Greater Vancouver home sales rise as inventory reaches levels not seen since pandemic

Greater Vancouver's real estate board says the number of homes that changed hands in April rose 3.3 per cent from the previous year, but total sales were still well below the 10-year average for the month.

Greater Vancouver Realtors says there were 2,831 home sales in the region last month, compared with 2,741 sales recorded in April 2023.

That came as the number of Metro Vancouver homes listed for sale rose 42.1 per cent year-over-year to 12,491, which is 16.7 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average. It marks the first time that figure has exceeded the 12,000-threshold since the summer of 2020.

The composite benchmark home price was $1,205,800, up 2.8 per cent from a year ago and a 0.8 per cent increase from March.

In April, there were 7,092 detached, attached and apartment properties newly available - a 64.7 per cent increase compared with the 4,307 properties listed in April 2023.

Andrew Lis, the board's director of economics and data analytics, says it's a “surprise” to many that demand has remained strong, along with the fact few homeowners have been forced to sell in the face of the highest borrowing costs in over a decade.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 2, 2024