The rennie review is produced each month by rennie intelligence, which includes the latest real estate data for Vancouver Region's housing market.Everything in the Vancouver Region’s resale market is increasingThe typical seasonal pattern of change in the Vancouver Region’s housing market in February is one of increasing activity. But even with buyers and sellers, much like Punxsutawney Phil, tending to emerge from their winter slumber around this time of year, February’s MLS activity was amplified beyond what’s typical.

For starters, sales in February surpassed the 5,000 threshold for the first time since last November. And while the 5,199 sales last month were less than the torrid pace of February 2021 (by 19%), they were still 29% higher than the past 10-year average for February. In fact, sales were elevated for all home types compared with the long-run February average, led by condo sales that were 58% higher (notably, they were also just 2% below February 2021’s count).

Meanwhile, the narrative around inventory in the Vancouver Region is similar to the plot of the movie Groundhog Day, with February’s total listing count once again registering at a historically-low level. Specifically, the total number of homes for sale at the end of February, while up from January, was just 9,805—17% below last February’s count, 37% below the long-run average, and the lowest February level ever recorded in the Vancouver Region (going back to 1989). Despite this ongoing troubling trend, the most recent month-over-month expansion in inventory, at 33%, far exceeded the typical January-to-February increase of 7%. This is good news insofar as market balance is concerned.

The additional importance of this second straight month of expanding inventory is underscored by the fact that 19% of all listings in the Vancouver Region have been on the market for more than 60 days. About half of these listings are specifically detached homes in the Greater Vancouver board area, including houses that need significant investment to be considered habitable and those that are more suitable for redevelopment.

With a large proportion of an already-limited pool of listings having been on the market for more than 2 months—leaving buyers to compete for what's left—it should hardly surprise that prices continue to rise. On this front, benchmark prices in both the Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley board areas were up by more than 4% in the last month alone (equivalent to a compound rate of 60% annually—a wholly unsustainable rate of change). The benchmark price of a detached home in the Greater Vancouver area (where 1 in 3 listings is more than 60 days old) is now more than $2 million, while townhomes are over $1 million.

Based on recent trends and the fact that March is typically one of the busiest months of the year for both new listings and sales, we should operate under the assumption that Phil has seen his shadow and these patterns of increased activity will continue in the near-term.Our rennie intelligence team comprises our in-house demographer, senior economist, and market analysts. Together, they empower individuals, organizations, and institutions with data-driven market insight and analysis. Experts in urban land economics, community planning, shifting demographics, and real estate trends, their strategic research supports a comprehensive advisory service offering and forms the basis of frequent reports and public presentations. Their thoughtful and objective approach truly embodies the core values of rennie.