One of the country’s largest real estate brokerages has revised its price forecast for the Vancouver region upward as the market shows few signs of slowing down in the first three months of 2021.

In a new report published this week, Royal LePage said it expects the aggregate price of a Vancouver region home will rise 13 percent by the fourth quarter of 2021. In December, the company had forecast a nine percent increase in home prices for the region.

With the upward revision to the forecast, Royal LePage now believes the aggregate price of a Vancouver region home will be $1,276,000, up from $1,129,374 recorded in 2020’s fourth quarter.

Speaking to the need to upgrade the forecast based on what’s happening on the ground, Randy Ryalls, a general manager with Royal LePage Sterling Realty, said March was a record-breaking month for the brokerage.

“Almost every property is receiving multiple offers, and the sales to listings ratio is more than double what we’d typically see in a balanced market. That being said, we are starting to see an increase in supply come on the market. Hopefully that can continue,” he added.

But even as supply has been ramping up through the early spring, Ryalls says it’s being absorbed quickly by homebuyers.

“Demand is still outpacing supply in Greater Vancouver, in the suburbs as well as in the downtown core. But if we see a similar lift in inventory in April and May as we had in March, and if sales remain roughly the same, we may see some modest relief sooner than later,” he said.

Along with its home price forecast, the company also released first quarter pricing data for the Vancouver region. The region’s aggregate home price was up 9.5 percent annually to $1,163,276 in the first quarter. Two-storey homes recorded a median price increase of 12.1 percent, rising to $1,545,705, while bungalows rose 12 percent to $1,325,006. Meantime, the median condo price rose 2.3 percent to $652,923.

Royal LePage : Vancouver Region Home Prices to Rise 13% in 2021 by Sean MacKay | Livabl