[Source: Financial Post, April 4, 2017]

Realtors in Canada’s most expensive city for housing predict prices will continue to rise amid a shortage of listings they maintain is stifling the market.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver said Tuesday that demand picked up in the condo and townhome segment of the market, something the group maintains coincides with a shortage of supply.

“Home prices will likely continue to increase until we see more housing supply coming on to the market,” said Jill Oudil, president of the board, in a statement.

The MLS Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver was $919,300 in March, a 1.4 increase from February but still a 0.8 decrease over the past six months.
Residential property sales in the region reached 3,579 in March 2017, a decrease of 30.8 per cent from the 5,173 sales a year earlier, a record breaking month. March, 2017 sales climbed 47.6 per cent compared to a month earlier and were 7.9 per cent above the 10-year sales average for the month.

“While demand in March was below the record high of last year, we saw demand increase month-to-month for condos and townhomes,” said Oudil. “Sellers still seem reluctant to put their homes on the market, making for stiff competition among home buyers.”

New listings for all properties in Metro Vancouver totalled 4,762 in March 2017, a 24.1 per cent decrease compared to the 6,278 units listed a year earlier. March new listings climbed 29.9 per cent from February but even with the increase it was the worst March for new product since 2009.

The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the MLS system in Metro Vancouver was 7,586, a 3.1 per cent increase compared to a year earlier and a 0.1 per cent decrease from February, 2017.