How the Housing Market Has Changed During COVID-19 in Metro Vancouver

In a recent report from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, Economist Keith Stewart assessed the current state of the housing market in Metro Vancouver and how it’s changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Metro Vancouver housing market has seen higher sales in homes, but a lower supply of home listings.

Currently, the inventory of available homes for sale has been lower than it’s ever been in years. Single-family homes, condos and townhomes still continue to see a rising number of buyers searching for homes compared to those actually selling them.

Report highlights

In 2021, the housing market’s demand for homes rose higher whereas the supply of available homes to buy got lower.
Since March 2021, there have been more home buyers than home sellers.
There have been fewer houses available for purchase because of the higher demand.
COVID-19 has made it more difficult to create policies that help the supply of homes keep up with the rising demand of people wanting to buy homes. However, it’s important for all levels of government to continue to work on this.

During the beginning of the pandemic, many buyers stopped searching for homes which resulted in sellers withdrawing their listings.

As people became more adjusted to the new living conditions the pandemic presented, the number of buyers and sellers increased during the summer of 2020. However, prices for homes have also increased because the supply of available homes has not kept up with the demand.

Over time, it’s believed that the housing market will come closer to a balance between demand in housing and the supply of homes due to:

More current buyers finding homes.
New buyers stopping their search for homes because of an increase in mortgage rates.
The pool of potential buyers naturally decreasing with time.
The availability of more houses due to increases in mortgage rates.
More sellers being comfortable to list homes again as the pandemic settles.

To read the full report, click the link: Where have the homes gone?

Summary

It has been no surprise that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a number of changes within the housing market, living conditions and the behaviours of buyers and sellers.

With the ever-changing conditions of the housing market, it’s more important now than ever to work with a real estate team when buying or selling your home.

Your real estate team will have up-to-date knowledge of the current stage of the housing market and have the expertise to advise you on the best actions to take – keeping you on the right track of buying your dream home!

Are you thinking about buying a home in Vancouver? We’re a husband and wife team of licensed Realtors that specialize in moving families! Contact Mary and Konstantin of Team Kleiner with any questions.