Higher prices, rising rates, new tax announcements, and latest mortgage requirements are all playing important factors towards the plummeting of housing sales in the Metro Vancouver area. As housing sales dipped to the lowest level in the recent years, Metro Vancouver’s new homes have soared in the initial quarter of the year, with stats in Vancouver alone being more than twice as high as the same period in 2017. There were 6,542 home sales on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in Metro Vancouver during the initial quarter of 2018, which is a decrease of 13.1 percent from the same period last year. This represents the region’s lowest first-quarter sales total since 2013, reported by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).
A Comparative Analysis
The overall housing sales in the first quarter of the year were the lowest in the past 5 years. In fact, even the local listings of detached, attached and apartment properties dropped by almost 7 percent in March as compared to previous year. But total housing stats across the region increased to 6,864 units in the first three months of 2018, up by 30 percent from the last year. Massive increments were also noticed in the Northern Vancouver area, where about 1,422 new homes were initiated, comparable to only 107 in the same period the preceding year. Even though there have been almost 43,000 new homes under construction across the Metro Vancouver area, the current inventory remains incredibly low.
Housing Price Benchmark Reaching Astonishing New Heights
Sales have started to outstrip supply for condos and townhouses. The benchmark price for a condo was close to $700,000 in March. This is a leap of 26% compared to the preceding year. Standard townhouse prices across Metro Vancouver reached $835,300 last month, which is a 2 % hike over February and an overall 18% rise from March 2017.
Renters are paying the real price when it comes to living in these highly expensive areas. According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, average rent has nationally gone up previous year by 2.7 percent to $947 per month. Meanwhile, rental property is becoming tougher and tougher to avail. The CMHC says that the overall vacancy rate for cities across the country was three percent in 2017, down from 3.7 percent in 2016. In its annual report on housing rentals, the corporation said the demand for a purpose-built apartment is outpacing the growth in supply, while the rates of condos rented out are also declining.
This uncontrollable price outburst has taken the market by surprise. This is becoming a serious concern for both businesses and residents looking to recruit new candidates. It is becoming immensely cumbersome to buy quality real estate in Vancouver. The government of British Columbia is looking to follow new measures intended to mitigate the highly inflammable housing costs.
Increasing construction can meet the rising demand for rental studios and multi-family homes. Beyond that, it wouldn’t hurt for people to look for suitable accommodations adjacent to or on the outskirts of the Metro Vancouver area!
