Report: Options still limited for would-be home buyers in Metro Vancouver

While buyer demand is still outpacing supply across Metro Vancouver, a new report has found the old saying rings truer than ever when it comes to looking for what’s available in real estate: Location, location, location.

For those who want to live in the Metro Vancouver communities of Langley or Surrey, the fourth quarter State of the Market 2017 report noted that choices there currently include  23 new townhouses and 14 apartments.

But if Vancouver is the preferred location, choices only included a pair of townhouses at $1M to $1.3M, plus one apartment. Still, that’s one house more than last quarter, the report noted.

These are just some of the findings released yesterday by the Urban Development Institute (UDI).

The independent reported was prepared by Urban Analytics.

Across the region, from West Vancouver to Maple Ridge and all points between, the report found just 80 new move-in ready units were available to purchase, said Michael Ferreira, Managing Principal of Urban Analytics.

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The total of new, unsold multi-family homes for purchase across Metro Vancouver, including pre-sale, under construction and move-in ready apartments and townhouses, increased slightly from last quarter’s 1,813 units to 2,554 units.

However, this is still down 74% from the Q2 2013 peak of 9,858 units. This and other housing supply stats are found in the independent report, which tracks quarterly population growth with new home sales, prices and supply.

“About 92% of all apartments and townhomes were presold in 2017,”added Ferreira.

UDI President & CEO Anne McMullin said the numbers speak for themselves. “While pointing the finger at foreign buyers gains public support, the biggest obstacles are still municipal permitting delay bottlenecks, which can take years, and restrictive, single-family zoning, on about 85% of residential land across Metro.”

“Critics will jump onto a real estate website today and see plenty of listings,” she said. “But that supply includes older units (resales), assignments and pre-sale units that aren’t even built yet meaning they’re not move-in ready.”