Vancouver Housing Market Report
- The benchmark price of homes in Metro Vancouver stands at $1,131,600, representing a 1.5% monthly decline and a 0.6% yearly decrease in November 2022.
- This price exhibits a 17% increase over two years but is 11% lower than the all-time high of $1,264,700 in April 2022.
- Detached home benchmark prices decreased by 2% year-over-year to $1.86M.
- Townhouse benchmark prices increased by 3% year-over-year to $1.03M.
- Condo apartment benchmark prices increased by 3% year-over-year to $721k.
Greater Vancouver Housing Market Overview
The benchmark price of homes in Metro Vancouver was $1,131,600 in November 2022, a 1.5% monthly decrease and a 0.6% decrease year-over-year. Metro Vancouver and the Toronto area are the most expensive Canadian housing markets. The benchmark price of homes in Vancouver changed by $228k over the past three years; this amount of money can purchase an apartment house in Winnipeg.
In November 2022, the average sale price of detached houses, attached houses and apartments in Greater Vancouver was $1,981,586, $1,137,247 and $770,117, representing -2.5%, -6.5% and 0.1% change relative to October 2022, respectively. These prices also represent annual changes of -9.2%, -4.0%, and 3.4%.
All property types continued to see decreasing benchmark prices compared to last month. Benchmark prices of detached homes in Vancouver fell 1.7% over the past year to reach $1,856,800 for November 2022. That’s 1.9% lower than last month’s benchmark price of $1,892,100 in October 2022.
Over the past two years, Vancouver detached homes' benchmark price has increased by $272k. Over the past three years, it has increased by $411k. This two-year price gain approximately equals the average sold price of an apartment in Edmonton. At the same time, the three-year increase is greater than the average home price in Edmonton and greater than the average price for a townhouse in Calgary.
There are about 960,000 houses in the Vancouver area. Thus the wealth of Vancouver homeowners has increased approximately by $272k*960k or $261 billion over the last two years and $411k*960k or $395 billion over the past three years. This massive increase in housing wealth has occurred despite $128 billion of housing wealth being wiped out since April this year, just in the Vancouver Metropolitan Area.
Vancouver townhouse benchmark price is $1,027,900, up 2.7% year-over-year and down 1.5% month-over-month in November 2022, remaining above the $1 million mark after passing that level for the first time in November 2021. Apartment benchmark prices increased 3.5% year-over-year and decreased 0.9% month-over-month to $720,500.
Looking at Metro Vancouver's housing market, there were 9,179 active listings at the end of November 2022, up 29% compared to this time last year and down 6.8% compared with 9,852 listings at the end of October 2022. The 3,055 new listings this month is a 23% decrease year-over-year and a 24% decrease compared with 4,033 in October.
The 1,614 home sales this month are 53% lower year-over-year. This puts Vancouver’s sales-to-active listings ratio at 16%. That’s far lower than the 57% sales-to-active-listings ratio seen in March 2022, which suggests a seller's market has moved towards a buyers' market.
As the covid pandemic started early in 2020, the Bank of Canada (BoC) decided to fight the expected economic downturn forcefully. In addition to bringing their policy rate close to zero, the BoC went on a shopping spree. Assets of BoC were around $120B in early March 2020; these assets reached a peak of $575B in March 2021. Newly created Canadian dollars paid for this $475B increase in BoC's assets.
Some of this newly created money came to the real estate market. Though home prices are not included in the official inflation number, increases in house prices cause increases in tenants' rents and, with a considerable time lag, find their way into official inflation numbers.
Inflation exceeded the BoC target of 2% in March 2021, but it was considered transitory at the time, and the bank continued its easy monetary policy. In January 2022, for the first time in almost three decades, the inflation rate went over 5%. In the first policy meeting after this number was published by Statistics Canada (in March 2022), BoC started increasing its policy rate.
As a result, inflation peaked in June at just over 8%. Since then, inflation is slowly decreasing. If this decreasing trend continues, the BoC can slow down its rate rises. BoC probably would stop rising rates when the inflation rate reaches 5% to allow the higher interest rate effect to work through the economy and bring the inflation rate back to the BoC target of 2%. The headwind currently reducing real estate prices is the continuation of the Bank of Canada rate hikes.
These rate hikes would mean that Vancouver mortgage rates would continue to increase and reduce home affordability in Vancouver even further. Mortgage rates have increased, and higher rates have reduced activity in Vancouver's housing market.
The money created between March 2020 and March 2021 finds the housing market an attractive destination because of the inelasticity in the supply of houses. Enough houses cannot be made because of the limitations imposed by Canadian municipalities on property rights (zonings). These limitations have acted as a strong tailwind for house prices in Canadian cities. Restrictions on property rights in the form of constraints imposed on the extent and manner of land use reduce the supply of homes.
Another tailwind for Canadian real estate, including real estate prices in BC, is disruptions in the supply chain for house-building materials. These disruptions have materially slowed down the completion of houses under construction.
Home Prices in Vancouver
Single-Family Detached Home Prices in Vancouver
| Statistics for November 2022 | ||
| Average Price: | $1,981,586 | -9.2% from Nov. 2021 |
| Benchmark Price: | $1,856,800 | -1.7% from Nov. 2021 |
| Units Sold: | 486 | -50.8% from Nov. 2021 |
Freehold Townhouse Prices in Vancouver
| Statistics for November 2022 | ||
| Average Price: | $1,137,247 | -4.0% from Nov. 2021 |
| Benchmark Price: | $1,027,900 | 2.7% from Nov. 2021 |
| Units Sold: | 281 | -54.2% from Nov. 2021 |
Condo Prices in Vancouver
| Statistics for November 2022 | ||
| Average Price: | $770,117 | 3.4% from Nov. 2021 |
| Benchmark Price: | $720,500 | 3.5% from Nov. 2021 |
| Units Sold: | 847 | -53.7% from Nov. 2021 |
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 November 2022
City | Benchmark Price | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Lower Mainland | $1,074,700 | ||
| #2 | Greater Vancouver | $1,131,600 | ||
| #3 | Bowen Island | $1,382,800 | ||
| #4 | Burnaby East | $1,107,700 | ||
| #5 | Burnaby North | $982,500 | ||
| #6 | Burnaby South | $1,055,700 | ||
| #7 | Coquitlam | $1,057,700 | ||
| #8 | Ladner | $1,071,700 | ||
| #9 | Maple Ridge | $930,100 | ||
| #10 | New Westminster | $796,700 | ||
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.