Residential property sales in Metro Vancouver
In the first month of 2021, Metro Vancouver’s housing market continued the pattern set at the end of last year with home sale activity outpacing the supply of homes listed for sale.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totalled 2,389 in January 2021, a 52.1% increase from the 1,571 sales recorded in January 2020, and a 22.8% decrease from the 3,093 homes sold in December 2020.
Last month’s sales were 36.4% above the 10-year January sales average.
“With home sale activity well above our January average, the supply of homes for sale isn’t able to keep pace. This is causing increased competition amongst home buyers and upward pressure on prices.” — Colette Gerber, REBGV Chair
There were 4,480 detached, attached and apartment properties newly listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Metro Vancouver in January 2021. This represents a 15.7% increase compared to the 3,872 homes listed in January 2020 and an 86% increase compared to December 2020 when 2,409 homes were listed.
The total number of homes currently listed for sale on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is 8,306, a 3.6% decrease compared to January 2020 (8,617) and a 2.7% decrease compared to December 2020 (8,538).
For all property types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for January 2021 is 28.8%. By property type, the ratio is 26.3% for detached homes, 37.6% for townhomes, and 27.8% for apartments.
Sales-to-active listings ratio
Generally, analysts say downward pressure on home prices occurs when the ratio dips below 12% for a sustained period, while home prices often experience upward pressure when it surpasses 20% over several months.
“Shifting housing needs during the pandemic and historically low-interest rates have been key drivers of demand in our market over the last six months,” Gerber said. “People who managed to enter the market a few years ago, and have seen their home values increase, are now looking to move up in the market to accommodate their changing needs.”
The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $1,056,600. This represents a 5.5% increase compared to January 2020 and a 0.9% increase compared to December 2020.
Sales of detached homes in January 2021 reached 740, a 68.6% increase from the 439 detached sales recorded in January 2020. The benchmark price of a detached home is $1,576,800. This represents a 10.8% increase from January 2020 and a 1.4% increase compared to December 2020.
Sales of apartment homes reached 1,195 in January 2021, a 46.8% increase compared to the 814 sales in January 2020. The benchmark price of an apartment home is $680,800. This represents a 2.2% increase from January 2020 and a 0.6% increase compared to December 2020.
Attached home sales in January 2021 totalled 454, a 42.8% increase compared to the 318 sales in January 2020. The benchmark price of an attached home is $815,800. This represents a 4.3% increase from January 2020 and a 0.2% increase compared to December 2020.
Canadian home sales hit an all-time record high!
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) recently released statistics showing national home sales hit another all-time high in January 2021. Canadian home sales increased 2.0% month-on-month (m-o-m) building on December’s 7.0% gain. On a year-over-year (y-o-y) basis, existing home sales surged 35.2%. As the chart below shows, January activity blew out all previous records for the month.
The seasonally adjusted activity was running at an annualized pace of 736,452 units in January, significantly above CREA’s current 2021 forecast for 583,635 home sales this year. Sales will be hard-pressed to maintain current activity levels in the busier months to come, absent a surge of much-needed new supply. However, that could materialize as current restrictions are increasingly eased and the weather starts to improve.
A mixed bag of gains led to the month-over-month increase in national sales activity from December to January, including Edmonton, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and Chilliwack BC, Calgary, Montreal and Winnipeg. There was more of a pattern to the declines in January. Many of those were in Ontario markets, following predictions that sales in that part of the country might dip to start the year with so little inventory currently available and many of this year’s sellers likely to remain on the sidelines until spring.
Actual (not seasonally adjusted) sales activity posted a 35.2% y-o-y gain in January. In line with activity since last summer, it was a new record for January by a considerable margin. For the seventh straight month, sales activity was up in almost all Canadian housing markets compared to the same month the previous year. Among the 11 markets that posted year-over-year sales declines, nine were in Ontario, where supply is extremely limited at the moment.
