Greater Vancouver real estate is seeing the new condo pre-sale market get hit hard. MLA Canada, a prominent Vancouver real estate marketing and analytics firm, numbers show condo apartment sales fell in April. The decline in sales has led to weaker absorption of new project launches. Developers plan to delay thousands of units, in anticipation of better market conditions.
Greater Vancouver Condo Sales Fall Over 54%
Reflecting the resale market, new condo apartment sales are falling across Greater Vancouver. There were an estimated 173 sales in April, down 23.82% from the month before. The drop represents a 54.22% decline compared last year. Recently Greater Vancouver has seen an increase for April’s monthly number.
New Condo Inventory Is Down Slightly From Last Year
New condo listings for the month fell, when compared to last year. There were 865 new condo units launched in April, up 6.65% from the month before. This represents a 1.59% decline compared to the same month last year. Down slightly, but not a huge change. MLA estimates almost 5,000 concrete units have postponed launch for “more favorable market conditions.”
Greater Vancouver New Pre-Sale Real Estate Listings
The number of newly available pre-sale units of new homes across Greater Vancouver.
*MLA estimate.
Source: MLA Canada, Better Dwelling.
Weak Absorption Could Lead To Lower Prices
New inventory may not be launching, but declining sales may create a bit of an issue in the next few months. The sales to new listings ratio (SALR) fell to 20% in April, down 28.57% from the month before. This represents a decline of 53.49% from last year. The market is a seller’s market when the SALR is above 60% – where prices are expected to fall. Below 40%, and the market is considered a buyer’s market – where prices are expected to drop. Between 40% and 60% and the market is considered balanced, where prices are just right.
Greater Vancouver New Home Pre-Sale Absorption
The ratio of sales to new listings of pre-sale homes across Greater Vancouver.
*MLA Canada number not available, Better Dwelling estimate based on inference data obtained from MLA.
Source: MLA Canada, Better Dwelling.
The Greater Vancouver condo market has slowed down in recent months, so this isn’t just a pre-sale issue. Softer absorption most likely means near term weakness in prices, which has caused developers to delay projects.
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Dont worry eventually it goes up
”Developers plan to delay thousands of units, in anticipation of better market conditions.”
they were making tons of money in 2015 before the madness started…what is so hard to get…the money train has stopped….wait for what??? what a bunch of greedy hypocrites
I don’t think it has anything to do with greed of developers. It is simple economics. The developers factor in every cost, if they are good at what they do, and desire to make a profit. They are not building social housing. It costs them money not to build, as financing, holding costs, etc. add up quickly, so they need to get a certain number for each unit to make things work.
They can only hold on so long until they have to get on with building, but like the buyers right now, there is a lot of wait and see.
There is demand for housing, lots of it. Vancouver is a great place to live, and people are moving here every day. Rental properties are hard to find and expensive. So many people are just waiting to see how low things go before getting into the market. I expect a big jump, once we hit that point. People will see it start to pick up, and realise this is as low as it will go, and jump in, causing bidding wars, and a quick rise in prices. this is the cycle that most growing citties see, and it has happened multiple time in the Vancouver market.
With the US allowing more skilled immigration as an alternative to Canada where tech people can earn more money and have less housing costs, the crackdown on tax evasion and government regulation, the realization people don’t want to be house poor (millenials), and all the speculation that existed, i don’t think you will ever see things get out of control now as they did price wise. People who bought in the last few years under all the artificial inflation factors will be hit hard. They already are.
“…an alternative to Canada where tech people can earn more money and have less housing costs…”- are you kidding? Please see earnings in US and prices of condos.
Clearly your are either a realtor or developer, which is fine, but spewing BS here does not work:
“There is demand for housing, lots of it. ” – Have you read the article you are just replying??? Hellooo?
“Rental properties are hard to find and expensive” – Not anymore, just look on Craigslist and you will find empty houses for rental since owner don’t want to pay the empty taxes.
“People will see it start to pick up, and realise this is as low as it will go, and jump in, causing bidding wars, and a quick rise in prices…”….you lost everyone here with this crap.