the same month last year. Much higher than the previous month, but didn’t make up for the lack of inventory earlier this year.
Greater Vancouver real estate sales returned close to last year’s numbers, but with very different dynamics. New sellers are piling in, and despite low inventory – new inventory is hitting the market at a pace preventing prices from rising. In fact, prices have been sliding further, continuing a second wave of lower prices started in 2018. The CMHC had forecasted lower prices as a result of inventory rising into the second half, and so far that’s the setup people are looking at.
Source:- Better Dwelling
