January’s Residential Housing Market at a Glance
As we head into the second month of 2023, we move further past the holiday season and start picking up more of our regular routines. Housing activity across Metro Vancouver* last month moved in a similar fashion with inventory remaining on the “lower side” but still surpassing the number of listings recorded back in December. Home sales remained slow (as to be seasonally expected), but both listings and sales grew as the weeks went on.
Last month, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) recorded 1,022 home sales across the region, 21.1% less than we saw one month prior in December 2022 (1,295) and less than half of the 2,285 homes that were sold one year prior in January 2022 (down 55.3%).
Andrew Lis, REBGV Director of Economics and Data Analytics shared his own thoughts on January’s activity by saying, “Due to seasonality, market activity is quieter in January. With mortgage rates having risen so rapidly over the last year, we anticipated sales this month would be among the lowest in recent history. Looking forward, however, the Bank of Canada has said that it will pause further rate increases as long as the incoming economic data continues to support this policy stance. This should provide more certainty for home buyers and sellers in the market.”
The Market in More Detail
Across Metro Vancouver there were 3,297 detached, attached and apartment properties newly listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) last month in January. This shows a 20.9% dip compared to the same month one year prior (4,170 listings), but as we moved further into 2023, new listings increased and were recorded at 173.4% more than the 1,206 homes listed in December late last year.
The total number of homes currently listed for sale on the MLS® system across the region is 7,478. Compared to January last year, this figure is up 32.1% (5,663) and 1.3% higher than December just been (7,384).
Sales-to-Active Listings Ratio and Composite Benchmark Price
For all property types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for January was 13.7%. By property type, that ratio came out as:
Detached homes: 10.2%
Townhomes: 13.4%
Apartments: 16.7%
Generally, analysts say downward pressure on home prices occurs when the ratio dips below 12% for a sustained period, while home prices often experience upward pressure when it surpasses 20% over several months.
Lis goes on to add, “We know the peak for prices in our market occurred last spring. Over the coming months, year-over-year data comparisons will show larger price declines than we’ve been reporting up to now. It’s important to understand that year-over-year calculations are backward-looking. These price declines already happened, and what we are seeing today is that prices may have found a footing, even if it’s an awkward one sandwiched between low inventory and higher borrowing costs.”
The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $1,111,400. This represents a 6.6% decrease over January back in 2022 and 0.3% lower than December just been.
Metro Vancouver Home Sales by Property Type
Detached Homes
Sales of detached homes in January reached 295, a 52.6% decrease from the 622 detached sales recorded in the same month one year prior. The benchmark price for detached properties is $1,801,300. This represents a 9.1% decrease from January 2022 and a 1.2% decrease compared to December 2022.
Apartment Homes
Sales of apartment homes reached 571 last month – less than half of the 1,315 sales recorded back in January 2022 (down 56.6%). The benchmark price of an apartment property is $720,700. This represents a 1.1% dip from January 2022 but a 1% increase over last December.
Attached Homes
Attached home sales totalled 156. 55.2% less than the 348 sales that were recorded one year prior in January 2022. The benchmark price of an attached unit is $1,020,400. This represents a 3% drop from January back in 2022 but a 0.8% jump up from December just been.
Curious to find out what current market opportunities might look like for you? Reach out to one of our Stilhavn market experts and enjoy an an elevated experience when it comes to your next buying or selling journey…
*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.
