Increasing competition among buyers is helping heat up Metro Vancouver’s housing market.
That’s according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver’s (REBGV) report on last month’s market activity, noting residential home sales in the region in May saw a 15.7 per cent increase from sales recorded in May 2022.
Sales of detached homes in May 2023 saw a 30.7 per cent increase from the detached sales recorded in May 2022.
However, the May 2023 overall numbers were still 1.4 per cent down from the 10-year seasonal average.
“Back in January, few people would have predicted prices to be up as much as they are – ourselves included,” said Andrew Lis, REBGV’s Director of Economics and Data Analytics, in a news release. “Our forecast projected prices to be up modestly in 2023 by about two per cent at year-end. Instead, Metro Vancouver home prices are already up about six per cent or more across all home types at the midway point of the year.”
The REBGV noted there are still fewer listings, with last month seeing a 11.5 per cent decrease compared to the homes listed in May 2022, and 4.3 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average.
“You don’t have to squint to see the reason prices continue to increase. The fundamental issue remains that there are more buyers relative to the number of willing sellers in the market. This is keeping the amount of resale homes available in short supply,” Lis said.
According to the REBGV, the benchmark price for a single-detached house in Ladner in May 2023 was $1,399,600, up 3.5 per cent from this April. The price, though, was still down 9.3 per cent compared to May 2022, when the market had cooled.
The benchmark price for a house in Tsawwassen last month was $1,553,300, almost unchanged from the pervious month, while down 10.7 per cent compared to May 2022.
The benchmark last month for a townhouse in Ladner and Tsawwassen was $973,800 and $1,005,700 respectively. The benchmark price last month for a condo in Ladner and Tsawwassen was $704,800 and $679,000 respectively.
Meanwhile, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVRB) says it saw an injection of supply in May as new listings surged by more than 40 per cent over April.
New listings were just below May 2022 levels, but slightly higher than the 10-year average for the region.
“Typically, we would see an influx of inventory earlier in the spring sales cycle,” said Narinder Bains, FVRB chair, in a news release. “The series of interest rate hikes during the latter half of 2022 had many sellers and buyers in a holding pattern for most of the year. What we’re seeing now is a recovery and adjustment to the new financing landscape.”
Active listings saw this May a 20 per cent increase over April, the highest month-over-month jump in more than a year, while the FVRB processed a 10.1 per cent increase in sales over April, and a 25.8 per cent jump over May 2022.
Prices continued to go up across all categories and properties sold more quickly.
The benchmark for a single-detached house in North Delta last month was $1,383,500, almost two per cent up from April, while 12.9 per cent down from May 2022.
The benchmark last month for a North Delta townhouse and condo was $927,700 and $581,400 respectively.
