The other side of today's market: supply shift?

In my recent [column in the Mountain News], I referred to some preliminary information from May about sales volume.  Up to May 24, 2017 was higher in sales than in 2016, suggesting that the local market was weathering the recent provincial housing policies shifts without losing any steam.

Demand is, of course, only one side of the market, as I have been saying for a while. Local listing inventory has been shrinking for years now, and it was adding to the market frenzy with fewer and fewer properties available for an increasing number of interested buyers.  At the end of April, we saw a small surge of listings so that we had more new supply than demand for the first time in a while.

Now, [CBC has just reported] that new listings in May 2017 outpace any month in 2016.  It has been surmised that some sellers are accelerating their plans and listing sooner, out of concern for deflation in the market. But with the still-increasing demand suggested by sales volume, I don't think there is any reason for local sellers to fear any significant market loss.  And as a professional dealing with the diminishing supply of properties, I'll be happy to have a little relief for buyer clients, if that is in the cards.

As CBC says in their article, the official numbers won't be out for a few days, and I'll be watching for them to see just what is happening with our listing inventory.  Will it still outpace demand or is it just more wood on the already hot fire?