REBGV Market Report For March 2023 – Sales Down From Last Year But Upward Price Trend Will Continue
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) released its housing report for March 2023. March saw a small increase in price when compared to February, but overall sales were down when compared to March 2022.
“On the pricing side, the spring market is already on track to outpace our 2023 forecast, which anticipated modest price increases of about one to two percent across all product types,” Andrew Lis, REGBC’s director of economics and data analytics said in his monthly news release.
He added,” The surprising part of this recent activity is that these price increases are occurring against a backdrop of elevated borrowing costs, below average sales, and new listing activity that continues to suggest that sellers are awaiting more favourable market conditions.”
Home Sales
Residential home sales for March reached 2,535 units, which was a 42.5% decrease from the 4,405 units sold in March 2022 and 28.4% below the 10-year March sales average.
Detached homes: 734 – 43.6% decrease from the 1,302 recorded in March 2022.
Apartment homes: 1,311 – 43.2% decrease from the 2,310 recorded in March 2022.
Attached homes: 466 – 37.3% decrease from the 743 recorded in March 2022.
Home Listings
There were 4,317 properties (detached, attached and apartments) newly listed for sale in March 2023 on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). While it represented a 35.5% decrease when compared to March 2022, it was also 22.3% below the seasonal average of 5,553.
Sales-To-Active Listings Ratio
The March ratio was 30.7% for all property types across Metro Vancouver. By property type, the ratio was 23.3% for detached homes, 36.7% for townhomes and 34.9% for condominiums.
When the ratio is at 12% or below for a sustained period, there is downward pressure on home prices, and when it is above 20%, there is upward pressure.
House Prices
The MLS Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential homes in Metro Vancouver for March 2023 was $1,143,900. This decreased by 9.5% when compared to the same month last year and increased by 1.8% when compared to February 2023. The benchmark price of an apartment in March 2023 was $737,400, the benchmark price of an attached unit was $1,056,400 and the benchmark price of a detached unit was 1,861,800.
The full report is available here.
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