Metro Vancouver home sales relatively strong against rising interest rates

Downtown Vancouver skyline with construction cranes. (Shutterstock)

With all things considered, Metro Vancouver’s home sales volumes over the month of July 2023 were relatively strong, despite the headwinds of rising interest rates and economic challenges, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

A total of 2,455 home sales were recorded over the month, representing a 29% jump from the 1,904 sales recorded in the same month in 2022. However, it was still 15.6% below the 10-year seasonal average of 2,909 units.

“While sales remain about 15% below the 10-year average, they are also up about 30% year-over-year, which is not insignificant. Looking under the hood of these figures, it’s easy to see why sales are posting such a large year-over-year percentage increase,” said Andrew Lis, REBGV director of economics and data analytics, in a statement.

“Last July marked the point when the Bank of Canada announced their ‘super-sized’ increase to the policy rate of one full percent, catching buyers and sellers off guard and putting a chill on market activity at that time.”

You might also like:

There were 4,649 homes newly listed for sale within REBGV’s jurisdiction in July 2023, which is a 17% increase compared to the 3,975 homes listed in July 2022 and 5% below the 10-year seasonal average of 4,902 units.

Currently, there are 10,300 homes listed for sale in the jurisdiction of REBGV, representing a 4% decrease from the 10,734 units of July 2022 and 14.4% below the 10-year seasonal average of 12,039 units.

“What’s interesting to see in the current market environment is that, while the Bank of Canada rate hike this July was only a quarter of a percent, mortgage rates are now at the highest levels we’ve seen in Canada in over 10 years,” continued Lis. “Yet despite borrowing costs being even higher than last July, sales activity surpassed the levels we saw last year, which I think says a lot about the strength of demand in our market and buyers’ ability to adapt to and qualify for higher borrowing costs.”

REBGV’s jurisdiction covers Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Richmond, Pitt Meadows, Sunshine Coast, Whistler, and all of the Tri-Cities and North Shore. Other areas such as Surrey, Langley, Delta, and White Rock are part of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board.

Benchmark prices for all MLS homes within the jurisdiction of REBGV reached $1.21 million in July 2023, which is a month-over-month increase of 0.6% from June 2023, and a 0.5% increase from the same month in 2022.

Within the Vancouver Westside, benchmark prices for single-family detached houses reached $3.458 million, townhouses reached $1.497 million, and apartments reached $866,000. For the Vancouver Eastside, benchmark prices were $1.897 million for single-family detached houses, $1.126 million for townhouses, and $717,000 for apartments.

July 2023 home sales statistics: REBGV

Detached homes
- Number of units sold: 681 (-28.7% over July 2022)
- Active listings: 4,117
- Benchmark price: $2,012,900 (+0.6% over July 2022; +1.1% over June 2023)
- Average days on the market: 29
Apartment homes
- Number of units sold: 1,281 (+20.7% over July 2022)
- Active listings: 4,192
- Benchmark price: $771,600 (+2.6% over July 2022; +0.6% over June 2023)
- Average days on the market: 23
Townhomes
- Number of units sold: 466 (+53.3% over July 2022)
- Active listings: 1,455
- Benchmark price: $1,104,600 (+1.2% over July 2022; +0.5% over June 2023)
- Average days on the market: 19

You might also like: