After seeing record sales and prices during the pandemic, Vancouver’s housing market saw significant change in 2022. The headline story in our market last year was all about inflation and the Bank of Canada's efforts to bring inflation back to target by rapidly raising the policy rate.

 

When comparing all housing types from December 2021 to December 2022, the number of homes sold decreased by 51% but prices only decreased by 3.3%. Compared to December 2019, prices are still 22% higher. April 2022 had the highest sales prices ever.

 

Low inventory and historically low borrowing rates were the driving force behind the record prices and multiple offer situations that we experienced over the last couple of years. When looking back as far as 2005, December 2021 had the lowest inventory ever. Last month (December 2022) had the second lowest inventory numbers ever.

 

In the last half of 2022, the real estate market showed signs of balance with opportunities for both buyers and sellers. This is the first sign of balance that we've seen in almost two years. As we move closer to the 2023 Spring Market, we'll see how low inventory and higher borrowing-costs influence the real estate market.