Welcome to the May review of Metro Vancouver’s real estate market. The number of homes listed for sale in April have climbed substantially. The newly listed for sale numbers jumped over 40% in the month of April, from 4,994 to 7,092. This is 25.8% above the 10-year April Average for new listings. The total number of properties listed on sale in April is 16.7% above the 10-year April average.
However, sales figures are keeping up with the inventory, in the sense that the sales-to-new listings ratio are kept relatively unchanged from the previous month. Typically, prolonged ratios above 20% is a recipe for price appreciation. The total sales are 12.2% below the 10-year April average. As shown in the table below, the price increase for detached and townhomes continues for a 3rd month while apartments registered a small decrease in price in April. Maybe this is a reflection of the new AirBnB rules affecting the investor class? Investors are more concentrated in apartments and they are quicker to sell in a negative environment.
As Canada’s and the United States’ economy diverge, it looks increasingly likely that the Bank of Canada will cut the Bank of Canada overnight rate in June or July while the US may not cut their rate till September. The RBC forecast in the graph below lays out the difference in the path of our rate cuts. Hopefully the rate relief will come soon.
And don’t forget it is Mother’s Day on May 12th. Keep her in your mind and heart.
Have a great month!
John
