Vancouver’s Housing Market During Covid and How It Fares Against Other Major Cities in Canada

Back in March of 2020 when COVID-19 just began, Canada’s estate market experienced a major drop in the home sale rate. Uncertainty loomed as real estate related activities slowed to a crawl, and the road to recovery seemed long and unclear.  During the late spring, however, as the overall economy slowly recovering, the real estate market was also seeing a greatly improved condition.  Especially the home sales in Metro Vancouver, which have experienced a phenomenal gain in 2020 overall.

CREA’s record showed that the total Canadian home sale in 2020 was 551,262, an 12.6% increase from the 2019 total home sale. The shifting housing preference and the low-interest rate are the two main factors of the current activity shown in the 2020 Canadian housing market. According to the CREA record, among all the regions, Vancouver and Toronto are two areas that have a more active and expensive market.

In 2020 there is a total of 30,944 homes sold in the REBGV region, which is 22% more than the number of total homes sold in 2019. The 2020 total home listing in the REBGV region also reached 54,305 units which are 4.6% more than the 51,918 home listed in 2019.

The housing market continues to thrive especially In December, when the total home sale in Canada was 47.2% more than the 2019 December home sale. In Toronto, the number of homes sold in December 2020 was 65% more than the number of homes sold in December 2019.  Vancouver’s December 2020 home resales increased by 53% from the December 2019 resale.  Other regions in Canada experienced a more modest increase.

During the fourth quarter of 2020, the Greater Toronto Area’s aggregate price of a home increased by 10.4% compared to the same time in 2019. Standard two-storey homes and bungalows’ median price experienced a higher increase of 11.9% year over year and 12.8 percent year over year.  Condominiums’ median price increased by 3.6 percent year over year.

Different housing types’ median prices in the Greater Montreal area also increased during the fourth quarter of 2020, leading to a 12.4% year over year increase in the aggregate price of a home. There is a 13.6% increase in the median price of a two-storey home and a 15.3% increase in the median price of a bungalow. Condominiums’ median price showed a mild increase of 8.1% year over year.

Ottawa’s aggregate price of a home has increased by 14.9% year over year during the fourth quarter of 2020. All three housing types showed a close amount of price growth. The two-storey home’s median price increased by 14.8%, and the bungalow’s median price increased by 15.9%, and the median price of a condominium increased by 13.8%.

The 0.5% decrease in the median price of a two-story home and the 3.7% decrease in the median price of a condominium caused Calgary’s aggregate price of a home to decrease by 0.5% year over year during the fourth quarter of 2020. However, the median price of a bungalow increased by 0.5%.

The housing activities in February 2021 suggest that the housing market throughout Canada is still growing, especially in Metro Vancouver. The home sales in the REBGV region have reached 2,727 which is a 73% increase from the home sale recorded in February 2020. There is also a 26.5% increase in the number of newly listed homes in February 2021 than February 2020.

It is evident that a year since the pandemic the housing demands in the region is still growing.  In a seller market like this, the supply-side will be crucial to meeting the increased housing needs.