Vancouver real estate is ripping higher, despite already being close to exiting the atmosphere. Numbers from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) show that prices have once again printed a new all-time high. This is the seventh month in a row it has done so. This was accompanied by almost no change in inventory, and an increase in sales.
Source: REBGV.
Prices Printed An All-Time High… For The Seventh Time This Year
The price of a home in Vancouver rose by a couple of measures, but let’s start with the benchmark. The benchmark price in October rose to $1,042,300, a 0.5% increase from the month before. This represents a 12.4% increase compared to last year. The interesting thing here, the 12 month price increase is accelerating once again. Yes, it’s mind boggling.
Source: REBGV.
This wasn’t the only price metric showing climbs, average sale prices in all three segments climbed as well. The average sale price for a detached home in October was $1,803,162, a 12.78% increase from last year. Attached units had an average sale price of $892,349, a 23.18% increase from last year. Condos had an average sale price of $687,053, 22.20% higher than last year. Remember, average prices aren’t useful for pricing a home. However, they are useful for helping to understand the market direction and sales mix.
Vancouver Home Listings Are Flat
There’s pretty much the same number of options compared to last year, with Vancouver’s inventory pretty much flat. REBGV reported 4,539 new listings in October, a seasonal decline of 15.6% from the month before. This represents a 14% increase compared to October of last year. Total listings in the REBGV are pretty much flat. October has 9,137 listings, a seasonal decline of 3.5% from the month before. This represents a 0.1% increase from the same time last year. In terms of total inventory, not a lot changed.
Source: REBGV.
Vancouver Home Sales Rip 35% Higher
Quite a bit did change from a sales perspective however. REBGV reported 3,022 sales in October, an increase of 7.1% from the month before. This represents a massive 35.3% increase from the same month last year. Now, it’s worth noting that sales last year saw a decline due to the uncertainty of the foreign buyer tax. However, inventory didn’t change this month.
Inventory is flat while sales increased, placing more pressure on prices to move higher. On the ground, we’re hearing that the increase in sales may be due to a rush to buy before the OSFI B-20 guidelines go into effect in January. The guidelines would reduce buying power leverage, which would impact buyers in Vancouver in particular. That narrative is being pushed by quite a few agents, which unfortunately can’t be confirmed by a data point. However, if that is true, it’s worth noting that same logic would result in a quick drop off in sales starting in the new year.
Like this post? Like us on Facebook for the next one in your feed.
Surprised that the foreign tax had a far worse impact on Toronto than Vancouver