Metro Vancouver* remains an incredibly sought-after location for many homeowners, with buyer interest and demand continuing to stay put at elevated levels. However, overall home sale activity dropped last month – a calmer outcome compared to last spring’s record pace.
Daniel John, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) Chair commented on the current market movement since last year’s record numbers; “March of 2021 was the highest selling month in our history. This year’s activity, while still elevated, is happening at a calmer pace than we experienced 12 months ago. Homebuyers are keeping a close eye on rising interest rates, hoping to make a move before their locked-in rates expire.”
Housing Market at a Glance
For March, The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reported that residential home sales in the region totalled 4,344, a 23.9% decrease from the 5,708 sales recorded in March last year, and a 26.9 per cent increase from the 3,424 homes sold a month prior in February. March sales came in at 25.5% above the 10-year March sales average.
Across Metro Vancouver, there were 6,673 detached, attached and apartment properties newly listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) last month. This represents a 19.5% drop compared to the 8,287 homes listed in March a year ago, and a 22% increase compared to February just been which saw 5,471 homes listed.
The total number of homes currently listed for sale on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is 7,628. This is 16.6% less than how many there were in March last year (9,145), but still 13.1% more than in February a month beforehand (6,742).
John adds, “We’re still seeing upward pressure on prices across all housing categories in the region. Lack of supply is driving this pressure.” According to John, the number of homes that are currently featured on the MLS® system as of today is less than half of what is needed to shift the housing market back into “balanced territory”.
Sales-to-Active Listings Ratio and Composite Benchmark Price
For all property types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for March was 56.9%. Broken down into each property type, the ratio comes out as:
Detached homes: 38.8%
Townhomes: 73.3%
Apartments: 70.3%
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 is currently $1,360,500. This lines up as a 20.7% increase over March in 2021 and a smaller 3.6% increase compared to a month prior in February 2022.
Metro Vancouver Home Sales by Property Type
Detached Homes
1,291 detached homes were sold last month in March, a 34.3% drop from the 1,965 detached sales recorded in March a year ago. The benchmark price for a detached home is $2,118,600. This represents a strong 23.4% increase from March last year and a 3.6% increase compared to the month beforehand.
Apartment Homes
2,310 apartments found new owners last month, which was 14.3% less compared to the 2,697 sales that occurred in March 2021. The benchmark price of an apartment home is $835,500. This represents a 16.8% jump from March 2021 and a 3.4% bump up compared to February 2022.
Attached Homes
743 sales for attached homes were recorded last month, a 29.0% drop compared to the 1,046 sales in March 2021. The benchmark price of an attached home is $1,138,300. This represents a 28.1% increase from the same month a year ago and a 4.4% rise above February 2022.
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*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.
