Dear Stuart,

In August, the sales and listings activity for detached homes on the Westside remained below the long-term averages. Compared to the 10-year average, the supply of detached homes decreased by 15%, while apartments increased by 14%, and townhomes increased by 16%.

Similarly, the demand for properties on the Westside also saw a decline when compared to the 10-year average. The demand for detached homes decreased by 15%, apartments decreased by 12%, and townhomes decreased by 17%.

As for the median home prices, In August, detached home prices were up by 10% from their peak in October 2017, to record a new record high. Apartment prices decreased by 5.6% from their peak in January 2018, and attached home prices declined by 16.8% from their peak in February 2022.

In August, residential property sales in the Greater Vancouver region showed a significant increase of 21.4%, reaching 2,296 sales compared to 1,892 sales in August 2022. However, this is still 13.8% below the 10-year August sales average.

The benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver rose by 2.5% from August 2022, reaching $1,208,400, and showing a 0.2% increase from the previous month.

The number of properties currently available for sale on the MLS system in Metro Vancouver decreased by .2% compared to August 2022, with a total of 10,082 listings. This figure is still 13.4% below the 10-year seasonal average of 11,647 listings.

Despite the incremental improvements in supply & prices compared to last year the current market is still below the 10-year averages.

We still have the highest interest rates in 10 years. However, the low inventory levels are creating competitive conditions, leading to price increases as demand remains steady. 

Andrew Lis, REBGV's director of economics and data analytics, suggests that as the fall approaches, sales have caught up with price gains but both metrics are slowing to what one might expect given the cost of borrowing.

Have a great autumn! 🍂🧣🧦🍁🥧

Stay safe and healthy.

Best regards,

Stuart

In August, the supply of Westside detached homes decreased by 2.9% compared to July, with a total of 568 homes available. However, this represents a decrease of 15% compared to August 2022 when there were 668 homes on the market.

Sales of Westside detached homes in August were relatively unchanged from July, with 67 homes sold. This also indicates a substantial 22% increase compared to August 2022. Despite the improvement, the number of sales remains 15% lower than the ten-year average of 79 sales.

The Months of Supply (MOS) in August decreased slightly from the previous month, with a current MOS of 8.5 compared to 8.6 in July. This represents a significant 30% decrease from August 2022. A balanced market, where prices tend to remain relatively stable, is typically considered to have a MOS between 7 to 10.

In terms of pricing, the average and median detached home prices in August reached new highs, with the average price at $4.74 million and the median price at $4.23 million. Current prices are up 4.6% on average and 9.9% on median from their peaks in October 2017 and July 2017, respectively.



The highest sale price for a Westside detached home in August was $20.39 million, which spent 794 days on the market before selling. In contrast, the lowest price for a detached home was $2.228 million, selling after only 7 days on the market. Of the 67 sales, 12 received the asking price or more, while 55 homes sold below the asking price.

In August, the supply of Westside apartments decreased by 2.7% compared to July, with a total of 1,450 apartments available for sale. This number is up by 8.1% from August 2022.

Demand for Westside apartments decreased by 1.8% in August, with 320 sales compared to 326 sales in July. Despite the decline, the number of sales in August 2022 showed a 13.5% increase from the same month last year, which had 282 sales. Nonetheless, apartment sales are still down 12% from the ten-year average of 362 sales.



The Months of Supply (MOS) in June increased by 22% compared to May, reaching 3.6. However, this is still 25% lower than the MOS of 4.8 in June 2022. A MOS of 3.6 suggests a relatively balanced market for apartments.



Regarding prices, the average price in August decreased by 1.3% from July 2023, with the average price at $99,857 compared to $1,013,436. It was also up by 3.1% from August 2022. The median price decreased 3.2% from July at $830,875, and is relatively unchanged from August 2022. However, both average and median prices are down from their respective peaks, with average prices down by 16.6% from the peak of $1,199,000 and median prices down 5.6% from the peak in January 2018.

In August, the supply of Westside townhouses decreased by 5.3% compared to July, with a total of 250 townhouses available for sale, and it showed a slight 1.6% increase from August 2022, which had 246 townhouses on the market.

The demand for townhouses in August increased slightly, with 45 sales compared to 44 sales in July. The number of sales in August 2022 increased by 22% from the same month last year, which saw 37 sales. Despite the recent increase, attached home sales are still below the ten-year average of 54 sales.

With the decrease in supply and increase in demand, the current Months of Supply (MOS) for townhouses decreased by 7.4%, reaching 5.6. This is 16% lower than the MOS of 6.6 in August 2022.

The average price of townhouses in August was $1.6 million, showing a 7.4% decrease from July. It decreased by 1.2% from August 2022, when the average price was $1.63 million. The median price in August was $1.496 million, indicating an 12% decline from July ($1.69 million), but an 10% increase from August 2022. Both average and median prices for townhouses are down from their respective peaks. The average price has decreased by 13% from the peak of $1.854 million in November 2021, and the median price is down 17% from the peak of $1.799 million in February 2022.