North of the Fraser Residential Real Estate: April 2022 Infographic
The results are in for the Greater Vancouver residential real estate market and the April data shows the demand for homes retreated from record highs as the frenzy of previous months begins to ease.
This reversion to the mean can be seen across almost all the data we examine every month. The average sale price as a percent of list price was down for townhomes, single family homes, and condos by 3.1%, 2.1% and 1.3% respectively. Further to this, the average days on market saw a drastic increase for townhomes and condos as they spent 9.1% and 6.7% more time on the market when compared to last month, while detached homes saw no change in time on the market.
Arguably, the most significant change came in the reporting of the sales to active listings ratio as all product types saw a drastic decrease; townhomes lead the way falling by 43.1%, followed by condos and detached homes as they fell by 36% and 34.8% respectively. Although we’re still firm footed in a seller’s market for townhomes and condos, the single-family market is inching closer and closer to being balanced, ending the month at 25.3% (a balanced market is between 12-20%).
The benchmark pricing for all home types has plateaued for the first time since last December, as it had a marginal month-over-month increase (1% for detached homes and 1.1% for condos and townhomes). Historically, the month of April isn’t a sleepy month in the statistics, but the rise of interest rates and increase in inventory is seeming to put a light pause on the housing market, which we’ll need to keep our eye on; one month of data hardly means there is a trend, but it will be important to see where the data lands in the months to come.
What does this mean for the Greater Vancouver development land market?
The development land market in Metro Vancouver remains steady, however the conversation around interest rates has prompted many buyers to be more cautious before pulling the trigger on a site. Sellers should anticipate offers with more lenient deal terms, such as longer due diligence time and completions, as buyers try to gauge the level of risk they’re committing to in this market. No one has a crystal ball on where the market is going, so buyers will likely continue to push for more conservative terms when it comes to pricing and timelines to mitigate as much risk as possible.
Check out our curated summary of the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board’s April Stats in our infographic below.
Please note: areas covered by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver include: Whistler, Sunshine Coast, Squamish, West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Richmond, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, and South Delta.
View the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver’s entire stats package for April 2022 here.
This representation is based in whole or in part on data generated by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver which assumes no responsibility for its accuracy.