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Home sales in Vancouver fell more than 34 percent in 2022 and benchmark prices ended the year 3.3 percent lower, year-end figures released Wednesday by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver show.
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28,903 units were sold for the year, compared to 43,999 units in 2021, while the composite benchmark price for all Metro Vancouver residential properties ended the year at $1,114,300.
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On a monthly basis, the December benchmark price was down 1.5 percent from November, while sales fell nearly 20 percent to 1,295 units. Sales were less than half what they were in December 2021.
The year ended with a sales to active listings ratio for all property types of 17.5 percent. This level would normally indicate a buyer’s market, but with the lack of real estate on offer, the playing field took on unique characteristics in December.
“It’s an interesting dynamic right now,” Lis said in an interview. “While quota listings would suggest we are in buyers’ market territory, there are still historically low inventories at the moment, making it a bit challenging for buyers out there.”
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Buyers in the freestanding market are particularly affected by the challenges posed by interest rate hikes and rising borrowing costs, Lis said.
“It seems like the market for freestanding products has been a bit more sensitive to the rate hikes that we’ve seen — it’s obviously at a higher price, so obviously the cost of borrowing for this type of product will be a lot higher.”
Single-family homes saw the largest decline of all home types in December 2022, at 53.3 percent.
Despite this, Lis believes there is still demand in the market from people looking for affordable options.
“If you start looking at the housing market or even the townhouse market, things are actually a bit stronger there because we look at those as affordable price points,” Lis said. “There’s still a lot of demand in the market for people looking for something affordable in these regions.”
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