The Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR) reports the region’s residential sales totalled 2,415 in March, a 4.7 per cent decrease from the 2,535 sales in March 2023 and 31.2 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average. 

Andrew Lis, GVR’s director of economics and data analytics notes that this year’s spring market isn’t as hot as it was last spring, especially for buyers. “Despite the welcome increase in inventory, the overall market balance continues inching deeper into sellers’ market territory, which suggests demand remains strong for well-priced and well-located properties.”

Modest month-over-month price gains an “interesting dynamic given that borrowing costs remain elevated”

There were 5,002 detached, attached and apartment properties newly listed for sale on MLS in Metro Vancouver last month, a 15.9 per cent increase compared to the 4,317 properties listed in March 2023 and 9.5 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average. 

The total number of Metro Vancouver properties currently listed for sale on MLS is 10,552, a 22.5 per cent increase compared to March 2023 and 6.3 per cent above the 10-year seasonal average. Sales-to-active listings for March 2024 is 23.8 per cent across all property types.

“Even though the market isn’t quite as hot as it was last year, we’re still seeing modest month-over-month price gains of 1-2 per cent happening at the aggregate level, which is an interesting dynamic given that borrowing costs remain elevated,” Lis says.

“With the latest inflation numbers trending in the right direction, it remains likely that we’ll see at least one or two modest cuts to the Bank of Canada’s policy rate in 2024, but even if these cuts come, they may not provide the boost to affordability many had been hoping for. As a result, we expect constrained borrowing power to remain a challenging headwind as we move into the summer months.” 

Benchmark price and sales

The composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $1,196,800, a 4.5 per cent increase over March 2023 and a 1.1 per cent higher than February 2024. 

Detached home sales in March reached 694, 5.4 per cent less than the 734 detached sales in March 2023. Apartment home sales in March reached 1,207, 7.9 per cent less than the 1,311 sales in March 2023. Attached home sales in March were 495, 6.2 per cent more than the 466 sales in March 2023.

Review the full housing market report here.