Vancouver new home project openings down 75% from 2019
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began impacting the Canadian economy in March, new project launches have slowed as developers and builders reacted to restrictions on business operations and social distancing requirements. The lack of new project launches has impacted sales, especially in markets like Vancouver and Toronto where availability has been more constrained and much needed supply did not come to market.
According to the latest results from Altus Group’s Condominium Apartment Monitor, between the beginning of April and the middle of May, only two new condominium apartment projects launched in the Vancouver market, bringing just over 200 new units, down by almost 75% from the same period in 2019. Year-to-date new supply is down about 15%, with 3,000 new units brought to market since the beginning of the year — the majority of which launched prior to mid-March. Sales volumes typically follow the new supply and with the drop-off in project launches, sales were down during this period by just over 50%.
While new home sales and development activity was impacted by COVID-19, the province of B.C. is now into the third phase of reopening with many sectors of the economy – including real estate – opening back up under social distancing guidelines. It is anticipated that the number of new project launches will grow as restrictions are lifted and consumers become more active; we will continue to monitor new launches and sales volumes during the back half of the year.