Vancouver Real Estate Market Update – July 2020
Dear Reader,
VANCOUVER, BC – August 5, 2020 – Home buyer and seller activity in Metro Vancouver exceeded historical levels in July.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totalled 3,128 in July 2020, a 22.3 per cent increase from the 2,557 sales recorded in July 2019, and a 28 per cent increase from the 2,443 homes sold in June 2020.
Last month’s sales were 9.4 per cent above the 10-year July sales average.
“We’re seeing the results today of pent up activity, from both home buyers and sellers, that had been accumulating in our market throughout the year,” Colette Gerber, REBGV Chair said. “Low interest rates and limited overall supply are also increasing competition across our market.”
There were 5,948 detached, attached and apartment properties newly listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Metro Vancouver in July 2020. This represents a 28.9 per cent increase compared to the 4,613 homes listed in July 2019 and a 2.8 per cent increase compared to June 2020 when 5,787 homes were listed.
“Safety remains the top priority for our REALTOR® community,” Gerber said. “We continue to limit in-person interactions with clients and employ different technology solutions to ensure home buyers and sellers can get as much information as possible in a virtual setting.”
For all property types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for July 2020 is 25.9 per cent. By property type, the ratio is 25.1 per cent for detached homes, 31.1 per cent for townhomes, and 24.7 per cent for apartments.
Generally, analysts say that 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.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO YOU?
As predicted, the pent up activity has been released as Vancouver starts to open back up from COVID-19 restraints. However, our borders are still restricted, and so are many other countries. This forces the activity we have to be locally-based. And the activity is at a record high! Anything under the $3M range is active to locals, and Vancouver West is one of the few areas that did not see a price increase, as the homes above $3-4M has been pulling down the average.
If you are looking to sell, do it sooner rather than later. We should see condos dropping and houses pick up, expanding that price gap once again. With all the supply coming out from presales from 2017-2018, combined with the economic blow to the entry level condo purchasers over the last few months, the window to upgrade may be narrowing.
Please see below links for the newly released statistics packages, and let me know if you have any questions.
Are you or anyone you know thinking of Selling, Buying, or Both? Please call/text Alex at 604-374-5534 for a brief conversation to discuss options. Knowledge is value.