UDI State of the Market Q1-2024
compared to the same quarter last year. Year-over-year,
the total number of housing starts has remained relatively
constant, experiencing a mere 0.2 percent increase, despite
the significant increase in population growth occurring in the
in the region over the past year.
Housing prices are more likely to fall in the event where
new housing supply exceeds current demand levels. Note
that most new housing starts have already been sold in
the pre-sale market and do not necessarily represent the
number of new units coming to market that will be available
for purchase.
The 2nd graph below shows the ratio of Metro Vancouver’s
population growth to housing starts. The Q1-2024 ratio of 4.2
was 6.4 percent above the quarterly five-year average. Out of
the 9,708 units released in actively selling pre-sale projects
that had not begun construction by the end of the quarter,
58 percent (5,621 units) have already been sold. This total
sold will continue to increase before construction of these
units completes. Further, the population tables above do
not factor in demand for housing from temporary residents
in Metro Vancouver each year (i.e. International Students &
Temporary Foreign Workers).
Welcome to the latest edition of
Urban Development Institute’s
State of the Market Q1 2024
quarterly publication.
The Q1-2024 “State of the Market” report provides current
quarterly statistics and trends on the new home and re-sale
housing markets as well as a composite of relevant economic
statistics that impact the housing market. The report also
includes statistics on the newer purpose-built rental market
in Metro Vancouver, and the UDI/Zonda Urban Housing
Affordability Index derived from Zonda Urban’s NHSLive
database and BC Housing’s new home registry statistics.
The graph below shows the trend of Metro Vancouver’s
housing starts (one start = one unit) and population change
over the past five years. This quarter, Metro Vancouver’s
total population aged 15 and older increased by 26,200
residents, a 1.1 percent increase from the previous quarter.
Total housing starts (6,268 units in Q1-2024) were up by
682 units when compared to the five-year average of first
quarters but decreased by 402 units (six percent) when
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