Greetings!

Happy Valentine's Day to you and your family.

The supply of westside detached homes in January was 413, down 6% from 440 in December and down 22% compared to 528 last year in January 2020. 
 
Westside detached home sales this January decreased 19% from December (66 vs 81) but were 94% higher than January 2020. Detached home sales are 11% lower than the January 10 year average of 74 sales.
Months of Supply, (MOS) in January is up 15% from last month to 6.3 from 5.4 in December and down 60% from January 2020. (A balanced market keeping prices relatively flat now appears to be 7 to 10 MOS). The January average price was down 2% from December to $3.68M and the median detached home price was up 13% to $3.23M. Current prices are down 19% on average & 14% on median from the peaks in Oct 2017 and Jul 2017. 

The highest sale price for a Westside detached home in January was $9.628M. It was on the market for 703 days before it sold. The lowest price was $1.72M. It was on the market for 39 days. Of the 66 sales, 13 received the asking price or more and 53 sold below the asking price.
Westside apartment supply decreased 6% in January to 1283 from1359 in December but this is up 35% from the 950 listings we had in January 2020. At the same time, demand decreased 20% to 284 sales v. 364 sales in December and this up 35% from 211 sales in January 2020. Apartment sales are up 25% from the 10 year average of 227 sales.

MOS in January increased 21% to 4.5 from 3.7 in December but this is unchanged from January 2020.
 
The average price in January increased 4% - $934 v $896K in December 2020 and was up 3% from Jan 2020. The median price was up 1% from December ($750 v $741) and is unchanged from last January. Average and median prices are still down by 22% & 15% from the peak of $1.199M and $880K in January 2018.
Westside townhouse supply increased 3% in January from December (213 vs 206), and decreased 1% from 216 in January 2020. Demand in January is unchanged (38 sales) from December and that is up 27% from last January 2020 (30 v 38). Attached home sales are up 30% from the 10 year average of 29 sales.
 
With supply up and demand unchanged, current MOS increased to 5.6 from 5.4 in December. That is down 22% from 7.2 in January 2020.
 
Townhouse average prices in January were up 1.4% from December ($1.1.41M v $1.39M) but were down 12% from $1.6M last January 2020. Median prices were up 12% ($1.47M v $1.31M) in December and are down 3% from January 2020. Average & median prices are still down 21% & 5% respectively from the peak of $1.8M & $1.519M in January 2018.
West side detached home listing supply in Jan. is down from the 10 year average by 33% for detached homes, but up 15% for apartments and 17% for townhomes.

Demand in Jan. was down from the 10 year average by 11% for detached homes but up 25% for apartments and 30% for townhomes.

Median home prices in Dec. are off from the peak, by 14% for Detached homes, 15% for Apartments and 5% for Attached Homes so all property types are still good value for Buyers. 

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in the region increased 52.1% to 2,389 this Jan. from 1,571 sales in Jan. 2020. This is a 22.8% increase from the 3,093 homes sold in Dec. 2020. 

Jan. 2021 sales were 36.4% above the 10-year Jan. sales average. This can in part be attributed to the Covid pandemic that created an unusual seasonal pattern in which the market demand collapsed in April and slowly recovered through Oct.

The total number of properties currently offered on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is 8,306 down 3.6% from 8,617 in Jan. 2020 and down 2.7% from 8,538 last month.

For all property types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for Dec. 2020 is 28.8%.
Downward pressure on home prices occurs when the ratio dips below the 12% mark for a sustained period, while upward pressure occurs when it surpasses 20% over several months.

There seems to be a high level of optimism in the market and many people will be listing their homes within the next month to take advantage of that. Currently the westside detached homes are still undersupplied while the attached and apartment markets have more supply than usual.

The typical, seasonal drop in demand due to buyers and sellers leaving for vacation is different this year as travel plans are curbed due to Covid. This is increasing pressure on the real estate supply and prices have been rising for detached and attached homes..

Buyers in the market today are frustrated by the lack of supply and sharply priced homes are receiving multiple offers and prices over their asking price. Short supply, low interest rates and steady demand will keep pressure on buyers but current prices are still well below the peak and are therefore good value. 

Be kind and be careful 💝🍬🍫 and, have a Happy Valentine's Day! 💓😘💋

Best regards,

Stuart