The foreign buyer ban has not affected Vancouver luxury home prices, yet folks still seem to be waiting for a significant price drop before considering a purchase.
That was one revelation in the 2024 Royal LePage Carriage Trade Luxury Market Report, which states that the foreign buyer ban has not had a “material impact” on luxury home prices or inventory in Vancouver.
The median price of luxury properties in Vancouver has decreased 1.8% from last year to $6,975,000, and sales activity has gone down 38.8% for the first eight months of the year. That 38.8% drop in sales is the most significant drop any of the cities in the report saw.
However, that is expected to change.
Jesse Dean Cook, a sales representative with Royal LePage, expects “moderate activity levels through the fall, despite the likelihood of additional interest rate cuts.”
Despite lower sales activity and a decrease in the median price of a luxury home from $7,100,000 to $6,975,000, Vancouver still has Canada’s most expensive luxury real estate market.
Vancouver also has the highest entry-level luxury property price at $5,500,000.
Royal LePage
“In Vancouver’s luxury segment, it seems everyone is trying to time the bottom of the market. As such, we’ve seen a slowdown in activity of late. After all, buyers love to buy when others are buying,” said Cook.
“Some buyers are expecting prices to drop and are holding out for a deal. But, given the current shortage of luxury housing inventory, price discounts are not materializing.”
We’ve seen similar trends in some of our own reporting on the luxury market in Vancouver. Many homes that folks would consider mansions are not selling despite major price drops. Perhaps those prices just haven’t dropped enough.
Some homes are even selling for much less than they did previously, representing a major loss for some investors.
“A pullback in Vancouver’s luxury market began about eight years ago, and activity levels have never fully rebounded,” Cook added.