Home sales rise in Vancouver area as newly listed properties add to supply, real estate board says

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says home sales ticked up last month as the continued increase of newly listed properties has given prospective homebuyers in the region among the largest selection to choose from since 2021.

The board says November home sales totalled 1,702, a 4.7 per cent increase from the same month last year, though it marked a slowdown from the prior month of October. The total was 33 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average of 2,538 for November.

There were 3,369 new listings of detached, attached and apartment properties last month, a 9.8 per cent increase from a year earlier, as new listings were 2.8 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average.

The composite benchmark home price in November for Metro Vancouver was $1,185,100, a 4.9 per cent increase from November 2022 and a one per cent decrease from October 2023.

Composite benchmark prices are considered to be a typical sale price for homes in similar areas, whereas average home prices are the total dollar sales divided by the total amount of sales.

Andrew Lis, the board's director of economics and data analytics, says the region has seen balanced market conditions since the summer, which are known to produce flatter price trends.

He says with most economists forecasting mortgage rates to fall modestly in 2024, market conditions for buyers "are arguably the most favourable we've seen in some time in our market.''

The areas and municipalities covered by the real estate board are Bowen Island, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Richmond, South Delta, Squamish, the Sunshine Coast, Vancouver, West Vancouver and Whistler.