As spring arrived in Vancouver, the slowdown in home sales from the winter continued into April with a 24% year-over-year decrease in sales listed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in Metro Vancouver.
“From a historical perspective, the slower sales we’re now seeing stand out as unusual, particularly against a backdrop of significantly improved borrowing conditions, which typically helps to boost sales,” said Andrew Lis, GVR’s director of economics and data analytics. “What’s also unusual is starting the year with Canada’s largest trading partner threatening to tilt our economy into recession via trade policy, while at the same time having Canadians head to the polls to elect a new federal government. These issues have been hard to ignore, and the April home sales figures suggest some buyers have continued to patiently wait out the storm.”
Home Sales
Metro Vancouver recorded 2,163 residential property sales in April, marking a 23.6% decline from the
2,813 sales recorded in April 2024, and a 28.2% decrease from the 10-year seasonal average of 3,014.
The number of detached properties sold reached 579, a 29% decrease from April 2024.
The number of apartments sold reached 1,130, a 20.2% decrease from April 2024.
The number of attached properties sold reached 442, a 23.8% decrease from April 2024.
Home Listings
A total of 6,850 detached, attached, and apartment properties were newly listed on the Multiple Listing
Service (MLS) in Metro Vancouver. This reflects a 3.4% decrease from the 7,092 listings in April 2024,
and a 19.5% rise above the 10-year seasonal average
At the time of the report, there were 16,207 homes listed for sale on the MLS in Metro Vancouver. This
represents a 29.7% increase from April 2024, and 19.5% above the 10-year seasonal average.
Sales-To-Active-Listings Ratio
This is a good indication of the supply and demand forces in the market. Downward pressure on home
prices can occur when the ratio is below 12% for a sustained period, and there is upward pressure when
the ratio is above 20% over several months.
For all property types, the ratio in April was 13.8%. When broken down by property types, the ratio >was:
- 9.9% for detached homes
- 17.5% for attached homes
- 15.7% for apartments