photo by Aditya Chinchure

Decreased demand continues to allow the supply of homes for sale to accumulate across the Metro Vancouver* housing market.

Last month’s sales were 43.1% below the 10-year April sales average.

"Government policy continues to hinder home sale activity. The federal government’s mortgage stress test has reduced buyers’ purchasing power by about 20%, which is causing people at the entry-level side of the market to struggle to secure financing," Ashley Smith, REBGV president said. "Suppressing housing activity through government policy not only reduces home sales, it harms the job market, economic growth and creates pent-up demand."

The total number of homes currently listed for sale on the MLS® in Metro Vancouver is 14,357, a 46.2% increase compared to April 2018 (9,822) and a 12.4% increase compared to March 2019 (12,774).

The number of properties being listed for sale each month is consistent with our long-term averages. Lower sales activity however is allowing listings to accumulate.

The April 2019 sales-to-active listings ratio is 9.4% for detached homes (a buyers market with downward pressure on home prices), 15.4% for townhomes (a balanced market), and 15.3% for apartments (a balanced market).

Detached home sales totalled 586 in April 2019, a 27.4% year over year decrease. The benchmark price for a detached home is $1,425,200, an 11.1% decrease from April 2018, a 0.8% decrease compared to March 2019.

Apartment home sales totalled 885 in April 2019, a 32.3% year over year decrease. The benchmark price of an apartment is $656,900 in the region, a 6.9% decrease from April 2018 and is unchanged from March 2019.

Attached home sales totalled 358 in April 2019, a 22.8% year over year decrease. The benchmark price of an attached home is $783,300, a 7.5% decrease from April 2018 and is unchanged from March 2019.

Download the latest numbers from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver