Latest news with #GreaterVancouverRealtors
CTV News
7 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Vancouver home sales continue to weaken; inventory builds: board
A real estate sign is pictured in Vancouver on Tuesday, June, 12, 2018. (Jonathan Hayward / The Canadian Press) VANCOUVER — Vancouver home sales activity fell again in May as buyers continue sitting on the sidelines, the city's real estate board says. Greater Vancouver Realtors says residential sales in the region totalled 2,228 last month, an 18.5 per cent decrease from the same month a year earlier. Sales levels are 30.5 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average. There were 6,620 newly listed properties on the market in May, a 3.9 per cent increase from May 2024, but still 9.3 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average for the month. Greater Vancouver Realtors director of economics and data analytics Andrew Lis says year-to-date sales rank among the slowest to start the year in the past decade. The board says total active listings rose 25.7 per cent year-over-year to 17,094. The composite benchmark price in May was $1,177,100, down 2.9 per cent from a year earlier and 0.6 per cent lower than April. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 3, 2025.
Global News
22-05-2025
- Business
- Global News
‘Sign' of the times: Surprising new indicator of B.C.'s sluggish real estate market
Call it a sign of the times? 'There are so many listings right now in the Metro Vancouver area that there's not enough signposts,' Kaitlyn Herbst, realtor with MRKT Real Estate Group said. 'The company is actually offering, if we take down the signpost, if it's already sold property and give them their signpost back so that they can use it for a new client, they will give us money back on our next signpost.' Herbst said in April there were more than 15,000 listings in the Greater Vancouver area. 'That's a lot of signs,' she said. 'I mean, condos don't always have signs and stuff, but buyers, they're just not showing up. They're a little bit uncertain with everything that's going on and kind of taking a little more time to look.' Story continues below advertisement 2:07 Metro Vancouver condos sitting empty amid housing crisis Real estate experts say it has been an interesting start to the year in Greater Vancouver. 'What we expected to happen was the market to be a little more active than what we've seen so far,' Andrew Lis, director of economics and data analytics at Greater Vancouver Realtors, told Global News. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Our forecast called for some growth in sales for the year, but sales have come in pretty slow since the beginning of the year.' Lis said it could partially be due to the uncertainty brought about by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, the political uncertainty around the Canadian election and the federal government's overall housing strategy plan. 'So it could be a number of factors keeping buyers on the sidelines, but things have been sort of quiet on the buy side,' Lis said. Story continues below advertisement 'On the sell side, we have a lot of people coming to market with their property. So we're actually at a point right now where we have some of the highest levels of inventory we've seen in almost over a decade. So a really interesting time right now for the market.' Lis said that sales are down about 24 per cent year-over-year. 'They're hanging below our 10-year seasonal averages, you know, around 20, 30 per cent. They've kind of been around those levels for some time.' Lis said that the market started to pick up late last year but has been slower in the first part of 2025. 'On the inventory side, however, what we've seen is a pretty significant increase in inventory levels in our region,' he added. 'Our inventory level in the Greater Vancouver region that we track at our board has surpassed the 16,000 mark, which we have not seen in over about a decade.' 4:55 New cabinet role puts former Vancouver mayor back in the spotlight Lis said that for buyers, it's a good thing as there is finally some choice across the board — condos, detached houses and townhouses. Story continues below advertisement However, they have seen more sales of detached homes than attached or apartments. 'Generally, price trends have been fairly flat over the past few months and even actually over the last couple of years,' Lis said. 'There's some very small minor ups and downs — a per cent here, up, down a per cent there — but generally the price trend has been flat and that's been pretty much true across all product types.' Herbst said she has never seen a market like this. 'When a couple years ago there was no subjects, you were buying places, sight unseen,' she said. 'I had clients buy homes I had never actually seen. Subject free, all that. Now we've got, 'Okay, we'll come back and see you a second time'.' Herbst said there are even sellers adding incentives to lure in prospective buyers. 'There is one home (in Langley) that is for sale that the realtor is offering a Disney Cruise to the buyers of this family home. A four-person Disney cruise,' she said. 'It's not cheap, but it's a way to make it stand out. It's a way to get those families through the door. And there's a lot of options for those buyers. So it's comparing apples to apples, but this one I get to go on a trip with my family.'
Hamilton Spectator
14-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
New housing minister says he'll ‘leverage' past as Vancouver mayor in role
OTTAWA - Canada's new housing minister says he didn't have the tools he needed to address housing affordability issues when he was mayor of Vancouver — the country's most expensive housing market. Gregor Robertson faced questions about his record on housing affordability from reporters ahead of his first cabinet meeting on Wednesday, a day after he was sworn in as Mark Carney's housing minister. 'I'm here to leverage my history as a mayor. I know what works on the ground,' Robertson said. Data from Greater Vancouver Realtors shows that the price of a benchmark home in the region more than doubled during Robertson's time as mayor from December 2008 to November 2018. Robertson argued that many cities across Canada saw similar surges during that period. Over the same period, the national benchmark home price rose by 78 per cent, data from the Canadian Real Estate Association shows. Robertson also said he 'wasn't getting the help' he needed from higher levels of government when he was mayor, but said the Liberals' housing accelerator fund — cash set aside for cities who lower barriers to home construction — is one program that he thinks will help to address affordability concerns. The Canadian Press asked Robertson if he felt home prices needed to go down to restore affordability. 'No, I think that we need to deliver more supply, make sure the market is stable,' he said. Carney was asked the same question Tuesday, and said while there are some things Ottawa can do to help with affordability such as cutting the GST on new builds for first-time buyers, he also said the long-term solution was boosting supply. He said that Robertson's experience will help the federal government understand better how to get municipalities to cut costs and regulation impeding construction. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on Tuesday attacked Carney's decision to appoint Robertson to the housing file. 'If this is the new blood that Mr. Carney is bringing into the cabinet, then sadly for Canadians, nothing is going to change,' he said. Robertson said that there's a 'huge shortage' of affordable housing in Canada with a lack of government efforts to-date in bringing those units to market. During the campaign, the Liberals pledged to create a new agency to develop affordable housing and promised funding to streamline homebuilding through technologies such as prefabricated homes. That would come alongside efforts to get cities to cut development charges in half and plans to restore immigration rates to 'sustainable' levels. Robertson said the federal government's goals to double the pace of home construction are 'very ambitious' and will take years to 'scale up,' but struck an optimistic tone. 'We've got a lot of work to do on this and it doesn't happen overnight. Housing is a slow-moving creature and we've got to do everything we can to speed it up,' he said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 14, 2025.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Metro Vancouver housing prices may lower amid economic uncertainty, experts say
Housing prices could drop slightly in Metro Vancouver amid ongoing political and economic uncertainty in Canada, some real estate experts say. The prediction comes as the latest market reports show a dip in April home sales compared to recent years, and a rise in the number of places for sale. Normally, home sales jump significantly coming out of the winter and into the spring, but that didn't happen this year. "Sales did increase, but the typical seasonal pattern has been quashed by external factors," said Ryan Berlin, head economist at realty company Rennie. During the previous 10 years, sales were on average 79 per cent higher in April than they were in January, Berlin said, but for 2025, April sales were only 34 per cent higher. U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war is making buyers hesitant to commit, a cause cited widely by realtors and other experts, including Berlin. He added that the inherent uncertainty leading up to the Canadian federal election also made buyers nervous. Similarly, industry association Greater Vancouver Realtors, cited the federal election and the possibility of a recession due to the trade war as discouraging potential buyers, despite the favourable scenario of lower interest rates. The decrease in sales means homes for sale are accumulating. Data from Rennie, compiled from multiple sources, shows the number of homes on the market is the highest it's been since 2018. Specifically, there are about 16,000 pre-sale and new homes available as well as 24,000 resale homes in Metro Vancouver. "We are at an all-time high for available homes," Berlin said. Realtor Steve Saretsky said that while it used to take one or two weeks for a condo to sell, it can now take two or three months. Investors flee Investors are also buying less, he said. "Unsold inventory on developer balance sheets is at all-time highs," Saretsky said. This, he said, is because "the investor base really disappeared, which is to say the math simply does not work anymore." Over the past decade, investors have been some of the main purchasers when it comes to pre-sales, buying into a housing project several years before it's built and ready, Saretsky explained. "With the outlook for home prices and rents very negative … investors aren't interested in putting their money into the pre-sale market. So there's a lot of projects that won't get off the ground." For investors who already own, Saretsky said the unstable economy, declining rents and stagnating prices mean many are trying to sell and get out of the market. Effect on price In a statement, Greater Vancouver Realtors called spring 2025 a buyer's market, suggesting that the combination of lower interest rates and high inventory presents "plenty of opportunity for anyone looking to make a purchase." Saretsky said the reluctance of buyers, along with the accumulation of homes for sale, means prices could come down. "The reality is, when you have record inventory for sale or you've got six or seven months of inventory on the market, sometimes the only way to stand out [as a seller] is to have the lowest price, right?" University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business associate professor Tom Davidoff said potential buyers may want to consider giving lower-than-normal offers. "If I were a buyer and I didn't need a place desperately, if I had a place I was comfortable that I could stay, I think I would be doing low-ball offers," he said. "I think bidding five, 10, 15 per cent below asking. Why not? Take some swings." But Berlin said there hasn't been a significant decrease in prices so far. Instead, prices have stagnated. "This is pretty typical because home prices tend to be what we call 'downward sticky,'" he said. However, in some cases, developers with new builds may lower their prices slightly, he said. Having already put a lot of money into a building, a developer may find themselves needing to sell and move on. "If you're sitting on a number of homes that you haven't sold yet, you're unable to extract that capital from the project and invest it in the construction of new homes," he said. Looking ahead, Berlin said political and economic stability are needed for home sales to pick up again. "Until we have some certainty around what Canada's economic strategy is and [what] our relationship trade wise is with the U.S., I think you're going to see the buyer stay right where they are."
CBC
09-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Metro Vancouver housing prices may lower amid economic uncertainty, experts say
Social Sharing Housing prices could drop slightly in Metro Vancouver amid ongoing political and economic uncertainty in Canada, some real estate experts say. The prediction comes as the latest market reports show a dip in April home sales compared to recent years, and a rise in the number of places for sale. Normally, home sales jump significantly coming out of the winter and into the spring, but that didn't happen this year. "Sales did increase, but the typical seasonal pattern has been quashed by external factors," said Ryan Berlin, head economist at realty company Rennie. During the previous 10 years, sales were on average 79 per cent higher in April than they were in January, Berlin said, but for 2025, April sales were only 34 per cent higher. U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war is making buyers hesitant to commit, a cause cited widely by realtors and other experts, including Berlin. He added that the inherent uncertainty leading up to the Canadian federal election also made buyers nervous. Similarly, industry association Greater Vancouver Realtors, cited the federal election and the possibility of a recession due to the trade war as discouraging potential buyers, despite the favourable scenario of lower interest rates. The decrease in sales means homes for sale are accumulating. Data from Rennie, compiled from multiple sources, shows the number of homes on the market is the highest it's been since 2018. Specifically, there are about 16,000 pre-sale and new homes available as well as 24,000 resale homes in Metro Vancouver. "We are at an all-time high for available homes," Berlin said. Realtor Steve Saretsky said that while it used to take one or two weeks for a condo to sell, it can now take two or three months. Investors flee Investors are also buying less, he said. "Unsold inventory on developer balance sheets is at all-time highs," Saretsky said. This, he said, is because "the investor base really disappeared, which is to say the math simply does not work anymore." Over the past decade, investors have been some of the main purchasers when it comes to pre-sales, buying into a housing project several years before it's built and ready, Saretsky explained. "With the outlook for home prices and rents very negative … investors aren't interested in putting their money into the pre-sale market. So there's a lot of projects that won't get off the ground." For investors who already own, Saretsky said the unstable economy, declining rents and stagnating prices mean many are trying to sell and get out of the market. Affect on price In a statement, Greater Vancouver Realtors called spring 2025 a buyer's market, suggesting that the combination of lower interest rates and high inventory presents "plenty of opportunity for anyone looking to make a purchase." Saretsky said the reluctance of buyers, along with the accumulation of homes for sale, means prices could come down. "The reality is, when you have record inventory for sale or you've got six or seven months of inventory on the market, sometimes the only way to stand out [as a seller] is to have the lowest price, right?" University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business associate professor Tom Davidoff said potential buyers may want to consider giving lower-than-normal offers. "If I were a buyer and I didn't need a place desperately, if I had a place I was comfortable that I could stay, I think I would be doing low-ball offers," he said. "I think bidding five, 10, 15 per cent below asking. Why not? Take some swings." But Berlin said there hasn't been a significant decrease in prices so far. Instead, prices have stagnated. "This is pretty typical because home prices tend to be what we call 'downward sticky,'" he said. However, in some cases, developers with new builds may lower their prices slightly, he said. Having already put a lot of money into a building, a developer may find themselves needing to sell and move on. "If you're sitting on a number of homes that you haven't sold yet, you're unable to extract that capital from the project and invest it in the construction of new homes," he said. Looking ahead, Berlin said political and economic stability are needed for home sales to pick up again. "Until we have some certainty around what Canada's economic strategy is and [what] our relationship trade wise is with the U.S., I think you're going to see the buyer stay right where they are."
