Greater Vancouver real estate’s hot spring market hasn’t materialized as of yet. Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) numbers show condo apartment prices were down substantially in April. Last month was also saw the fewest sales in over a decade, which pushed inventory much higher.
Vancouver Condo Prices Fail To Rise In April
The price of a typical, or “benchmark,” condo apartment is down substantially from last year. REBGV reported a benchmark price of $656,900 in April, down 6.9% from last year. In the city, Vancouver East fell to $547,900, down 4.7% from last year. Vancouver West fell to $764,600, down 9.2% from last year. The decline means prices across the board are where they were at the end of 2017 – back when dinosaurs practically roamed the earth.
Greater Vancouver Condo Apartment Benchmark Price
The price of a typical condo apartment across Greater Vancouver, in Canadian dollars.
Source: REBGV, Better Dwelling.
The annual pace of growth continued to decrease across the board. REBGV condo apartment price declines increased in April. They are now the largest seen outside of a recession. In the City, the benchmark is still showing losses, but they are smaller than the month before. Losses are getting larger across the region, but smaller in the city.
Greater Vancouver Condo Benchmark Price Change
The annual percent change of a typical condo across Greater Vancouver.
Source: REBGV, Better Dwelling.
Greater Vancouver Condo Sales Fall To Lowest Level Since 2006
Greater Vancouver condo sales fell to a multi-year low for the month of April. REBGV reported 885 sales in April, down 32.3% from last year. The number is down 29.45% from the median number of sales for the month over the past decade. Condo apartment sales are now lower than Great Recession levels, and back to 2006 levels.
Greater Vancouver Condo Sales Vs. New Listings
The number of condo apartments sold vs new inventory in Greater Vancouver.
Source: REBGV, Better Dwelling.
Greater Vancouver Condo Inventory Rises To 2015 Levels
Softer prices must mean people think it’s the perfect time to sell, since inventory is much higher. REBGV reported 2,644 new listings in April, up 15.8% from the month before. The increase works out to 9.0% higher than the same month last year. The monthly increase is typical, the annual rise means more inventory building.
The rise in new listings pushed total active listings for condo apartments to a multi-year high for the month. REBGV data shows 5,796 active listings in April, up 106% from last year. The past April was the highest inventory for the month since 2015.
Falling sales and rising inventory pushed the market into a better balance. The sales to active listings ratio (SALR) fell to 15.3% in April, down 67.23% from last year. Generally, a SALR above 20% is a seller’s market – where prices are expected to rise. Below 12% is a buyer’s market, where prices fall. Between 12% and 20% is balanced, where the market is balanced. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, remember fast moving ratios often see prices act in the direction the ratio is heading. Not necessarily where it is.
Greater Vancouver Condo Sales To Active Listings Ratio
The ratio of sales to active listings in Greater Vancouver. Higher ratios mean more pressure on prices to rise.
Source: REBGV, Better Dwelling.
Greater Vancouver condo prices are falling, but prices are firming a little in the city. The smaller declines aren’t really enough to call a reversing trend, however. Sales are the number to keep an eye on, as they’re falling to the lowest level in over a decade. That’s a pretty big concern, especially as inventory rises to multi-year highs.
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Where or where did all the Vancouver buyers goooo? It’s as if something stopped all the people with excess money who didn’t really care about budgets, or the neighborhood or the state of the property disappeared and went somewhere else! Weiiiird!
Desperate realtors are telling buyers to get in before it’s too late. Buy now, otherwise you are doomed. Laughable, when the only segment of the market, namely condos actually once had steady absorption, no longer remains marketable.
prices should go back to 2015 levels if you want to see activity…nobody wants to catch a falling knife…
Anyone catch the details on the Burnaby city council resolutions today?
Looks like lots more out there for renters.
“… all new mixed-used developments have at least 20 per cent rental units, ensuring renters evicted from demolished apartments are given the opportunity to return to the new building at the same rental rates. It would also rezone all existing purpose-built rental developments in the city as rental-only zoning.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/burnaby-council-housing-policy-1.5152175