Summer real estate sales slump in the Tri-Cities, even as inventory shoots up

Summer real estate sales in the Tri-Cities are 27 percent lower than they were in 2023, despite the number of new listings being significantly higher, according to data from Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR).

In June and July, residential homes sales in the Tri-Cities totalled 606, falling from the 829 homes sold in the same timeframe last year. Meanwhile, the number of new Tri-Cities listings has risen by 12 percent, jumping from 1,337 in 2023 to 1,522 in 2024.

Andrew Lis, director of economics and data analytics for GVR, said it was unexpected for this summer’s sales to fall below historical norms, considering recent cuts to the Bank of Canada’s interest rates.

“The trend of buyers remaining hesitant, that began a few months ago, continued in the July data despite a fresh quarter percentage point cut to the Bank of Canada’s policy rate,” Lis said. “With the recent half percentage point decline in the policy rate over the past few months, and with so much inventory to choose from, it’s a bit surprising.”

Similar trends can be seen across Metro Vancouver. June’s sales across the region have fallen 19 percent, and July’s sales have fallen 5 percent, when compared to the months’ 2023 figures. Both months’ sales were 23.6 percent and 17.6 percent below the 10-year seasonal average, respectively.

Yet GRV’s inventory has risen to levels not seen since spring 2019. The number of properties currently listed for sale (14,326) is 39 percent higher than this time in 2023, and 21.5 percent above the 10-year seasonal average.

Metro Vancouver’s sales-to-active listing ratio for July was 16.9 per cent, according to GRV, noting prices tend to drop when the ratio stays below 12 percent for a sustained period.

Over the last three months, single-family homes in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam have seen small declines to benchmark prices. Meanwhile, prices for Coquitlam apartments have stagnated over the last year, while Port Coquitlam townhomes have dropped 2.9 percent.

Across Metro Vancouver, benchmark prices across all residential property types has dropped 0.8 percent when compared to July 2023’s prices.

Lis said softening prices and lower interest rates may heat up the market by the fall, noting these changes can take months before they lead to higher transaction levels.

“With the overall market experiencing balanced conditions, and with a healthy level of inventory not seen in quite a few years, price trends across all segments have leveled out with very modest declines occurring month over month,” Lis said. “It’s still early days, so we will watch the market for signs of transaction activity picking up in the months ahead.”

GVR’s total sales for the first eight months of 2024 have declined 6.8 percent in the Tri-Cities compared to 2023’s numbers.

Benchmark prices:

Coquitlam	Benchmark price	1 month change	3 month change	6 month change	1 year change
Single-family	$1,830,000	-0.7%	-1.0%	2.6%	1.1%
Townhomes	$1,091,900	0.7%	1.1%	5.9%	2.8%
Apartments	$746,900	0.1%	-1.1%	2.7%	0.0%

Port Coquitlam	Benchmark price	1 month change	3 month change	6 month change	1 year change
Single-family	$1,436,900	0.9%	-0.1%	5.3%	1.2%
Townhomes	$943,200	-0.8%	-2.3%	2.8%	-2.9%
Apartments	$645,300	-0.3%	0.7%	4.0%	1.9%

Port Moody	Benchmark price	1 month change	3 month change	6 month change	1 year change
Single-family	$2,151,900	-1.4%	0.1%	5.9%	4.5%
Townhomes	$1,061,300	1.2%	1.3%	5.7%	1.6%
Apartments	$762,000	0.2%	2.8%	7.4%	6.3%