Months of Inventory (MOI)* remained in double digits for detached homes for another month in May. MOI for detached Westside homes has been in double digits for 16 of the last 17 months. Apartments MOI rose in May in large part due to increased active listing volumes. Attached homes were the only home type that saw a reduction in MOI in May.
As the Active Listings chart shows, apartment listings continue to surge in volume. This increased volume of listings has started to send apartment prices downward.
Sales Volumes are at the low end of their typical ranges for all home types.
For a while it seemed like apartments might remain unscathed by the current price downturn in Vancouver's Westside real estate market. Downward trending median sale prices per square foot suggest otherwise.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver's HPI index shows steady price declines. Based on current average sale prices we are back where pirces were in 2015 while the HPI Price suggests we are back at 2016 prices. New listings each month continue to outstrip listing expiries and sales so we can expect market conditions to favour declining prices.
By Sam Wyatt - Vancouver Realtor.
*Months of Inventory (MOI) is a measure derived from the number of active listings during a given month divided by the number of sales that month. It indicates the theoretical length of time it would take to sell all of the properties on the market if nothing changed. Historically, 0-5 months of inventory has generally implied upward price pressure ("Seller's Market"), 5-8 months of inventory has indicated a flat market with respect to pricing ("Balanced Market") and over 8 months of inventory has, for the most part, precipitated downward price pressure ("Buyer's Market").
