May sees an increase in home sales while housing supply reaches a five-year high

The latest stats from The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) for the sales of May 2019 were released today June 4, 2019. See highlights below.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reported that residential home sales in the region totalled 2,638 in May 2019, a 6.9 per cent decrease from the 2,833 sales recorded in May 2018, and a 44.2 per cent increase from the 1,829 homes sold in April 2019.

Last month’s sales were 22.9 per cent below the 10-year May sales average and were the lowest total for the month since 2000.

The growing inventory of Homes in the Lower Mainland

There were 5,861 detached, attached and apartment properties newly listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Metro Vancouver last month. This represents an 8.1 per cent decrease compared to the 6,375 homes listed in May 2018 and a 2.1 per cent increase compared to April 2019 when 5,742 homes were listed.

The total number of homes currently listed for sale on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is 14,685, a 30 per cent increase compared to May 2018 (11,292) and a 2.3 per cent increase compared to April 2019 (14,357). This is the highest number of homes listed for sale since September 2014 (14,832).

For all property types, the sales-to-active-listings ratio for May 2019 is 18 per cent. By property type, the ratio is 14.2 per cent for detached homes, 20 per cent for townhomes, and 21.2 per cent for apartments. Generally, analysts say downward pressure on home prices occurs when the ratio dips below 12 per cent for a sustained period, while home prices often experience upward pressure when it surpasses 20 per cent over several months.

Vancouver’s real estate market for May 2019

Vancouver East

Vancouver East had 227 detached, 103 attached, and 275 condo listings for the month of May. This was a 6.1% increase, 13.2% increase and 2.5% decrease since April 2019 respectively.

The number of sales in Vancouver East increased for all the residential markets since the previous month. Detached increased by 87.9%, attached increased by 76.5% and apartments increased by 23.5%.

According to REBGV, the benchmark price for residential homes for the month of May is $1,053,900. This is a 0.9% decrease from the previous month.

Vancouver West

Vancouver West had 220 detached, 144 attached and 689 apartment listings during the month of May. This was a 2.7% decrease, 12.2% decrease and a 10.4% decrease since April.

Vancouver West sales increased but not as much as East Vancouver. The detached market increased by 36.5%, the attached market increased by 22.2% and the apartment market increased by 36.9%.

REBGV’s residential homes benchmark price is $1,232,900. A decrease of 0.6% from the previous month.

Burnaby’s real estate market for May 2019

For the month of May, Burnaby had a total of 200 detached listings, 127 attached listings and 317 apartment listings.

Burnaby’s total listings for the detached market saw an increase of 12.4% since last month. The attached market increased by 9.5% while apartments decreased by 1.9%.

Sales increased substantially in Burnaby since April 2019. The sales of detached, attached and apartment markets increased by 26.4%, 65.7% and 49.5% respectively.

Burnaby North

Burnaby North’s benchmark price for residential May 2019 according to REBGV is $879,900. This is a 0.9% increase from last month but a 7% decrease from last year.

Burnaby South

REBGV’s South Burnaby’s residential benchmark price for residential is $971,800. This is a decrease since April by 0.9% and a 7.9% decrease since last year.

Burnaby East

Burnaby East’s residential benchmark price, according to REBGV, is $939,900. This is a decrease of 1.1% since April.

What is impacting the Greater Vancouver real estate market?

“High home prices and mortgage qualification issues caused by the federal government’s B20 stress test remain significant factors behind the reduced demand that the market is experiencing today,” Ashley Smith, REBGV president said.

“Whether you’re a buyer looking to make an offer or a seller looking to list your home, getting your pricing right is the key in today’s market,” Smith said. “To be competitive, it’s important to work with your local REALTOR® to assess and understand the latest trends in your neighbourhood and property type of choice.”

Where to find up-to-date market information?

Did you know you can easily setup your own searches on this website? Just click here to access our free real estate tools. By creating an account you get access to sold data, personalized search tools as well as our insights. With our insights, you can see which areas have the highest sales volume. As well which areas are selling below or above the asking prices. Check it out!

Sources:

http://members.rebgv.org/news/REBGV-Stats-Pkg-May-2019.pdf