Housing sales in B.C.’s three biggest markets are moving up, indicating that a widespread recovery could be underway from what may have been the bottom of the market a month earlier.
February housing sales in Greater Vancouver soared nearly 77 per cent compared to January 2023 and the sales recovery from the record lows in January was also seen in the Fraser Valley and Greater Victoria, with sector sale increases of up to 83 per cent, according to respective real estate boards.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totalled 1,808 in February 2023, a 76.9 per cent increase from the 1,022 homes sold in January.
The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) processed 898 sales in February, an increase of 43.5 per cent over January.
In Greater Victoria, housing sales in February jumped 65 per cent, month over month, to 460 transactions, with detached house transactions up a stunning 83 per cent compared to January 2023, to 220 sales.
Listings are also increasing, though they dramatically trail the sales increase. In Greater Vancouver, the total number of homes now for sale is 7,868, a 5.2 per cent increase compared to January 2023 and nearly 17 per cent higher than in February of last year.
There are now 4.408 homes for sales in the Fraser Valley, up 16 per cent from a year earlier and 7 per cent above January 2023,
Greater Victoria had 1,809 active listings, up 113 per cent from February 2022 with new listings up 4 per cent from January 2023.
Remarks from the Victoria Real Estate Board (VREB) could be echoed across the Lower Mainland.
"Last month we talked about the optimism building in the local market and now we can see it in the statistics," said VREB chairman Graden Sol. " The market is seeing some positive headwinds as we move into springtime, which is traditionally the busiest market for home sales. Inventory levels are starting to increase. We're also seeing a stabilization at some price points and properties that are priced in accordance with current market conditions are selling at a good pace."
Benchmark home prices eased down in Greater Victoria and increased less than 1 per cent in the Fraser Valley, both compared to January, but rallied broadly in Greater Vancouver, posting the first month-over-month increases in nearly a year.
The composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver is currently $1,123,400, a 1.1 per cent increase compared to January 2023.
The benchmark price for detached properties is $1,813,100. This represents 0.7 per cent increase compared to January 2023.
The benchmark price of an apartment property is $732,200. This is a 1.6 per cent increase compared to January 2023, while the benchmark townhouse price increased 1.8 per cent from January to just over $1.03 million, reports the REBGV.
