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Written on December 5th, 2018

November was another lean month for the Vancouver residential real estate market.

Home sales totaled 1,606 across the Metro Vancouver area, down 18.2% from October and down 42.5% year-over-year. The total is 34.7% below the 10-year average for November.

“Home buyers have been taking a wait-and-see approach for most of 2018. This has allowed the number of homes available for sale in the region to return to more typical historical levels,” Phil Moore, REBGV president said. “This activity is helping home prices edge down, across all property types, from the record highs we’ve experienced over the last year.”

Listings were also down, with 3,461 units added to the MLS in November, 15.8% lower than a year earlier and 29% below October 2018’s total. However, there were 12,307 homes available for sale, down 5.2% from October but up 40.7% from November 2017.

Hoping for better things in 2019
The MLS Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $1,042,100, that’s a 1.4% decrease over November 2017 and a 1.9% decrease compared to October 2018.

“Home prices have declined between four and seven per cent over the last six months depending on property type. We’ll watch conditions in the first quarter of 2019 to see if home buyer demand picks up ahead of the traditionally more active spring market,” Moore said.

Stats by property type
Detached home sales in November 2018 reached 516, down 38.6% from the 841 detached sales recorded in November 2017. The benchmark price for detached homes is $1,500,100, down 6.5% from November 2017 and a 1.6% decrease compared to October 2018.

Apartment home sales reached 810 in November 2018, a 46.3% decrease compared to the 1,508 sales in November 2017. The benchmark price of an apartment property is $667,800, up 2.3% from November 2017 but a 2.3% decrease compared to October 2018.

Attached home sales in November 2018 totalled 282, a 36.8% decrease compared to the 446 sales in November 2017. The benchmark price of an attached home is $818,500, a 2.6% increase from November 2017 but a 1.3% decrease compared to October 2018.