VANCOUVER REAL ESTATE MARKET UPDATE FOR AUGUST 2018

September is here, which means the kids are going back to school and the start of fall is just a few weeks away.  Metro Vancouver saw a hot and smokey summer, while also seeing more changes in its real estate market, with continuing reduced demand for all housing types, letting buyers have more listings to choose from while facing less competition.

In August 2018, there was a total of 1,929 residential home sales in Metro Vancouver, which is a 36.6% decrease compared to this time last year, as well as a slight decline of 6.8% compared to last month where we saw a total of 2,070 home sales.

Compared to last year, this August we have seen a 34.3% increase in the current number of active listing on the MLS, with 11,824 homes currently being listed in Metro Vancouver.  Compared to July 2018, we have seen a small decrease of 2.6% in the total number of homes being listed, however, there is still a wide variety of properties for buyers to choose from.

For August 2018 the current Sales-to-Active Listings ratio is 16.3%.  By housing type, we have seen a slight decrease compared to July 2018 with the ratio for detached homes currently sitting at 9.2%, 19.4% for townhomes, and 26.6% for apartments.  Looking at these numbers, apartments are still definitely within the seller’s market, while townhomes just fall within the balanced market but are on the verge of becoming a seller’s market.  When it comes to the detached market, it is still a buyer’s market like it has been for the last few months, making this the perfect opportunity for anyone wanting to move up and into a detached home.

In the detached market, there was a total of 6,225 listings on the MLS, with 567 properties being sold, which is a 37.1% decrease compared to this time last year.  The benchmark sale price is currently $1,561,000, with properties averaging a total of 54 days on the market.

For apartments, there were 3,859 total properties listed on the MLS, with 1,025 properties being sold, which compared to this time last year, is a 36.5% decrease in the total number of sales.  Currently, the average benchmark price is sitting at $695,500, with listings averaging 29 days on the market.

For the townhouse market, there were 1,740 properties listed last month, with a total of 337 properties being sold, which is a 36.3% decrease from August 2017.  The benchmark price for townhomes is currently $846,000, with an average of 31 days on the market.

Ready to jump into the market? Whether you are looking to buy, sell, or learn more about the market changes, reach out to our team today! We’ll help you make the right move!