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

May 2011

With the cherry blossoms in full bloom, we enter into what could be a surprising May in the Vancouver real estate market. Typically a peak time for sales activity, the April market stats show sales activity dropping in virtually all categories (excluding North Vancouver Detached). Will May continue this trend? If so, and I suspect it will, it appears the 'summer slowdown' that we typically see towards the middle of June has started early this year. There are a few possible explanations for this, but the biggest factor in my mind is the surge in activity we saw in February and March due to buyers rushing to purchase to beat the new mortgage rules that came into effect March 18, 2011. That surge effectively started the Spring market earlier than expected this year, so perhaps it is only natural that the activity tails off sooner as well.

Two other trends to take note of from last month:

(1) Listing inventory climbed, up as much as 23%, in all markets. The number of new listings was not dramatically higher the months previous, but as sales activity slows, the active inventory grows.

(2) Sales prices climbed in all markets, with the exception of downtown (which dipped almost 9%). The red hot Westside detached market led the charge here with a 9.5% increase over last month, while most other markets showed much more marginal increases.

Look for prices to flatten out over the summer, while activity slows slightly but remains stable. All in all, if we ignore the Westside detached category, we are enjoying a pleasantly balanced market. And, with any luck, by the time I sit down to write next month's newsletter, the Canucks will be Stanley Cup champions!

Cheers,

Rob

SPLIT House by SuperkÜl Architects

Superkül Architects have designed the SPLIT House in Toronto, Canada. Source: Contemporist

Description from the architects:

Split in plan and section, the parti of the house allows for a flood of light to the centre. The house is designed as space for spectacle - the owners are regular hosts of their large network of friends and family, and they wanted a place that could feel grand. The trick with this was to make a house that could also feel intimate for when they were on their own. Read more See all Blog Posts