Can you believe it’s June already? We’re almost at the longest day of the year – get outside and enjoy the weather while it’s here.
Tomorrow is another interest rate announcement. It seems like a lot of thoughtful professionals in the mortgage world expect a 25 basis point decrease, and if not tomorrow, then in July. My expectation is that is won’t happen in July but I would be happy to see a decrease come tomorrow.
Overall the market is busy. New listings will often sell the first week they’re listed, but the competition isn’t especially strong, unless it’s priced very low. The numbers say inventory is increasing, buit doesn’t seem to translate into a noticeable change for my Buyers. Looking at the numbers now, and new listings decreased in Vancouver West and Vancouver East (except for condos) compared to April 2024. So inventory is increasing because the mediocre units are sitting on the market, while the nice new listings are the ones selling. This seems to make sense – I see a lot of units priced high and in my experience, most Buyers don’t want to bother offering on units that seem overpriced. So if you’re keen to sell, you need to present a reasonable asking price to Buyers.
I’ve been doing a number of open houses recently, and one thing I’ve noticed is that there are a lot of Buyers out there starting their search, and wanting to see what’s out there before they get serious about their move, which is always a little more complicated if they need to sell their current place. I don’t expect the market to go nuts when we see a few interest rate decreases, but I do expect Fall and 2025 to be a busier than this Spring has been.
Here’s a snippet from the Real Estate Board’s Monthly Update:
Across all detached, attached and apartment property types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for May 2024 is 20.8 per cent. By property type, the ratio is 16.8 per cent for detached homes, 25.1 per cent for attached, and 22.5 per cent for apartment properties. Analysis of the historical data suggests 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.
“The surprise in the May data is that sales have come in softer than what we’d typically expect to see at this point in the year, while the number of newly listed homes for sale is carrying some of the momentum seen in the April data,” Andrew Lis, GVR’s director of economics and data analytics said. “It’s a natural inclination to chalk these trends up to one factor or another, but what we’re seeing is a culmination of factors influencing buyer and seller decisions in the market right now. It’s everything from higher borrowing costs, to worries about the economy, to policy interventions imposed by various levels of government.”
Sales of detached homes in May 2024 reached 846, an 18.9 per cent decrease from the 1,043 detached sales recorded in May 2023. The benchmark price for a detached home is $2,062,600. This represents a 5.9 per cent increase from May 2023 and a 1.3 per cent increase compared to April 2024.
Sales of apartment homes reached 1,338 in May 2024, a 22.7 per cent decrease compared to the 1,730 sales in May 2023. The benchmark price of an apartment home is $776,200. This represents a 2.2 per cent increase from May 2023 and a 0.3 per cent decrease compared to April 2024.
Attached home sales in May 2024 totalled 523, a 14 per cent decrease compared to the 608 sales in May 2023. The benchmark price of a townhouse is $1,145,600. This represents a 5.2 per cent increase from May 2023 and a 0.9 per cent increase compared to April 2024.
Onto the stats:
Vancouver West Real Estate Stats up to and including May 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 May 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 neighbourhood, 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.
Enjoy the sunny weekend we have coming up!