JUNE 2023 market recap

Transactions of homes located in the Metro Vancouver area have seen an uplift in activity. In June 2022, there were 2,467 properties sold; while in June 2023, there were 2,988 properties sold, a 21.1% increase.

DETACHED;

The total number of active listings is 4,056. 848 properties were sold. The benchmark price is around $1,991,300 and the average days on the market is 25.

TOWNHOUSE;

The number of properties currently on the market is 1,419, with 547 sales. The average price of these listings is $1,098,900, and they had been on the market for an average of 19 days.

APARTMENT;

The current number of active listings is 3,991, with 1,573 sales. The typical benchmark price is $767,000, and the average amount of time that a property is on the market is 22 days.

Continuing the trend that has emerged in the housing market this year, the benchmark price for all home types in Metro Vancouver1 increased in June as home buyer demand butted up against a limited inventory of homes for sale in the region.

According to The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), there were 2,988 residential home sales in the region in June 2023, a 21.1 per cent rise from the 2,467 transactions that had taken place in June 2022. This figure was 8.6 per cent short of the 10-year seasonal average (3,269).

June saw the apartment segment of the market outperforming expectations more than any other, with benchmark prices almost reaching the peak they attained in 2022 and sales exceeding the region's seasonal average over the past decade. Attached and detached units, on the other hand, maintained sales beneath the ten-year seasonal averages.

In June 2023, a total of 5,348 detached, attached, and apartment properties were listed on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Metro Vancouver. This was a 1.3 percent rise from the 5,278 dwellings that were up for sale in the same period the year before. Nonetheless, it was still 3.1 percent less than the 10-year seasonal average of 5,518.

The MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is currently showcasing a catalogue of 9,990 homes for sale, which is a 7.9% decrease in comparison to June 2022 (10,842). This figure is 17.4% lower than the 10-year seasonal average (12,091).

The sales-to-active listings ratio for June 2023 across all property types, which includes detached, attached and apartments, is measured to be 31.4 per cent. Breaking it down by property type, the ratio for detached homes is 20.9 per cent, 38.5 per cent for townhomes, and 39.4 per cent for apartments.

The proportion of sales to active listings in June 2023; Detached homes accounted for 20.9 %, while townhomes and condominiums represented 38.5 % and 39.4 % respectively according to figures from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

Analysis of the past records shows home prices tend to decline when the ratio stays under 12 percent for a considerable amount of time, while home prices usually experience an increase when it rises above 20% for a few months.

The Metro Vancouver MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark for all residential properties has an estimated value of $1,203,000 as of now. This is a dip of 2.4 per cent when compared to June 2022 but a slight uptick of 1.3 per cent compared to May 2023.

• In June 2023, 848 detached homes were sold, which was a 28.3 percent rise from the 661 detached properties sold in June 2022. The benchmark cost for a detached residence was $1,991,300, which was a 3.2 percent drop from June 2022 but a 1.9 percent growth from May 2023.

• In June 2023, the sales of apartments went up to 1,573, which represented an 18.6% increase from the 1,326 sales in June 2022. The benchmark price of an apartment was $767,000, showing a 0.5% growth from the preceding year and a 0.8% rise from the month prior.

• In June 2023, the total amount of attached home sales was 547, an increase of 17.6 per cent when compared to the sales of 465 in June 2022. The benchmark price of an attached home was $1,098,900, representing a drop of one per cent from the June 2022 figure and a 1.5 per cent rise from May 2023.

The current housing market in Metro Vancouver is a seller’s market, with prices rising and inventory levels low. This has resulted in bidding wars and competitive offers on properties, making it difficult for first-time home buyers to purchase a home. The benchmark cost for apartments is now at $767,000, which is far higher than the provincial government's $525,000 threshold for first-time home buyers. This means that first-time buyers are unable to afford entry-level homes in Metro Vancouver. As such, the provincial government should consider adjusting the threshold to reflect the current cost of housing in the area. Doing so could potentially help more first-time buyers have access to a home and make it easier for them to enter the housing market.