Existing home sales in Greater Vancouver for March smashed through previous records, as West Coast prices contiunued to soar.

It was the first time the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver has seen 5,000 sales for the month and comes as the market faces increasing focus from people worried about a bubble and the impact foreign buyers are having on property activity and values.

“March was the highest selling month the REBGV has ever recorded,” Dan Morrison, president of the board, said in a statement Monday. “Today’s demand is broad-based. Home buyers are active in neighbourhoods across our region.”

The pace of sales is picking up. The board said the 5,173 sales in March climbed 24% from just February. But even on a year-over-year sales were up 27.4%. Last month’s sales were 56% above the 10-year average for the month.

The latest statistics come on the heels of a federal budget that expressed the need for more data to find out the impact of foreign buyers on the housing market. Ottawa has pledged $500,000 to Statistics Canada to study the issue which is generally seen as only being a concern in Toronto or Vancouver.

For now, the supply of new listings seems to have no chance of keeping up with demand for housing in Canada’s most expensive city.

The board said new listings for detached, attached and apartment properties reached 6,278 in Metro Vancouver in March 2016, only a 5.2% increase from a year ago but an 8% jump from February.

In total, there were 7,358 listings on the Multiple Listing System in March, a 40.5 drop from a year ago but an 0.8% increase from February, 2016.

“Strong job and economic growth in our province, positive net migration and low interest rates are helping to drive this activity,” said Morrison.

The impact on prices caused by the demand/supply imbalance continues to be felt. The board’s Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver rose 23.2% from a year ago to $815,000. The average price of a detached home in Greater Vancouver is now $1.78 million.

Vancouver’s news comes on the heels of reports in Calgary last week that had realtors questioning when they’ll actually see the bottom in the oilpatch. March prices were off 3.51% last month in Calgary, compared to a year ago, based on the board’s index.

March Home Sales Smash Through Record in Greater Vancouver as Bubble Fears Grow by Garry Marr | Financial Post