Housing Market Update July 2019

Home Buyers Have Highest Level Of Inventory To Choose From in Five Years

As the summer kicks in, fewer home sellers listed their properties in June, however, despite this relative reduction in new listings, the slow absorption rate has pushed up the total number of homes currently available for sale.

“Home buyers haven’t had this much selection to choose from in five years” – REBGV President

The benchmark price for all property types combined (condos, townhouses and detached homes) across Metro Vancouver slipped below the $1-million mark to $998,700 … the first time the composite benchmark has been below $1-million since May 2017.

“We’re continuing to see an expectation gap between home buyers and sellers in Metro Vancouver … Sellers are often trying to get yesterday’s values for their homes while buyers are taking a cautious, wait-and-see approach” – Ashley Smith, REBGV president.

CONDOS

The benchmark price of a typical Metro Vancouver condo is now pegged at $654,700, which is 9% lower than June 2018 and a 1.4% decrease from May 2019.

West Vancouver’s condo benchmark price dropped the most on an annual basis, down 18%, followed by Vancouver Westside, down 12%. One area saw a year-over-year condo price rise, and that was Whistler, where a typical condo price is up 2%.

ATTACHED PROPERTIES

A typical attached unit in Metro Vancouver now trades at $774,700. This is an 9% decrease from June 2018 and a 0.6% slip compared with May this year.

Ladner’s attached homes fell by the sharpest amount last month, down 14.5% year over year. Its neighbour Tsawwassen followed, with the typical townhome price 13% lower than a year ago, and Burnaby East and South both saw double-digit declines.

DETACHED HOMES

The benchmark price for a typical detached home in the region now stands at $1,423,500, which is a 11% decrease from June 2018 but a 0.1% increase compared with May 2019.

Detached home price declines in June were most acutely felt in Vancouver Westside, where the benchmark was 14% lower than a year ago. This is followed by Richmond (-13%), West Vancouver (-13%) and Burnaby South (-12.6%).

All 20 of the MLS areas saw annual detached price drops, but in Whistler it was only down 1.3%, and Ladner only down 3.8%.

SALES TO ACTIVE LISTING RATIO

The overall regional market sits in “balanced” territory at a sales-to-active-listings ratio of 13.9%. A Buyer’s market occurs when the ratio dips below 12% and a Seller’s market when this ratio hits 21% or greater.

July 3, 2019

Housing supply up, home sales and prices down in June

With home buyer demand below long-term historical averages in June, the supply of homes for sale continued to accumulate in Metro Vancouver.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totalled 2,077 in June 2019, a 14.4 per cent decrease from the 2,425 sales recorded in June 2018 and a 21.3 per cent decrease from the 2,638 homes sold in May 2019.

Last month’s sales were 34.7 per cent below the 10-year June sales average. This is the lowest total for the month since 2000.

“We’re continuing to see an expectation gap between home buyers and sellers in Metro Vancouver,” said Ashley Smith, REBGV president. “Sellers are often trying to get yesterday’s values for their homes while buyers are taking a cautious, wait-and-see approach.”

On the supply side, there were 4,751 detached, attached and apartment properties newly listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Metro Vancouver in June 2019. This represents a 10 per cent decrease compared to the 5,279 homes listed in June 2018 and an 18.9 per cent decrease compared to May 2019 when 5,861 homes were listed.

The total number of homes currently listed for sale on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is 14,968, a 25.3 per cent increase compared to June 2018 (11,947) and a 1.9 per cent increase compared to May 2019 (14,685).

“Home buyers haven’t had this much selection to choose from in five years,” Smith said. “For sellers to be successful in today’s market, it’s important to work with your local REALTOR® to make sure you’re pricing your home for these conditions.”

For all property types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for June 2019 is 13.9 per cent. By property type, the ratio is 11.4 per cent for detached homes, 15.8 per cent for townhomes, and 15.7 per cent for apartments.

Generally, analysts say that downward pressure on home prices occurs when the ratio dips below 12 per cent for a sustained period, while home prices often experience upward pressure when it surpasses 20 per cent over several months.

The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $998,700. This represents a 9.6 per cent decrease over June 2018 and a 0.8 per cent decrease compared to May 2019.

This is the first time the composite benchmark has been below $1 million since May 2017.

Sales of detached homes in June 2019 reached 746, a 2.6 per cent decrease from the 766 detached sales recorded in June 2018. The benchmark price for detached properties is $1,423,500. This represents a 10.9 per cent decrease from June 2018 and a 0.1 per cent increase compared to May 2019.

Sales of apartment homes reached 941 in June 2019, a 24.1 per cent decrease compared to the 1,240 sales in June 2018. The benchmark price of an apartment property is $654,700. This represents an 8.9 per cent decrease from June 2018 and a 1.4 per cent decrease compared to May 2019.

Attached home sales in June 2019 totalled 390, a 6.9 per cent decrease compared to the 419 sales in June 2018. The benchmark price of an attached unit is $774,700. This represents an 8.6 per cent decrease from June 2018 and a 0.6 per cent decrease compared to May 2019.

Download the June 2019 stats package.