Vancouver real estate prices continued to rise in September. Numbers from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) show prices are still making huge annual gains. This was paired with higher inventory, and higher sales.
Prices Rise 10.92%
The price of a home in Vancouver climbed by almost every measure in September. According to REBGV, the benchmark price reached $1,037,300, up 0.74% from the month before. This represents a 10.92% increase from the same time last year. Average sale prices posted increases in all three housing segments as well.
Source: REBGV.
One thing to keep an eye on is how much smaller the annual gains have been getting. While a 10.92% price increase would be huge in any other city, it’s a lot less than the 28.29% made the same time last year. It could just be a tapering of gains after a huge run, however, it could also be a continuation of a downtrend. Either way it’s really worth paying attention to over the next few months.
Source: REBGV.
Sales Are Up 25.21%
Sales made a pretty large climb compared to last year. REBGV reported 2,821 sales, down 7.3% from the month before. This represents a 25.21% increase, when compared to the same time last year. While the climb is huge, it’s worth noting that last year’s numbers were likely artificially low due to the introduction of the Non-Resident Transfer Tax (a.k.a. foreign buyer tax). September 2016 was only the second month, so numbers were likely a little lower than they would have been otherwise.
Source: REBGV.
Listings Are At A 23 Month High
The Greater Vancouver Region is notorious for low inventory, but the composite numbers are inching higher. REBGV reported 9,466 listings in September, 7.48% higher than the month before. That’s 1.2% higher than the same time last year. The number is the highest seen since October 2015, so we’re at a 23 month high. This is still less inventory than seen just two Septembers ago, so we’re not exactly flooding in inventory. It’s just higher than we’ve seen recently.
Prices continued to climb, which is good for property owners. However, it’s a little less clear what higher listings and sales mean. The sales to listings to ratio is higher than it was in 2016, but 2016 had sales artificially compressed. The ratio may be higher, but that doesn’t mean the desire to buy is much higher – since many people last year accelerated their September buy to close in July – before the foreign buyer tax went into effect. As always, we’ll be breaking down the market segment by segment over the next few days, to give more specific insights and metrics.
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Photo: Ruth Hartnup.
Seriously? You’re reporting the REBGV stats, including their 30-pages-of-calculations Frankenumber benchmark stat without question or challenge?
I’m disappointed in you. Realtors and real estate boards lie and distort, and you do your readers a disservice not to report on this. Soon enough, the correction will be undeniable, regardless of manipulated statistics.
Vancouver real estate inventory rises to a 23 month high. Sales are up 25.21%, and housing prices continue to rise 10.92% in September. New homeowners are having a hard time in Vancouver. Large cooperations and association should work together to lower prices on people’s everyday needs.