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September is typically the onset of Vancouver's fall market. It's USUALLY the second busiest season in our real estate market...where we see a peak in both listing and sales activity.
After everyone takes a breather in August, the fall season begins as soon as Labour Day is behind us. This year, September didn't disappoint but it did hold a big surprise (unless, that is, you've been following my weekly market updates).
There were 934 sales in the month. That was +4.7% over August sales (and down 4.4% from a year ago). What was most notable, however, is that it was a whopping 21% over the 10-year average.
While the demand (sales) side delivered as expected, it's the supply (listings) that were a surprise. While we typically see a flood of listings in the fall, it was really just a trickle through September.
There were 1,854 new listings (+40.6% over August and -14% from the previous year). Total active listings were 3,647 which was -4% from the 10-year average.
This rise in demand and drop in...
Are you a frustrated buyer in Vancouver's real estate market?
You aren't alone!
This past week's numbers reinforce the experience of many out there right now. Demand exists but it's the supply that isn't co-operating...remaining unseasonably low.
Yes, new listings did actually rise in the last week. Going from 339 to 362. But that is just a trickle of new listings at what is normally our second busiest listing season (next to the Spring Market).
And sales did edge SLIGHTLY lower (from 240 to 230). But again, we are well above the 200-sale threshold...and I would suggest that this number would be higher IF buyers actually had inventory to choose from!
Overall, our market (for the second week in a row) is in a Seller's Market (3.8 months-of-inventory). East Van and Westside townhouses led the strength with 2.39 and 2.86 MOI respectively. Condos also continued strong Seller's Markets throughout the city.
On the weak side Westside houses (6.57 MOI) didn't relinquish the crown it's been carrying for...
In the last week (Week 39 - September 19th - 25th, 2021) we had a bit of a surprise in the Vancouver real estate market. The last couple weeks saw a very consistent increase in activity across the board. However, this past week gave us a bit of a surprise.
Sales continued to ramp up, reaching 240 in the past week (up from 218 in the previous week). That's the highest number of sales that we've had in Vancouver since way back in Week 25 (mid-June).
The surprise of the week was that new listings dropped quite significantly. We went from 440 last week (and 492 the week before) down to just 339...at a time where we usually see listing inventory build.
With that increase in demand and the drop in new listings we ended up with overall active listings falling slightly to 3,598 (down from 3,616). For the first time in a month we moved well into an overall seller's market with just 3.75 MOI.
Every sub-market (with two exceptions) was in a seller's market in the past week. The hottest sub-market continued...
August was characterized by unexpected demand in the Vancouver real estate market.
It's typically one of the quieter months of the year. Many Vancouverites (and their realtors) take their final holidays before the end of the summer. The result, is that August is typically more subdued than most months.
That pattern held true for the number of listings on the market. There were a total of 3,483 total active listings. A number that has been declining steadily from the high of 4,227 we hit back in May. This was marginally (3.8%) lower than the 10-year average and 7.8% below July's total.
And while the supply was low, demand was higher than usual. There were 892 sales in August which was just 4% below July's 939 sales and a whopping 11.7% over the 10-year average.
Unusually for this time of year, we found ourselves in a seller's market with 3.86 months-of-inventory. This was led by the townhouse market which saw the greatest strength (2.59 MOI) and the condo market (3.03 MOI).
Every indication...
It's the calm before the storm.
As you've heard me say before, the last few weeks of summer are always quiet. It's Vancouver tradition to take time off through August. Spend time in the Okanagan, the Gulf Islands or on Vancouver Island...and away from buying/selling real estate.
Like clockwork, the past week followed that pattern. In general, market activity was subdued...BUT, there are some glimmers of what may be to come.
There were just 189 sales which was down slightly from 197 the week before. We've been flirting with the 200 sale level for the last few weeks...this being the 3rd time in the last 5 weeks under that bar (we were around 300 sales per week when the market was highly active back in the spring).
We did see new listings jump significantly...from 253 up to 330. That's a big jump and an indication of what's likely to come in the coming weeks. BUT, it's still well under the 500-odd new listings we saw hitting the market back in the spring.
We now have 3,306 active listings on...
In the last week our real estate market showed signs of late summer fatigue. I've spoken before of the impact of long weekends but we are heading into the biggest long weekend of the year...Labour Day.
We saw a sharp drop in sales across the city from 285 (a high for the summer) down to 197. Meanwhile, new listings increased slightly from 243 to 253 pushing total active listings to 3,410.
As we've found ourselves for for much of the summer we are in a balanced market with 4.33 MOI.
The hottest sub-markets are for condominiums. All three areas (East Van, Westside and Downtown) are in fact in Seller's Markets. At the same time, detached homes (houses) on both sides of the city are in a buyer's market.
We will likely see a significant increase in listings come on the market AFTER Labour Day. Between now and then (eg next week) there's unlikely to be much activity as most of us are focusing on beaches, vactions and families (not to mention, back to school!).



Enjoy our monthly newsletter filled with latest real estate news, tips, and facts. You can unsubscribe any time and we will not share your email address with others.