MARKET QUICK LINKS: Toronto | Calgary | Edmonton | Vancouver | Fraser Valley | Ottawa
Business professionals of every discipline, in every country around the world, are following a new set of guidelines and best practices. Altering your business to meet these changes and challenges will help you thrive in this New Normal.
COVID-19 has certainly impacted sales, average price and months of inventory in markets across Canada. However, my data below may give you hope that things are not as bad as they seem.
What is true across every market in Canada is this: people were still buying and selling real estate. Across the country, thousands of transactions took place which required the expertise of a real estate professional. Continue to give value, continue to show support and you will continue to find work.
Remember, it’s a beautiful life, make it count.
Rich
TORONTO, ON
Not even Canada’s strongest market is immune to the impact of COVID-19. Month-over-month, the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board is reporting drops in every major category. Sales are down nearly 63% with a total of 2975 in April, months of inventory rose 166%, now sitting at 3.5 and the average price dropped 9% to $821,000.
Clearly, April 2020 compared to March 2020 is like looking at two different worlds. However, when looking at year-over-year data, the numbers aren’t so striking. While sales are off just over 67% when compared to April 2019, average price is actually 0.2% higher in April 2020.
Were the effects felt across the GTA? In my TRREB Market Update video I conduct a detailed comparison of month-over-month and year-over-year data in both the 416 and 905 markets. How has the impact of COVID affected detached sales versus condominiums? Watch my video now to find out.
Click here to download Toronto’s April 2020 market slides.
CALGARY, AB
The Calgary Real Estate Board is following the common trend of having a dramatically different April 2020 compared to months past. Month-over-month, April sales dropped -51.3% to a total of 573. Months of inventory rose 97.7% to 9.7 and average price dropped -5.7%, now sitting at $423,000.
After months of dealing with a balanced market, with 9.7 months of inventory, CREB has officially entered a buyer’s market.
Year-over-year, sales are down a dramatic -63% and average price is also down -8.2%.
Since 2011, how many times has Calgary’s months of inventory been above 5 in April? The answer may surprise you and you can find it in my CREB Market Update video here.
Click here to download Calgary’s April 2020 market slides.
EDMONTON, AB
The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton is reporting modest numbers for the First Quarter of 2020. Month-over-month sales are headed in the right direction, gaining 10.3% in March from February. As expected, the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton is reporting down numbers for the month of April. However, not everything is as bad as first thought.
Month-over-month, April sales of 750 are down -35.7% compared to March, months of inventory is up 55.3%, however, the average price of an Edmonton property has increased 2.8% to $354,000.
Year-over-year, sales are down -55.5% and average price has also dropped by -3.2%.
In the last decade, which year gave Edmonton it’s best April in regards to sales? Check out my EREB Market Update video here to see an in depth look at Edmonton sales, active listings and months of inventory over the last decade.
Click here to download Edmonton’s April 2020 market slides.
VANCOUVER, BC
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver was having a tremendous start to 2020. January to March, REBGV was reporting higher sales, lower months of inventory and increasing benchmark price. April 2020 has since erased those gains.
Last month, REBGV reported 1109 sales in April, down 56% month-over-month. Months of inventory rose 122.5% to 8.5, however, benchmark price increased slightly by 0.2%, now sitting at $1,036,000 million.
Year-over-year, sales are down 39.4% when compared to April 2019, but benchmark price is up 2.7%.
How does April 2020 compare to the last decade? In my REBGV Market Update video below, I take a look at the last 10 years of April data. Are sales, active listings and months of inventory that far off the normal? Take a look at my video now to find out.
Click here to download Vancouver’s April 2020 market slides.
FRASER VALLEY, BC
There’s no surprise that the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board mimicked Vancouver in terms of output in the month of April. Month-over-month, sales dropped -52.3% with 688 total sales. Months of inventory more than doubled and increased 106.5%, now sitting at 8.7 from 4.2 in March. Average price dropped slightly by -1.7% and now sits at $762,000.
Year-over-year shows some good and bad news. Sales are down by -50.3%, however average price is up 8.7% when compared to April, 2019.
Can you guess the last time April had more than 6 months of inventory in Fraser Valley? Take a look at my FVREB Market Update video to find out. I also break down sales and active listings over the last 10 years and give some advice on how to thrive in these changing times.
Click here to download Fraser Valley’s April 2020 market slides.
OTTAWA, ON
One of Canada’s strongest markets, the Ottawa Real Estate Board, has also felt the impact of COVID-19. Month-over-month, sales have declined 40.1% with 913 total sales in April. Months of inventory increase 62.7% but is still at an impressive 2.1. Month-over-month average price has dropped -7.6% and currently sits at $476,000.
Year-over-year, OREB is reporting a 55.1% decrease in sales when compared to April 2019. However, year-over-year average price has increased 6%.
My advice for real estate professionals during this pandemic: Stop waiting. The effort you put in today will help generate the leads you want when quarantine is lifted. Make your calls, provide insight where you can and continue to provide value to your clients during these chaotic times.
There is no doubt a pent up demand of buyers and sellers are waiting for recovery to commence. How much of an increase remains to be seen. As we begin to reopen our country, stay tuned for more in depth analysis on Ottawa’s real estate market in the coming months.
Use my OREB downloadable slide deck (link below) to provide information and insight to your database.