Vancouver Real Estate Prices Just Hit ANOTHER All-Time High

Vancouver real estate prices continued to climb in May. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) latest stats show that buyers are feeling optimistic once again, sending prices to another all-time high. Yes, it’s the same Vancouver people have been saying is “crashing” for the past few months. The city saw higher prices, increased inventory, and less sales. Yes, it’s confusing but it’ll make a little more sense when we walk through the stats.

Vancouver Prices Rise 8.8%

The composite price of homes in Vancouver saw a massive increase. The benchmark price rose to $967,500, an 8.8% increase from last year. This is also 2.8% higher than last month, when it reached the previous record. To give some context, San Francisco is also considered a scorching hot real estate market, and it’s up just 4.84% over the past 12 months.

First-time buyers and people looking to downsize from their single-family homes are both competing for these two types of housing.”

— Jill Oudil, President of REBGV

“Demand for condominiums and townhomes is driving today’s activity,” explains Jill Oudil, REBGV’s new president. “First-time buyers and people looking to downsize from their single-family homes are both competing for these two types of housing.” This basically means that the floor of home prices is coming up, as lower priced units are trading at a premium.

Source: REBGV.

Vancouver Inventory Continued To Build

Greater competition for lower priced units didn’t mean there was a shortage of inventory. The region saw 6,044 new listings, which was a decrease of 3.9% from the same time last year. While there was a decrease in new listings, total inventory rose substantially. Total listings for sale in the REBGV closed May at 8,168, a 5.7% increase when compared to the same time last year.

Source: REBGV.

Vancouver Sales Continued To Decrease

More inventory did not translate to more sales. May saw 4,364 sales, a decrease of 8.5% from the same time last year. This was a 22.8% increase from last month however, which is a pretty big jump. Declining sales were mostly attributed to a slide in detached demand, where prices are now almost 20 times the median household income…before taxes are deducted.

Lower sales and higher inventory should generally lead to lower prices, but like all things Vancouver – it’s more complicated. Increased competition for lower priced units is placing a premium on the most “affordable” units. The price of the cheapest units are coming up, driving the benchmark price substantially higher.

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