A detached home in New Westminster costs more than twice as much as it did 10 years ago and nearly four times what it did in 2005 — and household incomes haven't kept pace.
The June 2023 monthly report from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver shows New Westminster house prices continuing to climb, while Statistics Canada census data shows incomes haven't kept up with that growth.
The benchmark single-detached home price in June was $1,570,600, up 2.9 per cent from the previous month, up 1.5 per cent from a year ago, and up a whopping 39.9 per cent from just three years ago.
June's benchmark price represents a 127.3 per cent increase over 10 years ago, when the benchmark price for a detached home was about $691,000. And, since the REBGV set its benchmark index in January 2005, it's worth 3.9 times more — meaning the benchmark home that month would have cost $403,857.
Statistics Canada census data shows incomes in New Westminster haven't increased accordingly.
In 2005, the benchmark detached home was already expensive relative to income, with the benchmark price about 8.3 times higher than the median household income in New West that year ($48,773).
But that's considerably better than the current ratio, when the benchmark house price is now more than 19 times higher than the median household income ($82,000 a year, as per the 2021 census).
Other benchmark real estate prices in New Westminster in June 2023
- Apartments: June benchmark — $653,400: up 1.0 per cent since last month, 0.3 per cent from one year ago and 27.7 per cent from three years ago. The benchmark represents a 136.8 per cent increase over 10 years ago, and it's just shy of four times (3.987) what the benchmark apartment was worth in January 2005.
- Townhouses: June benchmark —$945,100: up 0.1 per cent since last month, down 1.7 per cent from a year ago and up 38.1 per cent from three years ago. The benchmark represents a 134.2 per cent increase over 10 years ago, and it's just shy of four times (3.974) what the benchmark townhouse was worth in January 2005.
- Residential composite (all housing types): June benchmark — $840,200: up 1.5 per cent from last month, 0.3 per cent from a year ago and 34.3 per cent from three years ago. The benchmark represents a 117.8 per cent increase over 10 years ago, and it's 3.8 times what the benchmark price was in January 2005.
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