Get to the Point – March 2022
Thank you for taking a listen to Propel’s Get to the Point audio.
It’s true, the statistics released by the real estate board of Vancouver clearly indicate 2022 sales are down compared to 2021, BUT this statement requires perspective; 2021 was record breaking year and that is saying a lot for real estate market like Metro Vancouver March’s sales were still 25% higher than the 10 year average for March. Also, comparing March 2022 to February 2022, sales numbers are up significantly. Overall, we are in the midst of a huge supply crunch. We need double the amount of homes currently listed to balance out the market. Point being, sales are still heavily outpacing supply.
We are a long ways out from a balanced market which takes me to January’s Market Insight video, which is a monthly video providing commentary that we distribute to what I call the real estate enthusiasts on our mailing list. Anyway, in that video I introduced the Months of Inventory metric and believe it or not, months of inventory has decreased from 1.9 to 1.5 months. So what’s my point? Be careful not to jump to any broad conclusions simply based on one metric alone.
Bonus insight; here is an insight you won’t find in the stats package. A noticeable shift in buyers’, both owner-occupiers and investors, purchasing behaviour. Up to now we have been seeing a significant migration of real purchasers to the Fraser Valley. This caused a massive spike in property values and began closing the price gap between the Fraser Valley and Vancouver, including its neighbouring suburbs. It appears this trend is easing and potentially signalling a shift towards real estate purchasers migrating back to the urban core. Areas such a Chilliwak, Abbotsford, Maple Ridge, Langley, and even Surrey are experiencing dampened demand and slight increase in inventory, which is helping ease the frenzy in those markets.
Now north of the Fraser River, we are noticing that demand and activity remain quite strong, especially for the SFD market in Vancouver. Even at the multi-family new developments we represent, we have seen a significant influx of investors from the Fraser Valley. Point being, the recent change of home purchaser behaviour is causing very noticeable differences amongst submarkets. Some areas and even tighter pockets are still roaring strong while others are beginning to experience a glimmer of relief. All real estate is local, but we are seeing this principle amplified in our current market.