Metro Vancouver saw a substantial surge in property listings with 5,446 detached, attached
The Metro Vancouver housing market witnessed a slowdown in month-over-month price growth in September, according to the latest figures from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.
The dip is primarily attributed to the seasonal shift in sales and a modest uptick in the number of available units on the market across the region, the organization said in a press release.
“A key dynamic we’ve been watching this year has been the reluctance of some homeowners to list their homes given that mortgage rates are the highest they’ve been in over ten years,” said Andrew Lis, REBGV director of economics and data analytics. “With fewer listings coming to the market earlier this year than usual, inventory levels remained very low, which led prices to increase throughout the spring and summer months.”
Metro Vancouver saw a substantial surge in property listings with 5,446 detached, attached, and apartment units hitting the market in September. This marked a 28.4% uptick compared to 4,243 homes listed during the same month in 2022.
Currently, there is a total of 11,382 homes on the MLS system in the region, a 9.2% increase over the same month last year (10,427), however still 6.2% below the 10-year seasonal average (12,136).
Looking at all property types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for September 2023 stands at 17.7%. When broken down by property type, this ratio is 12.6% for detached homes, 21.6% for townhomes, and 21.3% for apartments.
Historical data analysis indicates that sustained downward pressure on home prices tends to manifest when the ratio falls below 12%. Conversely, when this ratio consistently exceeds 20% over several months, it often results in upward pressure on home prices.
“In contrast to the spring and summer, September data suggests there may be a renewed interest on the part of sellers to participate in the market with new listings actively rising back in line with long-term historical averages,” Lis said. “This upward shift in new listings has allowed overall inventory levels to recover modestly from the low levels we saw earlier this year. When we pair this dynamic with the slowdown in sales that typically occurs in the fall as a result of seasonal patterns, the outcome is more balanced market conditions overall.”
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