Vancouver Detached Real Estate Is Now Cheaper Than It Was 3 Years Ago

Vancouver Detached Real Estate Is Now Cheaper Than It Was 3 Years Ago

The Greater Vancouver detached real estate scene is looking worse. Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) numbers show prices fell to a three year low in May. The drop in prices came with the fewest May sales in over a quarter century.

Greater Vancouver Detached Real Estate Prices Roll Back 3 Years

Detached real estate prices are still falling across Greater Vancouver. REBGV reported the benchmark (a.k.a. typical) price fell to $1,421,900 in May, down 11.5% from last year. In the City, Vancouver East’s benchmark fell to $1,347,000, down 12.5% from last year. Vancouver West had the largest drop with a benchmark of $2,927,600, down 14.5% from last year. That’s almost half a mill dropped off the price of the last one over 12 months.

Greater Vancouver Detached Benchmark Price

The price of a typical detached home across the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board, in Canadian dollars.

Source: REBGV, Better Dwelling.

The rate of price growth is printing even larger negative numbers. Only four months in the history of the CREA benchmark show larger 12 month losses. Prices are now lower than they were 3 years ago this time.

Greater Vancouver Detached Benchmark Percent Change

The 12 month percent change of a typical detached home across the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board.

Source: REBGV, Better Dwelling.

Greater Vancouver Detached Sales Fall To A Record Low

Sales of detached homes fell to a new record low across the board. REBGV reported 913 sales in May, down 1.4% from last year. The City of Vancouver represented 212 of those sales, down 7% from last year. The board’s available data only goes back to 1991, but neither the City or the region have had lower numbers during that time. A record low for the data bank.

Greater Vancouver Detached Sales Vs. New Listings

The total number of detached sales, compared to the number of new detached listings per month.

Source: REBGV, Better Dwelling.

Detached Inventory Hits Highest May Since 2014

The number of new listings for detached real estate fell compared to last year. REBGV reported 2,198 new listings in May, up 5.4% from the month before. This represents a 15.62% decline compared to last year. The monthly bump is seasonal, but the annual decline was not.

The decline in new listings wasn’t enough to bring total inventory down. REBGV numbers show there were 6,416 active listings in May, down 2.80% from the month before. This represents an increase of 1.58% compared to last year. The increase isn’t exceptionally large, but it makes it the most May inventory since 2014.

Lower sales and higher inventory dropped the sales to active listings ratio (SALR). REBGV detached fell to a 14.2% SALR, down 3.40% from last year’s number. Generally speaking, prices are expected to fall when it’s below 12%, rise above 20%, and are balanced in between. Technically this market is balanced by this measure. This indicator is pretty unreliable when there’s rapid changes to the environment.

Greater Vancouver’s detached real estate market was hit with lower prices, lower sales, and higher inventory. Prices are now lower than they were three years ago, and the 12 month rate of loss has been getting larger. Sales are now at the lowest level for the month in 28 years, and likely going further back. Inventory popped to the highest level since 2014 – half a decade ago. Indicators are currently pushing relative extremes on the downside, which could further deteriorate public sentiment.

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7 Comments

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  • Reply
    Michael Farran 5 years ago

    The numbers are being bolstered by a higher price floor too. If you look at luxury, your can see million dollar losses. No, not off the ask price. LOSSES.

    • Reply
      george 5 years ago

      since most are bought for money laundering, the losses are acceptable.

  • Reply
    Rana 5 years ago

    Feel sad for who bought recently

    • Reply
      george 5 years ago

      If bought for long term, they should be fine…for those who bought for flipping, good luck! Nobody put a gun to their head to buy anything!

      • Reply
        BikeMike 5 years ago

        I think the easy argument to be made here is that everyone is buying now with the expectation of easy gains – it makes no sense to buy otherwise. Also, I’d argue that they would be worse off long term even if they don’t lose money on the house.

      • Reply
        mick 5 years ago

        if by “Long term” you mean 100 yrs or so, you might be right, but if you’re thinking this market will bounce back to 2016 highs within 5-10 yrs I think you’re in for a surprise.

  • Reply
    Buylong 5 years ago

    It all comes down to China. If Chinese capital outflows return due to political upheaval in HK or Taiwan, etc., watch Vancouver real estate shoot up like a rocket.

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