Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver: January 2021 Statistics Update

At Oakwyn we’re always wanting to present the facts in an engaging way. Every month, one of our agents will unpick current market statistics from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver to help you understand what’s going on in the real estate market and what you should be looking out for.

For January 2021 statistics report, we have Oakwyn agent,  Ashley Smith here for her market update.

January 2021 statistics speak to the trend we’ve been seeing over the last several months in terms of high demand and low supply.

January 2021 has been another record-breaking month with home sales in the greater Vancouver region up 36% from the 10-year average. Year over year we’re seeing big differences when it comes to the number of home sales. For example, in the greater Vancouver region, detached home sales are up 69% year over year for January, which is an unprecedented jump. Townhomes are up 43% and condominiums are up 47% in terms of the number of sales.

Home prices are generally up as well. The benchmark home price for a detached home in the greater Vancouver region is almost 1.6 million dollars. This is an 11% increase year over year from January 2020 and a 1.4% increase from December across the region. This is definitely where we’re seeing the most increase in value.

The benchmark price for townhomes in our region is $815,000. This is about a 4.3% increase year over year with slight increase month over month. The benchmark price for condos in our region is $680,000 and that’s 2.2% from last year.

January 2021 statistics show us that when we’re talking about real estate there are two sides to the story. Not only demand but also supply and supply has just been low for a while.

When looking at January 2021, supply was actually down from January 2020 and from December 2020. We’re starting to hear about prospective home sellers, would-be buyers, being nervous about selling and looking at buying first before they list their property. This is contributing to the housing shortage we have.

One of the other important statistics to keep in mind is the sales to listing ratio. This ratio helps outline whether or not we’re in a seller’s market, a buyer’s market, or a balanced market, and it has to do with the number of sales per month related to the supply.

Once home sale activity is at 12% or less for a given period of time, that’s when we start seeing a buyer’s market and perhaps downward pressure on price. If home sales exceed 20% of the supply, we’re going to start seeing upward pressure on prices and more of a seller’s market.

Generally speaking, for most neighbourhoods and most housing segments, we are definitely in seller’s market territory.

January 2021 statistics show us it’s an interesting real estate market right now but for a home buyer, it can be really frustrating. So it’s really important to know the market, get advice, and get someone helping you early on

Work with your Oakwyn agent, work with your trusted real estate advisor, and come up with a plan that makes sense for you in 2021 if you’re thinking about making a move.

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