June’s transactions up only slightly over last year ? but still the most June sales on record, as prices continued to soar, reports board
Joannah Connolly
REW
The pace of growth in Greater Vancouver resale activity slowed considerably in June, with home sales up only 0.6 per cent compared with the same month last year, and down 7.7 compared with the previous month, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reported July 5.
Despite the deceleration, June’s 4,400 sales were still 28.1 per cent above the 10-year sales average for the month and were enough to make last month the highest selling June on record – by just 25 homes.
The benchmark price of a home (composite property types) across the region raised the bar again, at $917,800 – a 31 per cent rise over June 2015. However, this overall number obscures enormous differences in typical prices between municipalities and neighbourhoods.
New home listings on the Greater Vancouver MLS ® increased year over year in June, but declined compared with the previous month, as fewer sellers listed their homes after the hot spring market. Total active listings are still more than one third lower than this time last year.
“While we’re starting to see more properties coming onto the market in recent months, the imbalance between supply and demand continues to influence market conditions,” said Dan Morrison, REBGV president.
Sales and Listings
Residential property sales in the region totalled 4,400 in June 2016, an increase of 0.6 per cent from the 4,375 sales recorded in June 2015 and a decrease of 7.7 per cent compared to May 2016 when 4,769 homes sold.
So far this year, the market peaked in March, when an all-time high of 5,173 homes were sold in Greater Vancouver.
Breaking June’s figures down reveals huge differences between the directions of different property types.
There were 1,562 single-family home sales in June, which is a significant decrease of 18.6 per cent from the 1,920 sales recorded in June 2015, and a 16.2 per cent drop compared with May’s 1,865 detached house sales.
Townhouse and other attached home transactions told a different story. The total of 730 sales was an increase of 7.2 per cent over the 681 units in June 2015, but a fall of 3.2 per cent compared with May’s 754 townhome sales.
Sales of condo-apartment unit continued to outstrip other property types in Metro Vancouver, with 2,108 units changing hands in June 2016, a leap of 18.8 per cent compared with the 1,774 sales in June 2015, albeit a 1.9 per cent drop from May 2016’s figure of 2,150 sales.
New home listings on the Greater Vancouver MLS ® increased by 1.2 per cent year over year to 5,875 homes. However, this was 6.6 per cent lower than May 2016, with fewer sellers listing their homes as the summer months began.
This meant that total active listings at the end of June stood at 7,812, 35.9 per cent down year over year. Interestingly, this is a slight rise of 1.1 per cent over the active listings at the end of the month, reflecting the slowing of sales between May and June.
The sales-to-active listings ratio for June 2016 stood at 56.3 per cent. Although this strongly indicates the current seller’s market, this is the lowest ratio since February of this year.
Benchmark Prices
The combined residential property type benchmark price in Metro Vancouver set another new record in June, at $917,800 – a 31 per cent year-over-year rise.
The region’s typical single-family home is now priced at $1,561,500, a hike of 38.7 per cent compared with the same month last year, and once more the steepest price rise of all property types. This was a rise of nearly 3.2 per cent since just the previous month. As usual, this overall figure obscures the vast range of detached home prices between different areas. The most expensive region of Vancouver West (including the West Side and downtown) saw detached homes selling for a typical $3.5 million, whereas typical detached home prices on the Sunshine Coast were just $462,600 – and everything in between.
June’s benchmark price of a townhome or other attached unit in Greater Vancouver increased 28.1 per cent over June 2015 to $656,900, up 3.9 per cent compared with May. This ranges from just under $1.1 million in Vancouver West to $373,500 for a typical townhome in Maple Ridge.
Condo-apartment benchmark prices in June rose 25.3 per cent compared with June 2015 to $501,100, a rise of 3.3 per cent compared with May. West Vancouver again posted the highest condo prices in June at $846,300, with typical Maple Ridge condos selling for $190,000.
Home prices vary widely throughout the REBGV region. To get a good idea of home prices in a specific location, check the detailed MLS® Home Price Index in the REBGV full statistics package.
© 2016 Real Estate Weekly
