Urban Development Institute has released its British Columbia State of the Market for Q1-2023, produced with exclusive data from Zonda Urban.
All eyes remain on the west coast, waiting to reveal if Canada’s https://www.livabl.com/vancouver-bc/new-homesmost desirable real estate market is on the rebound. The news is mostly positive. Despite earlier forecasts of a gloomy market, Metro Vancouver experienced a six per cent increase during the first quarter of this year compared to Q4-2022. A total of 2,143 new homes were added to the area.
B.C. residents are riding a small but steady wave of optimism, driven by improved rental conditions and the possibility of future rate cuts. It’s worth noting that the forecast remains cloudy on rate hikes in July. The current rate is at a 22-year-high of 4.75 per cent, its last raise in early June.
Outer Metro contributing to new home starts
The Outer Metro accounted for 44 percent of all new home starts in Metro Vancouver. Building began on 6,670 new homes in Q1-2023, with a slight drop of 2.9 per cent — or 197 units — from the previous quarter.
New home starts were broken down into three types: Townhomes, apartments, and single-family. There were 558 townhomes, 5,543 apartments, and 569 single-family new homes starting in the first quarter.
Active sales of concrete condos holding steady
At the end of the first quarter, 161 new concrete condominium projects were actively selling across Metro Vancouver. That’s only one less compared to last quarter and one less year-over-year.
The inner metro region accounted for most of the projects, with 54 per cent (87 condos) actively selling. Within the City of Vancouver, 36 per cent (58 projects) were active, while the Outer Metro had 16 products or 10 per cent.
1,288 concrete condos were sold in the first quarter, an increase of 54 per cent from Q4-2022, but still down 69 per cent year-over-year.
Townhomes up nearly 30 per cent since Q4-2022
320 townhome sales were recorded in the first quarter, a 29 per cent increase from Q4-2022.
The Outer Metro took up 60 per cent of sales in Metro Vancouver, while the Inner Metro accounted for 31 per cent. Nine per cent of the sales took place in the City of Vancouver.
1,000 new townhomes were released and unsold at the end of the quarter, marking an eight per cent decrease from the fourth quarter of 2022. The Outer and Inner Metros accounted for the majority of inventory, with 41 and 39 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, the City of Vancouver represented 20 per cent.
