May sales figures are “surprisingly strong”
Author: Cheryl Chan
Home sales in Metro Vancouver and B.C. are heating up even amid high mortgage rates, smashing expectations of industry experts.
Across the province, there were 9,191 residential home sales recorded on MLS in May — a 10 per cent jump from May 2022, according to data released Wednesday by the B.C. Real Estate Association.
Those figures are “surprisingly strong,” said chief economist Brendon Ogmundson.
“Normally we’d expect to see a more persistent, negative impact from the last year of rising interest rates on sales. Instead, sales staged an early recovery in the spring returning to a normal pace of sales well before schedule.”
Average home prices have recovered from much of its decline last year and has topped the $1-million mark for the first time since April 2022, said the association.
Strong housing demand is especially prominent in the Lower Mainland.
Residential home sales in Metro Vancouver climbed nearly 16 per cent compared to the previous May, nearly at par with the 10-year seasonal average, said the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, which released its May figures earlier this month.
“Back in January, few people would have predicted prices to be up as much as they are — ourselves included,” said Andrew Lis, the board’s director of economics and data analytics.
“Our forecast projected prices to be up modestly in 2023 by about two per cent at year-end. Instead, Metro Vancouver home prices are already up about six per cent or more across all home types at the midway point of the year.”
The rebound comes amid shrinking inventory, with May listings down 10.5 per cent than last year’s, and about 20 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average.
The sales-to-active listings ratio — the percentage of available listings that have sold — is at 28.5 per cent for detached homes and about 45 per cent for townhomes and condos, indicating that the region remains firmly in a seller’s market.
“You don’t have to squint to see the reason prices continue to increase,” said Lis. “The fundamental issue remains that there are more buyers relative to the number of willing sellers in the market. This is keeping the amount of resale homes available in short supply.”
The benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is $1,188,000, a 5.6 per cent decrease compared to last May and a 1.3 per cent increase compared to last month.
The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, which covers Surrey, North Delta, White Rock, Langley, Abbotsford and Mission, also saw a surge in May sales, which increased by nearly 26 per cent compared to May 2022.
It’s a slower recovery in Victoria and Vancouver Island, where year-over-year sales grew by 2.5 per cent and 2.3 per cent respectively.
Across B.C., 9,191 residential home sales were recorded on MLS in May, a 10 per cent increase from last May.
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Source: Vancouver Sun