Condominium apartments, the most affordable homes in a formidable market, dominated Greater Vancouver property sales in June, skyrocketing 175% from six months earlier and nearing peak prices, according to Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) data.

A total of 1,573 condos sold in June, which was more than the combined sales of detached houses and townhouses, and the benchmark price of a condo reached $767,000, up $47,000 since the start of the year. Condo prices were up 0.5% from June 2022 and 0.8% above May of this year.

“The market continues to outperform expectations across all segments, but the apartment segment showed the most relative strength in June,” Andrew Lis, REBGV’s director of economics and data analytics said. “The benchmark price of apartment homes is almost cresting the peak reached in 2022, while sales of apartments are now above the region’s 10-year seasonal average.”

Total home sales in the region totalled 2,988 in June 2023, a 21.1% increase from the 2,467 sales recorded in June 2022. Sales, however, were 8.6% below the 10-year seasonal average June.

“The market continues to outperform expectations across all segments, but the apartment segment showed the most relative strength in June,” Andrew Lis, REBGV’s director of economics and data analytics said. “The benchmark price of apartment homes is almost cresting the peak reached in 2022, while sales of apartments are now above the region’s 10-year seasonal average.”

Total home sales in the region totalled 2,988 in June 2023, a 21.1% increase from the 2,467 sales recorded in June 2022. Sales, however, were 8.6% below the 10-year seasonal average June.

The number of homes currently listed for sale in Greater Vancouver is 9,990, a 7.9% decrease compared to June 2022. This is also 17.4% below the 10-year seasonal average of 12,091 active listings.

The REBGV said that a continued lack of housing supply, relative to demand, is driving all prices higher. The benchmark price of a detached house in June was $1,991,300, up $190,000 from January of this year and 3.2% higher than in June 2022. The typical townhouse sold in June for $1,098,000, down 1% from a year earlier.

The composite benchmark price of all properties is now $1.2 million, up 2.4% from a year ago, and it has been increasing 1.3% (about $15,300) a month since January.

Lis repeated REBGV’s call to the provincial government to raise the current $525,000 price threshold exempting first-time buyers from the provincial property transfer tax, though any such an adjustment appears of marginal help in relation to prices increases.

Vancouver Condo Sales Soar 175% in Six Months by Frank O’Brien | Western Investor | BIV