Market Update

June 2011

Well, I was hoping we would be Stanley Cup champions by the time I sat down to write this month's newsletter, but I will certainly settle for the fact that we are still in the running! In fact, I think the Canucks playoff run added some much needed positivity to the city considering the awful run of weather we had through April and May. Let's hope the beautiful sunshine we've had to start June sticks around for awhile.

Now, on to the real estate market.... As discussed last month, the trend of decreasing sales volume continued through May with declines from 5% to 40%. It does appear that the early start to this year's Spring market has resulted in an early start to the Summer slowdown as well, which we now appear to be fully entrenched in. That said, the decreasing sales volume appears to be the only trend that is consistent across all market, so this month let's take a look at the individual markets a little more closely.

The Vancouver West detached market finally showed some signs of slowing of its torrid run to start the year. Sales dropped 17.1% while prices fell 8.7%, with active inventory remaining flat. The absorption rate remains high and the market here is still strong, but I expect to see further declines in this market moving forward. In the Vancouver West attached market, sales volume dropped a more dramatic 36.7% with prices slipping 9% and inventory climbing 6.7%. The declining sales here is not entirely unpredictable given the seasonality of the market, though the degree of the decline is more than expected. I suspect we may see a mild rebound in June and July.

The detached Vancouver East market showed the most resiliency this past month with sales slipping a mere 4.8% and prices down just 1.8%. Inventory actually dropped here as well, down 4.3%. Given the current disparity in prices between East and West, I believe this market will remain strong throughout the year. The Vancouver East attached market shows more similarity to its West side counterpart, with sales down 31%. This market, however, also shows inventory dropping 7.7% and prices that have actually climbed 2.4%. I would venture to guess that we will see these prices follow the downward trend next month.

Downtown, we saw a price rebound of 4.7% this month, after a significant drop last month, in spite of sales being down over 34%. Listing inventory remained flat, with less than a 1% change, so look for this market to remain stable over the Summer.

Taking a look at North Vancouver now, we see trends similar to the East side. The detached market showed modest declines in sales (10.7%) and prices (3.6%), but also displaying a dip in inventory of 4.1%. The attached market here took the hardest hit volume wise, with a 41.6% drop in sales and 7.6% increase in listing activity, but also saw prices climb 8.7% to an average $526,753. As with the East side market, look for those prices to slip downwards over the summer as well.

Much of the activity in the market right now can be attributed to seasonal factors, as the trends do follow in line with what we would expect historically. The exact timing this year has been moved up 4-6 weeks, but the general movement and scale of things falls within the expected range. Overall, homes that are priced well are still selling quickly and Buyers are seeing a little more selection than the beginning of the year presented. Enjoy the start of the Summer and let me know if you have any questions!

Rob

Market Update

April 2011

Spring is here! Or maybe it's not... Depends on the day, but when the sun it out, it sure feels like it is close! Hopefully you are dusting off the patio furniture and planning some long weekend getaways as the calendar hits April.

March was an interesting month in the Vancouver market, as we saw changes in mortgage rules mid-month that reduced the maximum mortgage amortization period from 35 years to 30 years and requires investors to put a minimum of 20% down on purchases. These changes created a big push early in the month to get deals done before the new rules took effect and caused things to slow down towards the end of March. It will be interesting to see if things pick right back up in April, as it is typically a busy buying season, or market activity remains relatively flat.

Compared to February, March continued to show increases in new listings and sales activity across the board. Sale prices also creeped upwards in most areas, with the exception of the inflated Vancouver Westside detached market and the slightly cooling North Van detached market. I suspect both areas will level off this month after the correction.

At this point, it appears that the relatively stable market that we have enjoyed all year will continue into the Summer.

Rob

Vancouver Special Renovation Blog

We're finally coming down the home stretch with this reno.

The solid bamboo floors were totally different from what we ordered, but they still worked with the space, so we went ahead with them anyways. I really wanted to do what we could to dampen the noise for our tenants downstairs, so we installed high density rubber padding underneath the hardwood, then nailed through everything at once. In the bathrooms, we installed NuHeat heated floors, and some really nice striated porcelain tile. Thank god we went with NuHeat, our master is over part of the garage, and it is ice cold when the floor is turned off. One thing that I will do differently next time, is to pay more attention to the bathroom fixtures and cabinets that we go with. Read more See all Blog Posts

Market Update

March 2011

With Spring just around the corner (thank goodness!), we are entering into what is typically the busiest season of the Vancouver real estate market. As the sun comes out, so too it seems do the buyers and sellers. Often in droves. And I have little reason to believe that this year will be much different.

February saw the continuation of the trends we saw in January, with active listings and sales volume climbing across the board. Vancouver West led the sales charge with a 60% increase in attached sales and a 69% increase in detached sales compared with the January numbers. Only the North Vancouver attached market showed a decline in sales, with a drop of almost 28%. A little surprising given the rest of the market data, but we will monitor this trend through March to see if it was just an aberration.

Average sales price for both attached and detached homes in Vancouver East slipped slightly in February, while Vancouver West attached homes dropped almost 13%. Vancouver West detached prices saw a slight increase last month. Downtown prices climbed almost 8%, while North Van showed slight price increases in both categories.

We still haven't seen the influx of inventory we have been expecting, but let's see what March brings. I suspect that many of the people who have been talking about listing their homes for sale will take action this month. And for buyers, now that all the major banks have announced that conventional mortgages will be subject to the 30 maximum amortization period as well as the unconventional mortgages as of March 17, 2011. If you need that 35 year mortgage, don't forget that you'll need a firm contract before the 17th!

I look forward to your questions and comments,

Rob

Vancouver Special Renovation Blog

Now we are beginning to put everything back together. The drywallers have a been through, so that has allowed for the painter, electrician, and plumber to start to work towards their final inspections. Probably the more noticeable addition, has been the installation of the pot lights throughout the house. We have gone with MR-16 lights in the kitchen and entrance, and man do they look good. MR-16's are a type of bulb with a different frequency of light that is often used for art and other areas that need a consistent light. In the bathrooms we have chosen to go with normal pot lights to save on cost. Read more See all Blog Posts