vancouver-home-salesPhoto: Mike Benna/Unsplash

While home buying activity in the Vancouver region is slowing down ahead of the holidays, it’s still on track to exceed home sales totals recorded in December 2019 and 2018.

There have been 1,492 home sales in the first two weeks of the month, down slightly from the 1,505 sales posted during the same time in November. That two-week total is already more sales than the market achieved during the entire month of December 2018. At the current rate of sales, it’s also expected to beat December 2019’s total of 2,046 transactions.

Dexter Realty Managing Broker Kevin Skipworth published the mid-month home sales data for the Vancouver region this week through an email market update.

With record low mortgage rates being offered by lenders along with elevated rates of household savings, Skipworth said the heat being felt in the Vancouver housing market shouldn’t come as a surprise.

His chief concern is the low supply levels available to buyers in the market.

“As we move through December it’s becoming clear that there again are just not enough properties available for sale. Multiple offers are still occurring and properties that had been on the market for longer periods of time are seeing offers and sales come their way for Christmas,” Skipworth said.

There have been more sales than new listings in many of the region’s markets, including North Vancouver, New Westminster and Coquitlam, according to Skipworth.

“There will be less than 10,000 properties available for sale come the start of 2021, the question is how far below that mark will it be?” he asked.

Skipworth’s declining inventory concerns were shared by Royal LePage Sterling Realty Managing Broker Randy Ryalls in the brokerage’s Vancouver region forecast for 2021 released earlier this week.

“We are seeing multiple offers on almost every reasonably-priced detached listing. There simply isn’t enough inventory to meet the demand,” said Ryalls.

“A balanced Vancouver market has about 15,000 active listings available. Right now, we’re sitting at roughly 10,000. If we reach the end of January without an injection of inventory, we will continue to see upward pressure on prices in the spring. I expect a strong seller’s market in 2021,” he continued.

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