22 Nov 2024
REBGV Market Update For October 2024 – Buyers Are Returning To The Market With More Confidence
The October 2024 market report released by the Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR) marked the fifth month in a row of declining house prices, however Metro Vancouver home sales surged more than 30% year-over-year in October.
“Typically, reductions to mortgage rates boost demand, and the strong October sales numbers suggest buyers may finally be responding to lower borrowing costs after waiting on the sidelines for months. To some market watchers this rebound may come as a surprise, but with four consecutive rate cuts from the Bank of Canada – and more likely to come on the horizon – it was only a matter of time until signs of renewed strength in demand showed up. ” Andrew Lis, GVR Director of economics and data analytics said.
He added, “While the strength in October’s numbers is encouraging, one data point does not make a record.”
Home Sales
In October 2024, there were 2,632 residential property sales. This represented a 32.9% increase from the 1,996 sales in October 2023. This was 5.5% below the 10-year seasonal average.
The number of detached properties sold was 724, 25.5% more than October 2023.
The number of apartments sold was 1,393, 33.4% more than October 2023.
The number of attached properties sold was 501, 40.7% more than October 2023.
Home Listings
There were 5,452 new listings of detached, attached and apartment properties for October 2024 on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This was 16.9% less than the 4,664 homes listed in October 2023. This was 20% above the 10-year seasonal average of 4,545.
The total number of homes listed for sale in October increased to 14,477, a 24.8% increase compared to October 2023 when 11,599 homes were listed and 26.2% above the 10-year seasonal average of 11,475.
Sales-To-Active-Listings Ratio
This is a good indication of the supply and demand forces in the market. Downward pressure on home prices can occur when the ratio is below 12% for a sustained period, and there is upward pressure when the ratio is above 20% for a number of months.
For all property types, the ratio in October was 18.8%. When broken down by property types, the ratio was:
- 13.4% for detached homes
- 22.5 for townhomes
- 22.2% for condos