Vancouver Housing Market Report
- The average home price in Greater Vancouver was $1,220,469, which declined by 9.2% annually while increased 4.9% monthly.
- The benchmark price of homes in Metro Vancouver stands at $1,123,400, representing a 1.1% monthly increase and a 9.2% yearly decrease in February 2023.
- This benchmark price exhibits a 21% increase over three years but is 11% lower than the all-time high of $1,264,700 in April 2022.
- Since January 1st, British Columbia homebuyers can back out of a home purchase up to three days after the sale.
- Detached home benchmark prices decreased by 12.0% year-over-year to $1.81M.
- Townhouse benchmark prices decreased by 6.3% year-over-year to $1.04M.
- Condo apartment benchmark prices decreased by 3.0% year-over-year to $732k.
Greater Vancouver Housing Market Overview
In February 2023, 1,808 Vancouver homes were sold. These sales include 514 detached homes, 928 apartments and 366 attached homes. The average home price in Greater Vancouver was $1,220,469. This represents an annual decrease of 9.2% and a monthly increase of 4.9%.
In February 2023, the average sale price of detached houses, attached houses and apartments in Greater Vancouver was $2,054,975, $1,176,822 and $775,467, representing 7.5%, -4.3% and 2.2% change relative to January 2023, respectively. These prices also represent annual changes of -10%, -9%, and -8.3%.
The benchmark price of homes in Metro Vancouver was $1,123,400 in February 2023, a 1.1% monthly increase and a 9.2% decrease year-over-year. Metro Vancouver and the Toronto area are the most expensive Canadian housing markets.
Vancouver has been a costly housing market for years, and its current benchmark price has only increased by 6.9% over the past five years, while CPI inflation has been 17% over the past five years. Toronto’s competition with Vancouver regarding home unaffordability is relatively recent, as Greater Toronto benchmark home prices have climbed by 43% over the past five years. This whopping 5-year growth is despite an 18% price decline since the peak in Toronto home prices in February 2022.
Benchmark prices of detached homes in Vancouver fell 12% over the past year but rose 0.7% over the past month to reach $1,813,100 for February 2023. Over the past three years, Vancouver detached homes' benchmark price has increased by $338k. This three-year price gain can buy a home in the Edmonton area.
Vancouver townhouse benchmark price is $1,038,500, down 6.3% year-over-year but up 1.8% month-over-month in February 2023. Apartment benchmark prices decreased 3% year-over-year and increased 1.6% month-over-month to $732,200.
Looking at Metro Vancouver's housing market, there were 7,868 active listings at the end of February 2023, up 17% compared to last year and 5.2% compared with 7,478 listings at the end of January 2022. The 3,467 new listings this month is a 37% decrease year-over-year and a 5.2% increase compared with January 2022.
The 1,808 home sales this month are 47% lower year-over-year. This puts Vancouver’s sales-to-active listings ratio at 23%. There are about 960,000 houses in the Vancouver area, and the benchmark home price in Vancouver has increased by 194k over the last three years. Thus the wealth of Vancouver homeowners has increased approximately by $194k*960k or about $186 billion over the previous three years. This massive increase in housing wealth has occurred despite 960k*141k or about $135 billion of housing wealth being wiped out since April last year, just in the Vancouver Metropolitan Area.
The Bank of Canada (BoC) announced a pause in hiking rates on January 25th. The February rise in price and activity seems to be the result of this pause. We think this is premature as currently, BoC’s policy rate is restrictive, and we are a few quarters away from any cut in rates. As a result, the current burst of activity is unlikely to sustain and the housing market is very likely to cool again.
The provincial government of British Columbia has started a very interesting experiment. The Property Law Amendment Act and the Home Buyer Rescission Period Regulation have just come into effect. When for example, buying a home in Ontario or buying a home in Alberta, the moment a house seller accepts a buyer's offer or the buyer accepts a seller's counteroffer, we have a legally binding contract. But as a result of these two changes, when buying a house in British Columbia, the buyer can cancel the sale by paying a quarter of a percent of the purchase price to the seller up to three days after the sale.
The idea behind this new law seems to allow the buyer to perform a home inspection and ensure their ability to finance the purchase even if they have not conditioned their offer on inspection or financing. But this might have much more profound implications for the British Columbia housing market.
One thing frequently occurs during asset bubbles is people getting excited about entering the market. As a result of this excitement, they are very likely to decide their offer price based on emotion. With a cooling-off period in effect, the buyer can rethink their offer after the purchase when the excitement of getting into the market has likely passed.
Overpaying buyers would more likely face buyer’s remorse and cancel their purchase. Though limitation on supply (often imposed by municipal by-laws) might cause rises in prices, this new law has the potential to make a house price bubble inflation less likely.
