Activity remains sluggish in Vancouver Real Estate Market
Activity in the Vancouver real estate market remains quite sluggish through the first half of February. This report follows the two previous January reports (January 2017 Detached Market Report and January 2017 condo/townhouse Market Report).
So what do I mean by sluggish? Well sales are down, way down from last year. New listings are also quite scarce. Let’s take a look.
REBGV Detached
Detached sales are following the exact same trend as the past six months or so. Detached sales through the first 15 days of February are down 52% year over year. There have been a total of 385 detached sales across Greater Vancouver which is 28% below the 10 year average.
REBGV Townhouse
Townhouse sales remain relatively stable, once again following a similar trend we have seen over the past few months. Through the first 15 days of February sales are down 30% year over year, and are also 8% below the 10 year average.
Through 15 days there have been 174 sales and 262 new listings. This leaves the current sales/actives ratio at 22% which indicates a sellers market (anything above 20%). New listings and inventory remain low, but are climbing. As it stands right now it looks like inventory levels will rise about 20% or more year over year as sales dwindle.
REBGV Condo
The condo market is still chugging along. However, sales are down 21% year over year so far in February. But not to be denied, condo sales are still 17% above the 10 year average for this time. With inventory levels still at record lows is it possible to see more sales if we had more inventory? Possibly, but that’s all guesswork at this point.
The sales to actives ratio for REBGV condos sits at 30%. Again, this is indicative of a sellers market. New listings are quite low, so far we’ve added 773 new listings but had 665 sales. As you can see inventory is still getting absorbed very quickly and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon.
Summary
Sales appear to be following the same trend we have been seeing over the last four to six months. The detached market continues to be under lots of pressure, while condos are still selling quickly. There seems to be a huge divergence of these two markets. Everything i’m seeing shows me townhouses could be in trouble if the detached doesn’t turn around. Inventory levels are climbing, with sales below the 10 year average. Look for the month end report in a few weeks.
