The market had an atypically busy August, real estate board says
The Vancouver housing market saw a “busier than expected” August, with listings activity unable to keep up with demand levels, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.
The region saw a total of 3,152 residential sales in August, increasing by 3.4% annually but shrinking by 5.2% from July. REBGV said that last month’s activity was 20.4% higher than the 10-year sales average for August.
By asset class, detached homes had 945 transactions (up 13.7% year over year), while apartments amounted to 1,631 sales (up 22.4%). Attached home sales in August totalled 576 (up 7.1%).
Vancouver saw 4,032 new residential listings in August, representing decreases of 7.9% monthly and 30.6% annually. Total inventory stood at 9,005 properties, falling by 8.6% from July and 29.7% from August 2020.
Read more: What’s happening in the Vancouver housing market?
“Housing supply is the biggest factor impacting the market right now,” said Keith Stewart, economist at the REBGV. “To help relieve pressure on prices and improve people’s home buying options, the market needs a more abundant supply of homes for sale.”
The benchmark price for a detached home last month was around $1.807 million, growing by 0.3% from July and 20.4% year over year. The apartment benchmark stood at $735,100 (down 0.2% monthly and up 7.6% annually), while attached homes were at $952,600 (up 0.3% monthly and 16.5% annually).
“Housing affordability has been a key issue in the federal election,” Stewart said. “We encourage the political parties to focus on policy solutions that will help streamline the creation of more diverse housing options for hopeful home buyers today and into the future.”
