Greater Vancouver condo prices rose at a historic rate after the pandemic, similar to the rise in detached home prices and for similar reasons. Prices peaked in May 2022 and declined for the rest of the year, but are now experiencing a bounce upwards. Will this be a sustained market recovery or will “condo prices dropping” be the headline again later this year?
Condo purchases have been fairly slow in 2023. The total number of units purchased is quite a bit lower than during the past 3 years (except for Spring 2020, when Covid began).
The BC Government is exerting a great deal of pressure on municipalities to increase density, moving people from detached homes to condos or townhouses. Coupled with the increasing number of people working from home, developers are likely to begin marketing larger two or three bedroom apartments to meet buyer preferences. As a result, you may see small floor plan condo prices dropping as these new, larger units come to market.
Metro Vancouver New Construction Home Prices
Prices of newly constructed homes have been falling. Some buyers who purchased pre-sales in 2022 may find that subsequent buyers paid less, making it difficult for them to assign (flip) their units and turn a profit (or even break even). The deteriorating economic conditions mean that new house prices will continue to fall in 2023. This softening demand has caused developers to slow housing starts in 2023, compared to the frenetic pace of 2022.
