Welcome back, Vancouver! This is Cari Mai, your trusted Vancouver Realtor, and I'm thrilled to bring you the latest news on our ever-evolving housing market as we close the curtain on 2023.
If you're new here, don't forget to hit that subscribe button for all things real estate in our beautiful city.
So, what's the market like in Greater Vancouver? Well, the overall market has still been sitting in balanced market conditions this holiday season with 6.2 months of inventory. For those who don't know, "months of inventory" simply means that if no more homes get listed for sale from today onwards, it would take approximately 6.2 months to sell all homes listed on the market today.
So across Greater Vancouver, single detached homes are in what we call a "Buyer's market" with 8.4 months of inventory, townhouses are in a "Seller's Market" with 4.2 months of inventory, and Condos are sitting in a "Balanced Market" with 5.3 months of inventory. November rolled in with an impressive increase in housing inventory, giving our home buyers the grandest selection since 2021.
Now, let's talk numbers. Home sales dipped below the 10-year seasonal average by about 33%, and we saw a 13% drop from October. But hold on to your coffee because, despite this, November sales are still higher compared to last year's historic lows. 'Tis the season for a balanced market, people!
November saw the lowest number of newly listed properties since January 2023. It's a 13% drop from October, but fear not. This is just the usual holiday hibernation mode for homeowners. They're probably busy sipping hot chocolate and preparing their homes to be listed for sale in early 2024. To put things into perspective, we are still up almost 10% for new listings on the market from November of last year.
The total number of properties available for sale increased by 13.5% from November 2022, just 3.7% above the 10-year seasonal average. So we've got some options, people!
Now, onto the golden topic: prices. They've been on a flatter journey since the summer, with a slight decrease of a few percentage points. No discounts, mind you, prices just nudged slightly lower. The MLS Home Price Index benchmark price for all homes is $1,185,100, a 5% increase from last year and a gentle 1% dip from October 2023.
Economists are predicting a modest fall in mortgage rates for 2024, making our Vancouver housing market a winter wonderland for home buyers or in other words, market activity will get busier. It's the most favourable we've seen in some time for buyers, so if you've been waiting for a sign, consider this it!
And there you have it, Vancouver! As we wrap up 2023, our market is in balance, prices have edged slightly lower, and the housing market activity is projected to be busier once we get into 2024. If you have any questions or need guidance navigating this market, I'm just a message away. Until next time, stay warm and stay tuned for more real estate news. Bye for now!
