Buyer’s Market or Seller’s Market? Judge It With Three Numbers

“Is it a buyer’s market or a seller’s market right now?” is the question I hear most — and the answer never lives in a headline. It lives in three numbers. Here is how to judge the state of any segment of the Metro Vancouver market yourself, whether you are buying or selling.

Number 1: the sales-to-active listings ratio

This is the ratio the Greater Vancouver Realtors association (GVR) watches most: homes sold in a month divided by homes listed for sale. The long-standing rule-of-thumb bands:

• Below 12% — a buyer’s market: plenty of supply, downward pressure on prices;
• 12% to 20% — a balanced market: supply and demand roughly matched, prices flat;
• Above 20% — a seller’s market: buyers compete, upward pressure on prices.

The critical detail: the ratio only means something by property type and by neighbourhood. City-wide condos can sit in a deep buyer’s market while West Side detached homes behave completely differently — the blended average will mislead you in both directions.

Number 2: months of inventory

At the current pace of sales, how many months would it take to sell everything listed? It is the same story told another way: about 6 months is balance; under 4 leans to sellers; beyond 7–8 is firmly buyer territory. Before you price a home or write an offer, work out the months of inventory for your exact segment — it anchors every negotiation.

Number 3: sale-to-list price and days on market

• Homes routinely closing below asking with lengthening days on market (DOM) — buyer’s market behaviour;
• Over-asking results, multiple offers and sales inside a week — seller’s market behaviour;
• Watch the share of listings taking price reductions: the more sellers are chasing the market down, the weaker their hand.

Why the West Side so often disagrees with the city

West Side detached supply is structurally scarce — the land simply exists in fixed quantity — and its buyers are mostly end users trading up or down, who are less rate-sensitive than the investor money that drives condo towers. So Shaughnessy or Point Grey’s best homes can draw multiple offers while city-wide headlines call the market cold — and the reverse can be true in condo-dense pockets during hot markets. Always decide at the level of your property type on your street, never on a city average.

How to use it

• Buyers: in a buyer’s market, test prices and keep your inspection and financing subjects; in a seller’s market, win with preparation — pre-approval and proof of funds in hand.
• Sellers: in a buyer’s market, price it right the first time (chasing a falling market is the most expensive mistake in real estate) and make presentation flawless; in a seller’s market, set a clean offer date and let competition work. See our selling guide for the full playbook.

I’m Jack Zhu, a RE/MAX Select Properties realtor focused on Vancouver’s West Side. Call 604-889-1640 and I’ll send you this month’s ratios and inventory for your neighbourhood and property type — the numbers, not the headlines.