"Surprising comeback": Here's how much the housing market heated up in April

May 5 2023, 11:26 pm

The latest word on the housing market in Vancouver is that prices remain high as supply remains low, even amidst record mortgage rate hikes.

According to a new report from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), residential home sales in Metro Vancouver “have mounted a surprising comeback” recently.

“The fact we are seeing prices rising and sales rebounding this spring tells us home buyers are returning with confidence after a challenging year for our market,” REBGV director of economics and data analytics Andrew Lis said in the report.

Even though mortgage rates have early doubled, the latest data shows that home prices have increased about 5% year-to-date, surpassing REBGV’s forecast.

“When we released our market forecast in January, we were one of the only organizations taking the contrarian view that prices were likely to appreciate in 2023,” Lis said.

“And what we’re seeing unfold so far this year is consistent with our prediction that near record-low inventory levels would create competitive conditions where almost any resurgence in demand would translate to price escalation, despite the elevated borrowing cost environment. At the crux of it, the issue remains a matter of far too little resale supply available relative to the pool of active buyers in our market.”

Even though the market is overall down compared to last year, here’s how April home sales shaped up in Vancouver.

Detatched home sales in April

According to the report, sales of detached homes in April 2023 are down 16.3% from last year and the benchmark price is up 8.8%.

Townhouse home sales in April

Townhouse sales are down 13.5% from last year and the benchmark price is down 6.1%.

Apartment home sales in April

Sales of apartment homes went down 16.5% compared to last year and the benchmark price of $752,300 is 3.1% lower.

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