October 2019 Metro Vancouver Real Estate Review

From the October real estate sales statistics, it does seem that September was the bottom of the market. All stats in October are looking better. Sales rose 22.5% from last month and were 9.8% above the 10-year October sales average. The inventory is lower. Compared to last October it was down 5.8% and compared to September 2019 it was a 9% decline. In part due to higher sales volume and in part due to a 16.3% reduction in new listings in October. This in turn, resulted in higher prices across all property types. The benchmark price for a detached home is 0.3% higher than the month before; though, still down 7.5% year-over-year. For apartments, the benchmark price increased 0.2% from the previous month while it

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September 2019 Metro Vancouver Real Estate Review

The September sales number in Metro Vancouver were 1.7% below the 10-year average. That is pretty close to “normal” and a vast improvement over last year. A 46.3% improvement to be exact. This probably signals that the worse of the price drop is over; however, I don’t expect a quick bounce back in price unless a lot of Canadians return from Hong Kong. The inventory has not changed much. 2.7% more when compared to September 2018 and 0.3% more when compared to last month. The sales-to-active listings ratios have been the same for about 3 months now but while prices stopped dropping last month for condos and townhouses, the trend has reversed this month. For September the sales-to-active listings ratios were 12.7% for detached homes,

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August 2019 Metro Vancouver Real Estate Review

August real estate sales numbers are similar to July’s. Basically, this August’s numbers beat last year’s August numbers, but are slightly weaker than this July’s, but that can be due to seasonality. Less new listings and recent increased sales are reducing inventory but not enough to bring down the inventory significantly. There were 3.5% less new listing and 15.7% higher sales than last August. As a result, the inventory is 5.9% lower than this July; however, compared to last August it is still 13.3% higher. The sales-to-active listings ratios are hovering around the same numbers as last month. For August it was 12% for detached homes, 18.4% for townhomes and 21.2% for apartments. Typically, a reading between 12% and 20% is considered balanced. The higher

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July 2019 Metro Vancouver Real Estate Review

July turned out to be decent month in terms of real estate sales. The numbers were up 23.5% from last July. Mind you, last July was the slowest July since 2000. However, sales are still up 23.1% from June of this year. In a usually slow summer market, it seems the sales were delayed as buyers were bargain hunting. The sales number were 7.8% below the 10-year July sales average, so it is not too bad. The inventory is 17.3% higher than last July, but 4.9% lower than this June due to the recent stronger activity. The sales-to-active listings ratios are healthier. 13.5% for detached homes, 20% for townhomes and 22% for apartments. Between 12 and 20% is considered balance. However, the prices continue to

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June 2019 Metro Vancouver Real Estate Review

The June sales numbers are worse than May’s but better than April’s. The sales volume for June was 34.7% below the 10-year June sales average. The sales-to-active listing ratios are 11.4% for detached homes, 15.8% for townhomes and 15.7% for apartments. Prices continue to drop for apartments and townhomes. The monthly price decreased based on the benchmark price is 1.4% and 0.6% respectively. Detached home prices were the first to drop and maybe the first to stop. Its benchmark price increased 0.1% in June. Is this the bottom? My guess is that the large rapid price drop is over, but the price will remain weak and slowly falling. Over the last 12-month period the price drops were 10.9% for detached homes, 8.9% for apartments and

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May 2019 Metro Vancouver Real Estate Review

May’s sales numbers in Metro Vancouver are definitely an improvement over April’s. Last month’s sales volume was 22.9% below the 10-year May average while April’s sales were 43.1% below the April 10-year average. The sales-to-active listings ratios have improved as well. 14.2% for detached homes, 20% for townhomes and 21.2% for apartments. Generally speaking, it is believed that there is downward price pressure when the ratio is below 12% and upward price pressure when the ratio is above 20% for several months. So, on the service these numbers look healthy. However, this has not stopped the benchmark prices from coming down. In May the benchmark price dropped 0.5% for detached homes, 0.5% for apartments and 0.6% for townhomes. Where does the market go from here?

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April 2019 Metro Vancouver Real Estate Review

April was another slow month. April sales were 29.1% lower than last April and 43.1% below the 10-year April average. Sales-to-active listings ratio is 9.4% for detached homes, 15.4% for townhomes and 15.3% for apartments. So, the ratio remained steady for detached homes and townhomes whereas the ratio for apartments has dropped a little more. The sales remains low but the prices have stabilized for attached and apartments. The one-month benchmark price has not changed for them. However, for detached homes there is a 0.8% decrease. When you break down the market by price, you see the under 1-million-dollar market is not as bleak. The sale-to-new listing ratio is actually around 20% whereas over 1 M is below 14%. And around 20% indicate a fairly

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March 2019 Metro Vancouver Real Estate Review

March was another slow month for real estate. In terms of sales, it is the slowest March in more than 30 years. The sales number is 46.3% below the 10-year March average. The number of newly listed homes was up 11.2% compared to March of last year and 27.2% higher than February of this year. The total number of homes listed is 52.4% higher than March 2018 and 10.2% higher than last month. After waiting through most of the winter, the sellers are coming to grips with the lower prices and are deciding to sell their property anyways. With the higher inventory and a surge of new listings, I see prices going down further. The sales-to-active listings ratios are very similar to last month. For

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February 2019 Metro Vancouver Real Estate Review

Look like the February market was still looking for a bottom. Benchmark prices have dropped year over year and month over month. The new listing has been slowing down, maybe indicating that the sellers are taking a rest. But the inventory continues to grow as sales are not keeping pace. Benchmark price for detached homes have dropped 9.7% over the last year. The benchmark price of condos dropped 4%, while it dropped 3.3% for attached homes over the last 12 months. New listings had a 7.8% decrease over last month and a 19.7% decrease compared to last year. However, the total number of homes currently listed in the MLS system in Metro Vancouver is 48.2% higher than last February Sales to listing ratios are 8.5%

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