Pressures on price gains are showing no signs of easing, according to the regional real estate board
Sales activity in the Metro Vancouver housing market remained above historical averages in October, while the overall supply of homes for sale fell to levels not seen in three years, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.
A total of 3,494 residential deals were closed in the region last month, which was 22.4% higher than the 10-year sales average for that month. This represented an 11% increase from the market’s September sales levels, which more than made up for the 5.2% annual decrease from the record-breaking activity in October 2020.
Read more: Vancouver market activity steadily depleting housing stock
New supply amounted to 4,049 detached, attached, and apartment properties newly listed for sale last month, down by 21.7% monthly and down by 27.3% annually. Active listings totalled 8,034 homes, down by 13% from September and down by 35.3% from October 2020.
“Home sale activity continues to outpace what’s typical for this time of year and the pool of homes available for sale is in decline. This dynamic between supply and demand is causing home prices to continue to edge up across the region,” said Keith Stewart, economist at the REBGV. “Rising fixed mortgage rates should eventually help ease demand, but for now sales remain strong and buyers with rate holds will remain motivated to find a property for the rest of the year.”
Benchmark prices were at roughly $1.851 million for detached homes (up 1.2% monthly and up 20.5% annually), at $975,000 for attached homes (up 1.2% monthly and up 18.5% annually), and at $746,400 for apartments (up 1.1% monthly and up 9.5% annually).
