The Metro Vancouver housing market is performing at a rather slow start because of the reduced activity in the detached home market. We see this in the evidence of home sales and listing trends.
Comparing the property sales last January 2016 to January 2017, there is a 39.5 per cent decrease. To be specific, January last year earned 2,519 property sales versus this January’s 1,523. A closer analysis can be seen from the sales done last December where there were a total of 1,714 homes sold. The decrease is evident and really performing slow at the start of this year. Apart from the total sales, we are also looking at the number of listings done. We compare this from last January 2016 to January 2017. And again, there is a decrease of 6.8 per cent compared to the 4,442 listings done last January 2016.
However, on a positive note, the listings we see on Multiple Listing Service, there is a 9.1 per cent increase this January 2017 that is equal to 7,238 versus last January’s 6,635 and last December’s 6,345.
21 per cent is the sales to active listings ratio this January 2017. And this is crucial to note because it’s actually the lowest the ratio has been since January 2015. That’s two years ago so that is pretty alarming in its very self. According to analysts, the downward pressure on home prices happen when the ratio dips below the 12 per cent mark for a certain period. Additionally, home prices experience upward pressure when it goes beyond the 20 per cent over several months. Then again, the condition within the market varies depending on the property type. In one look , it’s easy to pinpoint that the active type are the townhomes and condominiums compared to the detached market. This doesn’t mean though that the line is going up, but fortunately it is going steady compared to the detached home prices that’ been declining about 7 per cent since it peaked last July 2016.
A representation of 3.7 per cent decline over the past six months and a 0.2 per cent decrease compared to December 2016 is evident in the benchmark price that MLS Home Price Index has indicated, which is $896,000.
Interestingly, the sales of apartment properties have reached 825 this January, but a decrease of 24.7 per cent based on the 1,096 sales last January 2016. The attached property sales last month totaled 254 but this again is a decreased version of the 376 sales attained last January 2016.
While it is without a doubt interesting to see how parts of the market are steadily performing, there is also a notable decrease from one angle to the other. It’s important to note that this time, buyers have more time to shop and make offers on properties, thus a good time for them to get into the market. On the other hand, the sellers need to be sharp with the listings and make sure that these are presented well to help them make their properties stand out. We now know that the housing market is off to a slower start this year, one can only hope that it will perform better for the coming months.