Home Sales Improve - inventory highest in five years.
Home sales in May were the highest we have seen this year and 44.2% higher than April. However sales were still 22.9% below the ten year average and 6.9% less than May of last year.
Affordability and tight lending regulations continue to be primary factors dampening housing demand at this time.
There were 8.1% less new listings in May, 2019 compared with May 2018 but overall listings in May this year were 30% higher than May 2018. In other words there are more listings that have sat on the market for a while than there were last year.
In the present market environment it is very important for Sellers to price their homes accurately and understand the market conditions in their neighborhood.
The monthly sales to active Listings ratio statistic are a great indicator of a buyers or sellers’ market.
For May the Single Homes sales to active listings ratio is 14.2%. For Townhomes it is 20% and for condos it is 21.2%.
Downward pressure on home prices occurs when the ratio is below 12 per cent for a sustained period, while home prices generally experience upward pressure when the ratio surpasses 20% over several months.
The benchmark price for Single Homes in Vancouver has dropped 11.5% over the last year and for Condos the drop is 7.3%.
It is important to know that the sales to active listings ratios can vary greatly depending on the price point and neighborhood the property is in. If you would like to know the stats for the neighborhood for which you have interest I would be happy to provide this information to you.