Here's a recent update on the Greater Vancouver housing market from Steve Saretsky, the local realtor with solid data. "I have been tracking data on a weekly basis for the Bank of Canada. It’s unquestionably difficult to try and discern any trends in the Real Estate market on a weekly basis, but we are starting to get a sense of how buyers and sellers are behaving."
"Weekly sales over the past four weeks have averaged 43% lower than last years levels. That is incredibly weak considering last April/May was the slowest in nearly two decades."
"However, new listings are also very low, at the beginning of April they plunged 65% and have since been steadily increasing as the number of COVID-19 cases slow. As quarantine measures ease, new listings are picking up. They have increased for three consecutive weeks." His graphic suggests that last week new listings were still 20% below last year.
"Prices are all over the place, as should be expected when volumes collapse. Ironically, condos, which were the hottest segment of the market pre-virus, are now seeing the most downwards pressure in terms of pricing. I have condo prices down about 5% across the board, you call it the “COVID discount”. Detached house prices appear to be holding up thanks in part to low inventory."
He also notes CMHC's recent forecasts suggest a 9% to 18% price reduction across Canada in the next year. Obviously local markets will see differences.
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