everything in the Vancouver Region’s resale market is increasing Sales, inventory, and prices in the Vancouver Region all increased in February. These increases are beyond what’s typical for the month, as activity in the local housing market picks up heading into spring.
board area, including houses that need significant investment to be considered habitable and those that are more suitable for redevelopment. With a large proportion of an already- limited pool of listings having been on the market for more than 2 months—leaving buyers to compete for what’s left—it should hardly surprise that prices continue to rise. On this front, benchmark prices in both the Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley board areas were up by more than 4% in the last month alone (equivalent to a compound rate of 60% annually—a wholly unsustainable rate of change). The benchmark price of a detached home in the Greater Vancouver area (where 1 in 3 listings is more than 60 days old) is now more than $2 million, while townhomes are over $1 million. Based on recent trends and the fact that March is typically one of the busiest months of the year for both new listings and sales, we should operate under the assumption that Phil has seen his shadow and these patterns of increased activity will continue in the near-term.
The typical seasonal pattern of change in the Vancouver Region’s housing market in February is one of increasing activity. But even with buyers and sellers, much like Punxsutawney Phil, tending to emerge from their winter slumber around this time of year, February’s MLS activity was amplified beyond what’s typical. For starters, sales in February surpassed the 5,000 threshold for the first time since last November. And while the 5,199 sales last month were less than the torrid pace of February 2021 (by 19%), they were still 29% higher than the past 10-year average for February. In fact, sales were elevated for all home types compared with the long-run February average, led by condo sales that were 58% higher (notably, they were also just 2% below February 2021’s count). Meanwhile, the narrative around inventory in the Vancouver Region is similar to the
plot of the movie Groundhog Day, with February’s total listing count once again registering at a historically-low level. Specifically, the total number of homes for sale at the end of February, while up from January, was just 9,805—17% below last February’s count, 37% below the long-run average, and the lowest February level ever recorded in the Vancouver Region (going back to 1989). Despite this ongoing troubling trend, the most recent month- over-month expansion in inventory, at 33%, far exceeded the typical January-to-February increase of 7%. This is good news insofar as market balance is concerned. The additional importance of this second straight month of expanding inventory is underscored by the fact that 19% of all listings in the Vancouver Region have been on the market for more than 60 days. About half of these listings are specifically detached homes in the Greater Vancouver
Copyright © 2022 rennie group of companies. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced or distributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of the rennie group of companies. Current as of March 7, 2022. All data from Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley & Rennie. While the information and data contained herein has been obtained from sources deemed reliable, accuracy cannot be guaranteed. rennie group of companies does not assume responsibility or liability for any inaccuracies. The recipient of the information should take steps as the recipient may deem necessary to verify the information prior to placing any reliance upon the information. The information contained within this report should not be used as an opinion of value, such opinions should and can be obtained from a rennie and associates advisor. All information is subject to change and any property may be withdrawn from the market at any time without notice or obligation to the recipient from rennie group of companies. E.&O.E. 3
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