a

The Above-Average Snowfall Took A Toll on Vancouver’s Housing Activity


Under Market Updates

Written by

February 25th, 2020

It was an especially wet and wintry January for Vancouver, a city already known for its grey and rainy weather.

While ski-enthusiasts may have rejoiced, the above-average snowfall for the month took a toll on activity in the city’s housing market.

Home sales dropped sharply against December’s total, throwing up another obstacle in the path of the market’s nascent recovery, according to Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) data released Friday. In fact, of nine markets tracked by CREA for its monthly report, Vancouver saw the steepest month-over-month drop at 18.5 percent.

It looked like another shaky start to the year for the market, but according to BMO Senior Economist Robert Kavcic, this is where the less-than-stellar results end and the upbeat outlook begins.

In a brief published Friday, Kavcic added some helpful context to the data, noting that while the nasty weather caused Vancouver’s monthly activity to drop off a cliff, January still saw a huge 44 percent jump in home sales when compared to the same period in 2019.

“January [2019] was nearly the precise low in that market. Overall, the market remains balanced, but momentum seems to be building,” he wrote.

There are a lot of factors working in the Vancouver market’s favour, setting it up for a strong showing this spring. Kavcic noted that mortgage rates are expected to remain low and steady for the year while the federal government is considering easing up on the stricter mortgage stress test rules that have pushed home sales down since they were introduced in early 2018.

To fan the sparks in the market, Kavcic also pointed to population growth that is coasting at a 10-year high for the region. In its own report, CREA said that prices in the Vancouver region are continuing to gradually reverse course, with sale prices still declining but at a much slower rate than last year.

All eyes should be on the spring selling season to see whether the Vancouver market will shake off the snowy start to the year and continue putting up much stronger numbers than its lacklustre 2019 performance.

Vancouver Home Sales Down Due to Snowy January Weather by Sean MacKay | Livabl

Comments are closed.

 

Back To The Top