Market Statistics - November 2019

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We hope that everyone is braced for the upcoming Holiday Season. There will be quite a few Lower Mainlanders that will be celebrating the holidays in new homes this year as sales have been near or over the 10-year-averages in most areas for a number of months. Compared to November of 2018, the Greater Vancouver Board saw a 55% increase in sales and the Fraser Valley Board experienced a 36% increase in sales. 

On to the statistics:

We have again broken through the 10-year sales average for the Greater Vancouver Board. Greater Vancouver's sales were 4% above the 10 year average and a whopping 55% above last November's sales figures. The Fraser Valley experienced almost 37% over those of November of 2018.

The real estate market of the Lower Mainland has remained strong throughout the last few months but declining inventory is limiting the number of sales in this market. Many of the buyers that we are working with are frustrated by the lack of quality homes on the market.

From the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board's November Statistics:

"After a quieter first half of 2019, home buyer activity has returned to more historically typical levels in Metro Vancouver.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totaled 2,498 in November 2019, a 55.3% increase from the 1,608 sales recorded in November 2018, and a 12.6% decline from the 2,858 homes sold in October 2019.

For all property types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for November 2019 is 23.2%. By property type, the ratio is 17.2% for detached homes, 24.9% for townhomes, and 29.3% for apartments."

These sales-to-active listing ratios are virtually identical to October of 2019. This indicates that the market is staying pretty flat in terms of absorption of inventory.

From the Fraser Valley Board's November Statistics:

"A combination of unseasonably high demand and declining supply reinforced Fraser Valley’s real estate market in November.

"The British Columbia Real Estate Association reports that after a slow start to 2019, MLS® home sales in the province embarked on a sustained upward climb in the spring, returning to trend after adjusting to market shocks caused by federal mortgage rules and provincial tax policies.

We will be sending out the Stats Centre statistics reports from the REBGV in a few days, once they are released.