August 10, 2017
Vancouver real estate is seeing inventory hit a high for the year. Numbers from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) show that a decline in sales is causing listings to build at a rapid rate. Despite soaring inventory, prices still climbed more than the Vancouver median family income year-over-year.
Prices Increased 2.1%
The benchmark price of composite homes, your typical Vancouver home, made a pretty big move higher. The composite price is now $1,019,400, a 2.1% increase from the month before. This represents a 9.57% increase from the same month last year, which works out to $89,000. The market may be cooling, but if you’re the median family – your house still likely made more than you. This is the first time the composite price has hit over a million.
Benchmark Price
Dec 2015 760,900
Jan 2016 775,300
Feb 2016 795,500
Mar 2016 815,000
Apr 2016 844,800
May 2016 889,100
Jun 2016 917,800
Jul 2016 930,400
Aug 2016 933,100
Sep 2016 926,600
Oct 2016 919,300
Nov 2016 908,300
Dec 2016 897,600
Jan 2017 896,000
Feb 2017 906,700
Mar 2017 919,300
Apr 2017 941,100
May 2017 967,500
June 2017 998,700
July 2017 1,019,400
Source: REBGV.
Sales Decreased 23.97%
Sales are showing big declines, but the seasonal drop was smaller than the year before. July 2017 saw 2,960 sales, a 23.97% decline from the month before. This is 8.25% lower than the same month last year. The monthly drop seems huge, but there’s a seasonal drop this time of year in Vancouver. For a little context, the same period last year saw a 26.6% decrease.
Listings
Dec 2015 2,827 6,024
Jan 2016 2,519 6,635
Feb 2016 4,172 7,299
Mar 2016 5,173 7,358
Apr 2016 4,781 7,550
May 2016 4,769 7,726
Jun 2016 4,400 7,812
Jul 2016 3,226 8,351
Aug 2016 2,489 8,506
Sep 2016 2,253 9,354
Oct 2016 2,233 9,143
Nov 2016 2,214 8,385
Dec 2016 1,714 6,345
Jan 2017 1,523 7,238
Feb 2017 2,425 7,594
Mar 2017 3,579 7,586
Apr 2017 3,553 7,813
May 2017 4,364 8,168
Jun 2017 3,893 8,515
Jul 2017 2,960 9,194
Source: REBGV.
Listings Increased Over 7%
Listings are the big story, and REBGV would likely agree. There were 9,194 homes listed for sale at the end of July 2017, a 7.97% increase from the month before. This is 10.9% higher than the same month last year. Higher inventory isn’t a problem by itself, but when combined with declining sales – it theoretically should provide downward pressure on prices.
Jill Oudil, president of the REBGV, noted “Because home sale activity decreased to more historically normal levels in July, the selection of homes for sale in the region was able to edge above 9,000 for the first time this year.” Which is real estate executive for people aren’t buying homes as quick as people are selling them, so they’re piling up.
It appears that Vancouver is the land that math forgot. Increased inventory, and declining sales typically results in reduced pricing pressure – but prices still climbed. This bucking of traditional housing economics isn’t too surprising, considering the recently revealed history of Vancouver of real estate.