Desire for certainty in an uncertain Covid world drives housing prices higher

March 2021 has given us an opportunity to compare real estate stats from the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in Vancouver to today.  Over a year into the pandemic, and it is clear that Vancouverites have a desire for permanency in their lives.  Many have sought this permanency by purchasing a home.

This desire to own your own home can be seen in the statistics from the West side of Vancouver.  Condos have had an incredible number of sales, while prices have only increased moderately.  Townhouses have seen a similarly large volume of sales, but prices have been pushing higher.  Houses have had a comparably smaller number of sales, but the sales that have happened have been at increasingly higher prices.  

There have been many first-time home buyers entering the market, with purchases in the condo, townhouse or duplex markets.  Many condo owners have been selling, having a desire for more space and fewer neighbours.  As condo owners upgrade, some have chosen to purchase a townhouse, duplex or house – while others have been making the dramatic lifestyle change of moving to BC’s Interior or the Island.  The markets in Victoria and the Okanagan have been booming this past year.  Many detached home owners have not wanted to make a move, and with fewer listings than there are buyers, there have been dramatic increases in prices for detached homes in Vancouver.  The increasing prices on detached houses have started to prompt some home owners to decide to cash in and either move outside of the city or downsize to a smaller townhouse or condo.

Let us go through some of the numbers for Vancouver West between March 2020 and March 2021.

The volume of condo sales has been through the roof – a 103% increase in one year.  However, pricing for condos has only increased moderately, by 1%.  

The statistics for detached homes have been the flip side of this.  Volume is up, but less than for condos, at a 38% increase.  Pricing for detached homes has had a significant increase – up 10%.  That is a dramatic increase for an average of all detached sales, when you consider pricing has not increased much for higher end houses.  Most of this increase has been caused by larger increases in houses priced under $4 million.

Townhouses have seen a dramatic increase in volume, with an 80% increase from March 2020 to March of this year.  The average townhouse sale price has increased 5% during this time.

The desire for permanency and security, in the midst of uncertain times has driven the real estate market over the last year.  As we are hopefully in the final months of Covid-19 restrictions and perhaps will feel a level of normalcy by later this year, I suspect that Covid-19 will have a lasting impact on all of us.  I think that this desire for home ownership and stability in life will persist for years to come.