Metro Vancouver Housing Update: April 2022

Share Article

April saw buyer demand relax further across Metro Vancouver*, resulting in home sales returning to more traditional levels.

“So far this spring, we’ve seen home sales ease down from the record-breaking pace of the last year”, says Daniel John, Chair at the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV). He adds, “While a small sample size, the return to a more traditional pace of home sales that we’ve experienced over the last two months provides hopeful home buyers more time to make decisions, secure financing and perform other due diligence such as home inspections”.

 

April 2022 – Housing Market at a Glance

According to the REBGV, residential home sales in the region totalled 3,232 last month, a 34.1% decrease from the 4,908 sales recorded in April last year, and a 25.6% drop from the 4,344 homes sold a month prior in March 2022. Still, the sales for April were 1.5% above the 10-year April sales average.

Last month, across Metro Vancouver, there were 6,107 detached, attached and apartment properties newly listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Metro Vancouver. This comes out to be 23.1% less than the 7,938 homes listed in April back in 2021 as well as an 8.5% drop from March this year when 6,673 homes were listed.

The total number of homes currently listed for sale on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is 8,796 – 14.1% less compared to April last year (10,245), but 15.3% more than what was listed one month earlier in March (7,628).

If you’re currently in the property market to buy or sell a home, John mentions that “with interest rates climbing and the total inventory of homes for sale inching higher, it’s important to work with your local Realtor to understand how these factors could affect your buying or selling situation”.

 

April 2022 – Sales-to-Active Listings Ratio and Composite Benchmark Price

For all property types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for April was 36.7%. Broken down into each property type, the ratio comes out as:

Detached homes:        25.3%

Townhomes:               47.1%

Apartments:                45%

 

Generally, analysts say downward pressure on home prices occurs when the ratio dips below 12 per cent for a sustained period, while home prices often experience upward pressure when it surpasses 20 per cent over several months.

For all residential properties in Metro Vancouver, the MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price is currently $1,374,500. This represents an 18.9% increase over April back in 2021, and a 1% increase compared to March earlier this year.

 

April 2022 – Metro Vancouver Home Sales by Property Type

Detached Homes

962 detached homes were sold last month in April, 41.9% less than the 1,655 detached sales recorded in April 2021. The benchmark price for a detached home is $2,139,200. This represents a 20.8% increase from April last year and a 1% bump upwards from the month prior in March this year.

Apartment Homes

1,692 apartments found new owners last month, which was 26.1% less compared to the 2,289 sales in the same month last year. The benchmark price of an apartment home is $844,700. This represents a 16% increase from April 2021 and a 1.1% rise over March this year.

Attached Homes

578 sales for attached homes were recorded last month, a 40% decrease compared to the 964 sales in April 2021. The benchmark price of an attached home is $1,150,500. This represents a 25% increase from the same month in 2021 and a 1.1% increase compared to March this year.

 

*Areas covered by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver include: Burnaby, Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Richmond, South Delta, Squamish, Sunshine Coast, Vancouver, West Vancouver, and Whistler.