May 2020 Vancouver Real Estate Market Update

Prices Remain Stable Through Second Month Of Quarantine

The average Metro Vancouver home price remained stable through the second month of quarantine, dropping by only $400.

This is the first decrease in average prices in 7 months. 

Average home prices are up $28,600 or 2.8% year-over-year.

Volume picked up 33.9% from last month, totalling 1,485 homes sold, though this is a 43.7% decrease from May 2019. Last month’s sales were also 54.4% below the 10-year May sales average. 

New listings performed similarly with 3,684 new properties becoming available in May 2020. This represents a 37.1% decrease compared to the 5,861 homes listed in May 2019 and a 59.3% increase compared to April 2020 when 2,313 homes were listed.

The total number of homes currently listed for sale in Metro Vancouver is 9,927, a 32.4% decrease compared to May 2019 (14,685) and a 5.7% increase compared to April 2020 (9,389).

Home sales and listing activity is down compared to typical levels and up compared to the activity we saw in April 2020.  Notably, the vast majority of the sales in May happened in the last 2 weeks of the month, right after the quarantine restrictions were eased.

For all housing types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for May 2020 is 15% - a Balanced Market. By housing type, the ratio is 13.5% for detached homes, 18.9% for townhomes, and 14.8% for apartments.

Downward pressure on home prices occurs when the ratio dips below 12% for a sustained period, while home prices often experience upward pressure when it surpasses 20% over several months.