Vancouver home sales down 2.5% in April but detached market trending upward: board

Cherry blossom trees line a residential street in Vancouver, on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VANCOUVER — Vancouver-area home sales and prices moved lower in April compared with last year, as the city’s real estate board says the market is diverging between property types.

There were 2,110 sales of residential properties in the region in April, down 2.5 per cent from the same month last year and 22.9 per cent lower than the 10-year seasonal average.

Despite lower activity overall, the detached segment has been picking up steam this spring, which could signal more sales to come across other property types, said Andrew Lis, Greater Vancouver Realtors’ chief economist and vice-president of data analytics.

A total of 659 detached homes changed hands last month, up 14 per cent year-over-year. Meanwhile, there were 1,009 condo sales, down 10.7 per cent, and 433 attached home sales, which was two per cent lower than the same month last year.

“Sales of detached homes have been gaining year-over-year, while sales in the multi-family segment have declined, and this pattern is consistent across most areas,” said Lis in a news release.

“While it’s not always the case, there have been periods where the detached segment has acted as a bellwether of market sentiment, and it’s a question whether this time around this might be the case.”

Lis added it “may only be a matter of time” until the rest of the market sees a similar turnaround, which could cut into inventory levels unless a surge of sellers come to market.

In April, there were 6,684 new listings on the market, down 2.4 per cent year-over-year but 15.5 per cent above the 10-year average. Total inventory ticked up 0.2 per cent annually to 16,236, which was 37.9 per cent above the long-term average.

Greater Vancouver Realtors said the composite benchmark price for all types of residential properties in Vancouver was $1,098,000, a 6.9 per cent decrease from April 2025 and 0.6 per cent lower than March 2026.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2026.

Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press