After hitting what now appears to be a peak in March, Vancouver region home sales continued on a cooling trend in the first half of May after showing signs of a slowdown in April.
According to mid-month data published today by Dexter Realty’s Kevin Skipworth, there were 2,183 transactions recorded across the region in May’s first half. That represents a nine percent monthly decline from the same period in April, when 2,402 properties changed hands.
Judging by the current sales trend, it’s likely that May’s sales volume will be lower than both April and March, when sales soared above 4,900 and 5,700, respectively. That said, Skipworth estimates total sales for the month will be in the 4,500 range, still an incredibly busy pace of sales relative to historical averages.
The broker pointed out that growth in new listings is also on track to slow down in May, with newly listed properties unlikely to surpass the 8,000-mark for the first time since February.
“What we are seeing is a slowing in the growth of listings as we move through the month. With the strong demand still in the market, multiple offers are still occurring and this is more prevalent in the townhome segment of the market,” Skipworth wrote in a monthly email update.
He went on to note that competition remained particularly strong in Vancouver West, where sales are likely to match April’s total thanks to a resurgence in the condo market.
While sales remain extremely high, they are unlikely to return to the levels seen earlier this year, a pace which many housing economists called unsustainable. In a forecast published earlier in May, Central 1 Credit Union Deputy Chief Economist Bryan Yu said sales across BC would be red-hot for 2021 before declining through 2022 and 2023 to more typical levels.