Home Prices in Vancouver
Vancouver Housing Market Statistics for All Property Types in Metro Vancouver
Average Sold Price and Benchmark Price
Total Transactions
Property Type Distribution
Market Overview for Detached Homes in Metro Vancouver
Average Sold Price & Benchmark Price
Transactions
Market Overview for Townhouses in Metro Vancouver
Average Sold Price & Benchmark Price
Transactions
Market Overview for Condo Apartments in Metro Vancouver
Average Sold Price & Benchmark Price
Transactions
Regulation of Strata Insurance
Condo owners in Vancouver and B.C. have recently faced significant increases in their their strata insurance rates. According to a 2019 report commissioned by the B.C. Financial Services Authority, strata insurance premiums in B.C. increased by on average 40% in 2019 alone. Owners in Metro Vancouver faced even greater increases with an average increase of 50%. These costs have placed a headwind to condo prices in Vancouver as condo fees adjust to the new costs.
In response to the financial hardships caused by strata insurance premiums and COVID-19, the B.C. Ministry of Finance recently announced an amendment that, along with a proposed bill, will:
- End referral fees between insurers or insurance brokers and strata property managers or other third parties
- Require strata corporations to inform owners about insurance coverage, policy changes, and allow use of the contingency reserve fund
- Protect strata unit owners against large lawsuits where the owner was not at fault
- Change the minimum required contributions made by strata unit owners and developers to a strata corporation's contingency reserve fund
These changes will help condo owners deal with the financial burden of strata insurance and open the industry to more transparency.
What is Strata Insurance?Greater Vancouver Area Breakdown by Region for February 2023
Glossary and Definitions
MLS® HPI: The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) is an index by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) that tracks the prices of homes in a neighborhood. It allows Canadians to quickly compare home prices across Canada and between periods of time without having to account for specific features of a property. Unlike market prices, which can fluctuate from month to month based on seasonal dynamics, the HPI provides a stable view tracks trends across a longer period of time. The HPI is reviewed every year in May to adjust for changes in the real estate marketplace.
MLS® HPI Benchmark Price: The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Benchmark Price is the HPI translated into a real-world price number.
Strata Insurance: Strata insurance is insurance used by a strata like a condominium to covers damages to common areas and assets and liability to the strata. It can also include fixtures built or installed as part of the original construction of each unit, even though these may not be common structures. The insurance can cover:
- Buildings and structures associated with the strata including common areas such as the roof, parking garages, driveways, gyms, pools, etc.
- Liability for any property damage or bodily injury suffered on strata property
- Any fixtures that are part of the "standard unit" or original construction of each unit
Strata insurance does not usually include personal items and appliances that are part of a condo unit. It also does not cover the damages made by individual unit owners, such as in the case of water damage caused by a unit owner. These are usually covered by personal condo insurance.
Property types
Detached home: A detached home is your standard single-family home. It is a residential building that stands alone and is separately titled or legally a single unit.
Semi-detached home: A semi-detached home is similar to a detached home, except it shares a wall with another home. This pair of homes must make up an independent building and each should be separately titled or legally two separate units. There can only be two homes in a semi-detached building.
Townhouses: A townhouse is the middle between a detached/semi-detached home and a condo apartment. Like detached and semi-detached homes, they are often single-family units that have their own land and may be attached to other units. However, like condo apartments, they typically have to pay co-ownership fees for maintenance and may share some common features with their neighbors.
Condo apartment: This category includes all apartments and condominiums. These are complexes of residential units with common areas such as hallways, parking lots, stairwells, etc. They can be low-rise, mid-rise, or high-rise buildings. Unlike townhouses, there are no parts of the lot (the land of the building) where access is reserved for only one owner or occupant. There can be privately owned units and spaces inside the building.
Plexes are multi-story buildings with two to four individual units, usually one on each floor. They are a mainstay in Montreal and other cities in Quebec. Each unit is usually individually accessible via an external entrance with higher floors connected by staircases.
Property Classes
Freeholds: A freehold is any property where the owner owns both the house and the land it is built on. Common freehold property types include: detached, semi-detached, some townhouses, and farmland.
Condominiums: A condominium or condo is any property where the owner owns the home (or unit) but shares ownership of the land and other improvements with a condominium corporation. Common condominium property types include condo apartments and some townhouses.
Leasehold: Leasehold describes the situation where different entities own the land and the structure built on the land. Owner of the buildings has leased the land and pay rent to their landlord while owning the building on the land.
Housing Markets Across Canada
Data sourced from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) and the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Any analysis or commentary is the opinion of the analysts at WOWA.ca and should not be construed as investment advice. Please consult a licensed real estate professional before making a real estate investment decision. The trademarks MLS®, Multiple Listing Service® and the associated logos are owned by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify the quality of services provided by real estate professionals who are members of CREA.