Major Cities Report Victoria A slow start to the year may not foretell the future for the Victoria housing market A total of 278 properties sold in the Victoria Real Estate Board region this January, 41.4 per cent fewer than the 474 properties sold in January 2022 and a 13.1 per cent decrease from December 2022. Sales of condominiums were down 46.3 per cent from January 2022 with 101 units sold. Sales of single family homes decreased 33 per cent from January 2022 with 120 sold. “If you’re looking at the statistics, this January was one of the slowest we’ve seen on record,” says 2023 Victoria Real Estate Board Chair Graden Sol. “However, we did see a mid-month surge in activity as buyers seemed to regain confidence after the rapid interest rate increases of last year. It may be that consumers are moving past the market shock of the rate increases and economic uncertainty and that our market is regaining its equilibrium. Source Vancouver Home sales decline below long-term averages and inventory remains low Inventory remains low in Metro Vancouver* while home sales dipped well below monthly historical averages in January. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totalled 1,022 in January 2023, a 55.3 per cent decrease from the 2,285 sales recorded in January 2022, and a 21.1 per cent decrease from the 1,295 homes sold in December 2022. Last month’s sales were 42.9 per cent below the 10-year January sales average. There were 3,297 detached, attached and apartment properties newly listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Metro Vancouver in January 2023. This represents a 20.9 per cent decrease compared to the 4,170 homes listed in January 2022 and a 173.4 per cent increase compared to December 2022 when 1,206 homes were listed. For all property types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for January 2023 is 13.7 per cent. By property type, the ratio is 10.2 per cent for detached homes, 13.4 per cent for townhomes, and 16.7 per cent for apartments. Source Calgary Supply of lower-priced homes remains low for January The level of new listings in January fell to the lowest levels seen since the late 90s. While new listings fell in nearly every price range, the pace of decline was higher for lower-priced properties. At the same time, sales activity did slow compared to the high levels reported last year but remained consistent with long-term trends. However, there has been a shift in the composition of sales as detached homes only comprised 47 per cent of all sales. “Higher lending rates are causing many buyers to seek out lower-priced products in our market,” said CREB® Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “However, the higher rates are likely also preventing some move-up activity in the market impacting supply growth for lower-priced homes. This is causing differing conditions in the housing market based on price range.” Source Edmonton YEG Housing Market Sees Stable Transition Into New Year Total residential unit sales in the Greater Edmonton Area (GEA) real estate market for January 2023 decreased 25.8% compared to January 2022 and saw a small decrease of only 0.2% from December 2022. New residential listings were up 8.5% year-over-year from January 2022, while also noting an increase of 94.8% from December 2022. Overall inventory in the GEA was up 13.2% from January of last year, and up 5.3% from the previous month. For January, detached unit sales were down 32.1% from January 2022, but saw a small increase of 1.4% from December 2022 at 583. Semi-detached unit sales were down 35.9% year-over-year but increased by 2.0% from December 2022. Row/Townhouse unit sales also decreased 5.7% year-over-year and increased 10.4% month-over-month. Apartment Condominium unit sales saw no changes from January 2022 but decreased 12.9% from the previous month. All residential average prices hit $370,068, a 6.2% decrease from January 2022, and 1.4% decrease from December 2022. Detached homes averaged $451,659, a 2.1% year-over-year decrease and a 4.2% decrease from December 2022. Semi-detached sold for an average of $355,086, resulting in a 5.2% decrease year-over-year, with prices down 0.9% compared to December 2022. Row/townhouse prices increased both 1.2% from January 2022 and 4.4% month-over-month, selling at $247,761. Apartment Condominium average prices hit $189,631, with a 5.5% increase from the previous month and a 2.3% drop year-over-year. Source Toronto Starts The New Year The Same As It Ended Last Year As we moved from 2022 into 2023, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) housing market unfolded as expected. The number of January sales and the overall average selling price were similar to December 2022. On a year-over-year basis, both sales and prices were down markedly, continuing to highlight the impact of higher borrowing costs on affordability over the last year. “Home sales and selling prices appear to have found some support in recent months. This coupled with the Bank of Canada announcement that interest rate hikes are likely on hold for the foreseeable future will prompt some buyers to move off the sidelines in the coming months. Record population growth and tight labour market conditions will continue to support housing demand moving forward,” said Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) President Paul Baron. GTA REALTORS® reported 3,100 sales through TRREB’s MLS® System in January 2023 – in line with the December 2022 result of 3,110, but down 44.6 per cent from January 2022. The average selling price for January 2023 at $1,038,668 was slightly lower than the December 2022 result and down by 16.4 per cent compared to the January 2022 average price reported before the onset of Bank of Canada interest rate hikes. The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark was in line with the December result, but down by 14.2 per cent compared to January 2022. Source |