Recent interest rates by the Bank of Canada have not managed to coax more buyers in Metro Vancouver off the sidelines.
The Vancouver-area real estate market is moving closer to buyer-friendly territory as inventories surged in September but sales stayed stubbornly sluggish, said realtor groups.
Recent interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada haven’t managed to coax more buyers off the sidelines, said Andrew Lis, director of economics and data analytics for Greater Vancouver Realtors.
“Real estate watchers have been monitoring the data for signs of renewed strength in demand in response to recent mortgage rate reductions, but the September figures don’t offer the signal that many are watching for,” he said.
The association, which covers most of Metro Vancouver as well as Whistler, Squamish and the Sunshine Coast, released its September data on Wednesday, which shows sales tracking lower than expected, with just 1,852 transactions recorded on MLS, a 3.8 per cent decrease compared with September 2023.
“Sales continue trending roughly 25 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average in the region, which, believe it or not, is a trend that has been in place for a few years now,” said Lis.
As buyers adopt a wait-and-see attitude, more sellers have been putting their properties on the market, driving a 31 per cent year-over-year growth on listings, about 25 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average.
The typical price for a residential home for the region in September was $1,179,700 — down 1.4 per cent compared with August and a decrease of 1.8 per cent compared with the previous September.
The benchmark price for a detached home was $2,022,200, a 1.3 per cent dip from the previous month. Prices for townhouses and condos were also down, at $1,099,200 and $762,000, respectively.
“This downward pressure on prices is a result of sales not keeping pace with the number of newly listed properties coming to market, which has now put the overall market on the cusp of a buyers’ market,” said Lis.
With two more potential rate reductions this year, however, “it’s not inconceivable that demand may still pick up later this fall should buyers step off the sidelines.”
It’s similarly quiet in the Fraser Valley, which is reporting its highest inventory in a decade.
The inventory glut and declining sales have helped create balanced, and in some cases, buyers’ market conditions in the area, said the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, which represents realtors in Abbotsford, Langley, Surrey, White Rock and North Delta.
September sales slumped by eight per cent compared with August and by more than 10 per cent compared with September 2023, with 982 transactions.
“The current conditions should favor buyers, particularly in the detached market,” said Jeff Chadha, chairman of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board.
He predicts that buyers are waiting for prices to budge and “until we start to see some movement in asking prices, properties will continue to sit on the market for extended periods as both buyers and sellers await the next rate announcement.”
The benchmark price for a home in the Fraser Valley is $978,800.
The typical price of a single-family home decreased by 1.5 per cent to $1,501,100. Townhouse prices went down by 1.4 per cent to $834,400, while condo prices remained mostly stagnant at $545,000.