Residential Home Sales
With summer in full swing, it seems that the continued demand for residential property has continued throughout Metro Vancouver^ last month. Even with a somewhat limited inventory pool and home prices creeping up, residential home sales* throughout the region totalled 2,988 in June, up 21.1% from sales recorded in the same month one year ago (2,467). Although down 8.6% over the 10-year seasonal average (3,269).
Andrew Lis, Director of Economics and Data Analysis at the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) commented on the June market by sharing, “The market continues to outperform expectations across all segments, but the apartment segment showed the most relative strength in June. The benchmark price of apartment homes is almost cresting the peak reached in 2022, while sales of apartments are now above the region’s ten-year seasonal average. This uniquely positions the apartment segment relative to the attached and detached segments where sales remained below the ten-year seasonal averages.”
Inventory
There were 5,348 detached, attached and apartment properties newly listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Metro Vancouver last month. This represents a 1.3% rise over the 5,278 homes listed in June last year, but a 3.1% dip from the 10-year seasonal average (5,518).
The total number of homes currently listed for sale on the MLS® system across the region is 9,990. Compared to June 2022 (10,842), this figure is down 7.9% and is 17.4% less than the 10-year seasonal average (12,091).
Sales-to-Active Listings Ratio and Composite Benchmark Price
Across all detached, attached and apartment property types, the sales-active listings ratio for June this year was 31.4%. By property type, the ratio is:
- Detached: 20.9%
- Townhomes: 38.5%
- Apartments: 39.4%
Analysis of the historical data suggests 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 (from the REBGV) goes on to add, “Despite elevated borrowing costs, there continues to be too little resale inventory available relative to the pool of buyers in Metro Vancouver. This is the fundamental reason we continue to see prices increase month over month across all segments. With the benchmark price for apartments now standing at $767,000, we repeat our call to the provincial government to adjust the $525,000 threshold exempting first-time home buyers from the Property Transfer Tax to better reflect the price of entry-level homes in our region. This is a simple policy adjustment that could help more first-time buyers afford a home right now.”
The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $1,203,000. This represents a 2.4% drop over June in 2022 but a 1.3% increase compared to May earlier this year.
Metro Vancouver Home Sales by Property Type
Detached Homes
Sales of detached homes last month reached 848 – a 28.3% increase over the 661 detached sales recorded in June one year prior. The benchmark price for a detached home is $1,991,300. This represents a 3.2% decrease from June last year and a 1.9% increase compared to May just been.
Apartment Homes
Sales of apartment homes reached 1,573 in June. This is an 18.6% increase compared to the 1,326 sales in the same month back in 2022. The benchmark price of an apartment home is $767,000. This represents a 0.5% increase from June last year and a 0.8% increase compared to this past May.
Attached Homes
Last month, attached home sales totalled 547. 17.6% up compared to the 465 sales in June 2022. The benchmark price of an attached home is $1,098,900. This represents a 1% dip from June last year but a 1.5% increase compared to earlier this year in May.
^Areas covered by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver include: Bowen Island, 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.
* The REBGV is now including multifamily and land sales and listings in this monthly report. Previously, they only included detached, attached, and apartment sales, and these additional categories, which typically account for roughly 1-2% of total MLS® activity per month, are being included for completeness in our reporting.
