GET WEEKLY UPDATES >>>

"Life is 10% what happens and 90% how we react."
 – Charles Swindoll

​

 The March real estate market was well summarised by Andrew Lis, GVR’s Director of Economics and Analytics:

​

“Despite the welcome increase in inventory, the overall market balance continues inching deeper into sellers’ market territory, which suggests demand remains strong for well-priced and well- located properties.”

​

In numbers:

​

• Although we have 22.5% more properties currently listed than this time last year, the HPI benchmark price for all properties in Vancouver sits 4.5% above March 2023 and 1.1% higher than February 2024 (up 1.8% for detached homes, 0.9% for apartments and 1.7% for townhomes). 

​

• Growing demand is responsible for the price increases, with the sales-to-listing ratio up from last month, now at 23.8% overall. By property type, it sits at 18.2%  for detached homes, 25.8% for apartments and for 31.3% townhouses. Generally, analysts say downward pressure on prices tends to occur when demand falls below 12% for a prolonged period, and increase when sustained above 20%

​

• Of course, some areas have faired better than others and if you're curious to see how your particular community is trending, you can find monthly neighbourhood reports here. 

​

• There has been a noticeable influx of homes being brought to market since the beginning of April. If this continues, demand could potentially be diluted. However, it is largely anticipated that there will be several modest cuts to the Bank of Canada's overnight lending rate this year - something which 26% of buyers are waiting for according to this recent Dye & Durham survey.

​

• The next opportunity for a rate cut will come on June 10th, with the Bank of Canada opting to hold the overnight lending rate constant at 5% at their April 10th meeting.   If inflation continues to downtrend, a rate reduction seems likely. 

​

• At today's (April 16th) federal budget announcement, the Liberals made a commitment to "unlock 3.9 million new homes by 2031" through a series of measures that includes converting public lands into housing and improved programs to help first-time buyers. 

 

If you have questions regarding any of the above information or about current market opportunities, I'm here to discuss or assist in whatever way I can. 

You can see the full real estate market report and press release from GRV here.

For those of you who would like to stay ahead of market shifts, we have weekly statistics available which provide insight into recent sales numbers, supply vs demand grafts and new listing counts.  Just reach out if you would like these or any other information about specific communities of interest.