The story hasn't changed much from recent months: decreased demand continues to allow the supply of homes for sale to accumulate across the Metro Vancouver housing market.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region were 29.1% lower than April 2018, but 5.9% higher than March 2019.
Last month’s sales were 43.1% below the 10-year April sales average.
“Government policy continues to hinder home sale activity. The federal government’s mortgage stress test has reduced buyers’ purchasing power by about 20 per cent, which is causing people at the entry-level side of the market to struggle to secure financing,” Ashley Smith, REBGV president said. “Suppressing housing activity through government policy not only reduces home sales, it harms the job market, economic growth and creates pent-up demand.”
“There are more homes for sale in our market today than we’ve seen since October 2014. This trend is more about reduced demand than increased supply,” Smith said. “The number of new listings coming on the market each month are consistent with our long-term averages. It’s the reduced sales activity that’s allowing listings to accumulate.”
Market conditions are favouring Buyers at the moment, no question. I am seeing a few detached homes in East Van selling in multiple offers however, indicating that there is demand out there. Savvy Buyers not sidelined by the mortgage stress test are seeing the opportunity to get in to the market and/or move up to a detached house.
For Vancouver, here is the snapshot:
*Month's Supply Key:
Seller's Market = 1-5 months
Balanced Market = 5-7 months
Buyer's Market = Over 7 months
Source of data: Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver
Balanced Market = 5-7 months
Buyer's Market = Over 7 months
Source of data: Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver
Contact me if you would like more information on a specific neighbourhood, or area outside of Vancouver.
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Warm regards,
Kim