Reading Real Estate Market Statistics: Benchmark Prices, Ratios and Days on Market

Every month, the local real estate boards publish figures that can tell you a lot about the market, or mislead you if you read them the wrong way. Here is what the benchmark price, averages and medians, the sales-to-active listings ratio, days on market and months of inventory actually measure, and how to use them when you buy or sell.

The short version

Who publishes the numbers

For the areas I serve, the monthly figures mostly come from two real estate boards, each reporting on its own area. Both publish a news release with detailed tables early in the following month.

• Greater Vancouver REALTORS®. Covers Bowen Island, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Richmond, South Delta, Squamish, the Sunshine Coast, Vancouver, West Vancouver and Whistler.
• The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. Covers Surrey, Langley, Abbotsford, Mission, White Rock and North Delta.

So Delta is split between the two boards, and Chilliwack has its own board, the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board. The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) publishes national figures as well.

The benchmark price and the MLS® Home Price Index

Both boards report prices mainly through the MLS® Home Price Index (HPI). CREA explains that it is based on the value buyers assign to a home's features, and that it defines a typical home from the features of homes that have been bought and sold. In the tables, you will see:

• The benchmark price. Greater Vancouver REALTORS® describes it as the estimated sale price of a benchmark property, representing a typical property within each market. Each area and property type has its own, and a composite benchmark covers all residential properties together.
• The index. Index numbers estimate the percentage change in price of typical, constant-quality properties over time. Greater Vancouver REALTORS® sets its indexes to 100 in January 2005, so an example index of 250 would mean the benchmark is two and a half times its January 2005 level.
• The changes. The tables show how the index has moved over periods from one month to several years.

Because the benchmark follows a typical home with the same features from month to month, it shows the direction of prices more reliably than averages do. It is still based on past sales, though, and your home is not the benchmark: it may be larger, newer, on a busier street or on a bigger lot.

Averages and medians

The boards' tables also include averages and medians. The Fraser Valley board's summary tables show average and median prices, and Greater Vancouver REALTORS® reports median selling prices by area, though not for areas with fewer than 20 sales. An average is the total value of sales divided by the number of sales; a median is the middle sale.

CREA notes that average or median prices can change a lot from one month to the next, and cautions that the average doesn't indicate actual prices in centres made up of widely different neighbourhoods. Here is why, with example figures:

• One month. Ten condos sell for $600,000 each and five houses for $1,800,000 each. The average is $1,000,000.
• The next month. Prices are the same, but ten condos and ten houses sell. The average is $1,200,000, 20% higher, though no home's value has changed.

A jump in the average often says more about which homes sold than about prices.

The sales-to-active listings ratio

This ratio divides the month's sales by the number of homes listed for sale. If 300 homes sold in a month with 2,000 listed, the ratio would be 15% (example figures). The boards use it to gauge who has the upper hand:

• The Fraser Valley board. It says a balanced market is typically defined by a ratio between 12% and 20%, and its chart, citing the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA), uses the same range for the Lower Mainland, with lower ratios marked as a buyer's market and higher ones as a seller's market.
• Greater Vancouver REALTORS®. It says its analysis of historical data suggests downward pressure on prices when the ratio dips below 12% for a sustained period, and often upward pressure when it surpasses 20% over several months.

Read the fine print on what a ratio covers. The Fraser Valley board's chart, for example, includes all residential and commercial property types. And one month on its own can be noisy, which is why Greater Vancouver REALTORS® speaks of a sustained period. Ask your REALTOR® for the ratio for your property type and area over the last few months.

Days on market and months of inventory

• Days to sell. The Fraser Valley board reports the average number of days to sell each month for detached homes, townhomes and condos. An average can be pulled up by a few homes that sat for months, so watch the direction over time, and ask your REALTOR® how long homes like yours took to sell.
• Months of inventory. The number of homes for sale divided by the month's sales: roughly how many months it would take to sell every listing at the current pace. It is the ratio turned upside down, so a 15% ratio is about 6.7 months, and the 12% and 20% marks work out to about 8.3 and 5 months.
• The national yardstick. CREA uses months of inventory for its national figures. In its September 2026 release, it put the long-term average at five months, with a seller's market below 3.6 months and a buyer's market above 6.4 months, based on one standard deviation from that average.

Those national lines don't match the local ratio thresholds, so compare each figure with the yardstick its own publisher uses.

Year-over-year and seasonal comparisons

Home sales follow the seasons, so comparing a month with the one before can mislead. The boards give you better comparisons:

• The same month last year. Both boards compare each month with the same month a year earlier.
• The 10-year seasonal average. Both also compare activity with the 10-year average for that time of year, which shows whether a month is busy or quiet for the season.
• Month over month. Useful for spotting a turn, as long as you allow for the season.

Why your area's numbers may differ

• Board boundaries. Greater Vancouver REALTORS® totals include Squamish, Whistler and the Sunshine Coast but not Surrey, Langley or White Rock, which report through the Fraser Valley board. The Fraser Valley board's tables also include a Lower Mainland figure that combines both boards' areas.
• Property type. A composite figure can hide different trends for detached homes, townhouses and condos in the same city.
• Small samples. In a small community, a handful of sales can swing an average or median, which is why Greater Vancouver REALTORS® leaves out medians for areas with fewer than 20 sales.
• Your home. For a price on your own home, a comparative market analysis of recent sales of similar homes nearby says more than any area figure.

Questions buyers and sellers often ask me

What is a benchmark price?

It is the estimated sale price of a typical home for an area and property type, from the MLS® Home Price Index. It follows the same kind of home over time, so it shows price trends, but it isn't the price of any actual home.

How can I tell if it's a buyer's or a seller's market?

Look at the sales-to-active listings ratio for your area and property type over several months. The Fraser Valley board calls 12% to 20% balanced, and Greater Vancouver REALTORS® links sustained readings below 12% with downward pressure on prices and readings above 20% over several months with upward pressure.

Why is the average price different from the benchmark price?

The average depends on which homes sold that month, so more sales of larger or pricier homes push it up even if values haven't changed. The benchmark follows a typical home with the same features over time.

Why don't the Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley figures match?

They cover different areas. Greater Vancouver REALTORS® covers South Delta, for example, while Surrey, Langley, White Rock and North Delta report through the Fraser Valley board.

Can I price my home from the benchmark price?

Not on its own. Your home's size, condition, lot and location set it apart from the benchmark, so a comparative market analysis of recent sales of similar homes is a better guide.

Want the figures for your neighbourhood? See recent sales and trends by area, or read How Your List Price Is Set, Multiple Offers in Metro Vancouver and Price Reductions.

This article is general information, not financial advice. The definitions come from Greater Vancouver REALTORS®, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board and the Canadian Real Estate Association and were current at the time of writing; the figures in it are examples, not market data. For CREA's explanation of the index, see the MLS® Home Price Index.