Metro Vancouver real estate market showing signs of life after slow start to the year
After a slow start to the year, Metro Vancouver’s real estate market is showing signs of life, according to the latest numbers from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).
The board reports that there were 3,411 home sales in May, a 15.7 per cent increase from May 2022 (2,947), and 1.4 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average (3,458).
“This is the first month where we’ve seen a lot of activity in terms of sales,” Andrew Lis, REBGV’s director of economics and data analytics told CTV News.
Lis says the Bank of Canada raising interest rates had hampered the market for months, but people may be realizing they might not be lowered any time soon.
“I think a lot of buyers and sellers are starting to get accustomed to the rate environment, they’ve seen that the rates aren’t going to move around all that much,” he said.
“That’s brought a lot more people into the marketplace,” he continued.
The rise in sales led to prices increasing for the sixth straight month.
According to REGBV, the average price for all residential properties in the region is $1,188,000, which is a 5.6 per cent drop off from May of last year, but a 1.3 per cent increase from last month.
While sales are on the rise, Lis says a lack of inventory continues to be a serious issue, a main driver of prices going up.
“When you have a surge in demand like we’ve just had, and you butt that up against a low inventory scenario--there’s really only one way for prices and that’s up,” Lis said.
There’s currently 9,293 homes listed for sale in Metro Vancouver, a 10.5 per cent drop off from May of 2022.
As for as apartments, there’s currently 5,661, an 11.5 per cent decline from last May.
Lis says overall, the 10-year seasonal averages show the market appears to be inching closer back to a more normal state.
“It’s interesting to see that across all the product types, in almost every area of Greater Vancouver,” he said. “It’s a fascinating market to watch right now.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.