Low prices fuel Vancouver condo buyer surge
July 12, 2019
The composite benchmark price of a Greater Vancouver home fell below $1 million for the first time in two years in June and the effect is being seen in a surge of sales at the bottom end of the housing market.
The composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $998,700—down 9.6 per cent from June 2018 and 0.8 per cent compared to May 2019, reports the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.
Total sales in June were down 14.4 per cent from June 2018 to 2,077—the lowest level for a June in nearly 20 years.
But digging into the data shows a dramatic resurgence in sales of lower-cost condos in the City of Vancouver, which may signal a wider housing recovery sooner than expected. While the overall sales-to-new-listing ratio for Vancouver condos in June was 42 per cent—indicating a weak buyer’s market— 100 per cent of the condos listed for sale in June at $500,000 or less sold.
The median price for a Vancouver condo apartment in June was $643,000—down 8 per cent from a year ago—while city condo sales were down 48 per cent in the same period.
On the supply side, the total number of homes currently listed for sale across Greater Vancouver is 14,968—up 25.3 per cent from June 2018 and 1.9 per cent compared to May 2019.
“Homebuyers haven’t had this much selection to choose from in five years,” said Ashley Smith, president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.