We are finally into the Spring Market. There’s a lot of excitement out there and a lot of new listings expected, so keep your eyes on the market if you’re looking for something interesting.
The market is busy! It’s not the busiest market ever (à la 2021/2022) but properties are selling quickly and in multiple offers unless you’re priced high. It’s hard to convince Buyers to offer on properties that don’t offer some sense of value so if you’re looking to sell, be reasonable and Buyers will show up. If you’re a Buyer, expect multiple offers on good properties so you can prepare appropriately and be happy if it ends up just being you.
I was really interested to see what the market would do have the Easter Weekend because we has 3 straight weekends of holidays (March Break and the the Easter long weekend). Inventory seem to be low during this time so I was expecting a surge in new listings this past week and was wondering if it would water down the competition or lead to more activity. We definitely did see an increase in new listings (which I expect to continue until June) and it seems like activity is really strong – most Sellers have set an “offer date” for after their open houses and most Buyers seem ready to participate in multiple offer situations. I don’t expect these multiple offer situations to be incredibly competitive, but I do expect some subject free offers and increased prices.
I liken this real estate market to the phenomenon of car dealerships. You always see car dealerships grouped together, which seems like a bad idea (why do dealerships want to be near their competition?!) but it is actually a smart move: Buyers who are looking to buy a car can see all of their options in one day and make an informed decisions fairly quickly. If they had to traverse the city to check out different dealerships they might lose steam and drag out the process. This is what happens in the real estate market: when inventory is low, Buyers don’t have as much motivation – it’s easy to lose steam when there aren’t many good listings to view and it’s easy to convince yourself to wait for next week. When inventory is high, there is a lot of excitement in the market, a lot of activity at open houses (Buyers are more likely to offer on something that seems popular than something that doesn’t) and it’s easier for Buyers to understand a unit they like compared to a unit they don’t since they’ve probably seen enough options (in the same weekend) to understand what is appealing to them.
March saw a lot of solid activity. Every market has a sales to active ratio above 18% except the Westside detached market (which is at 12%) so it’s a busy market – basically a Seller’s market – across the board. I expect April to show increased numbers across the more – more listings, more sales and slightly higher prices.
There is another interest rate announcement on Wednesday April 10th – I don’t expect a rate drop at this point but we should see one by Fall.
Here’s a snippet from the Real Estate Board’s Monthly Update:
There were 5,002 detached, attached and apartment properties newly listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Metro Vancouver in March 2024. This represents a 15.9 per cent increase compared to the 4,317 properties listed in March 2023. This was 9.5 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average (5,524).
The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is 10,552, a 22.5 per cent increase compared to March 2023 (8,617). This is 6.3 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average (9,923).
“Despite the welcome increase in inventory, the overall market balance continues inching deeper into sellers’ market territory, which suggests demand remains strong for well-priced and well-located properties” Andrew Lis, GVR’s director of economics and data analytics said. “Even though the market isn’t quite as hot as it was last year, we’re still seeing modest month-over-month price gains of one to two per cent happening at the aggregate level.”
The Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR)2 reports that residential sales3 in the region totalled 2,415 in March 2024, a 4.7 per cent decrease from the 2,535 sales recorded in March 2023. This was 31.2 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average (3,512).
Across all detached, attached and apartment property types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for March 2024 is 23.8 per cent. By property type, the ratio is 18.2 per cent for detached homes, 31.3 per cent for attached, and 25.8 per cent for apartments.
Onto the stats:
Vancouver West Real Estate Stats up to and including March 2024
HPI Price for Vancouver West
*Unfortunately HPI Price can’t be any more specific than Condo/Townhouse/House*
Average Sales Price for Vancouver West
Median Percentage of Original Price for Vancouver West
New Listings for Vancouver West
Total Inventory for Vancouver West
Total Sales for Vancouver West
Sales to Active Ratio for Vancouver West
Median Days on Market for Vancouver West
East Vancouver Real Estate Stats up to and including March 2024
HPI Price for East Vancouver
*Unfortunately HPI Price can’t be any more specific than Condo/Townhouse/House*
Average Sales Price for East Vancouver
Median Percentage of Original Price for East Vancouver
New Listings for East Vancouver
Total Inventory for East Vancouver
Total Sales for East Vancouver
Sales to Active Ratio for East Vancouver
Median Days on Market for East Vancouver
As always, if you have questions on a particular kind of property or location, get in touch with me!
And if you’re thinking about selling your property, give me a call to chat about value, pricing strategy and the sale process. There are plenty of details to chat about – including timing, value, staging and your potential purchase – so don’t hesitate to contact me if you’d like to get started kristi@realestatevancity.ca or 778-387-7371. The better you understand your current value and what Buyers may be looking for, the more successful your sale.
The mortgage world is changing constantly these days – fixed rates (which are based on bond yields) are changing all the time and variable rates (based on the Bank of Canada prime rate) are static right now and expected to lower at some point later this year. Make sure you have a pre-approval set so that your mortgage broker can keep you updated on the best possible rates and can work quickly if the property you want ends up in a competitive situation. There are a lot of details to consider when it comes to a mortgage, especially if you’re buying and selling, so you need a broker who can guide you to the right option. Email me if you need a referral to a great mortgage broker.
Have a great Spring!