Sunday, October 22, 2006
VancouverReal Estate Market News
Real Estate Market News
October 2006 Update
A significant shift in the real estate market in Vancouver has occurred over the past 2 months. There has been a ton of new listings that have hit MLS lately so we are finally seeing a balanced market.
This is very good news for buyers who have been too apprehensive to jump into the buying frenzy of this past summer. Not only are we finding homes for buyers but actually are able to negotiate on price again. What a concept! This has caused prices to dip slightly in the Westside condo market although detached homes still seem to be quite hot.
Where do I think the market is headed in the next few months?
I think we will continue to see more product hit the market for the next month and then new listings should slow down around the holiday season which is normal.
For buyers, this is probably the best time in the past 2 years to buy, not only because of the selection that is out there but also because of the cooling prices.
For sellers, gone are the days of listing a property for a week and getting multiple offers. Listings need to be priced correctly and average days on the market is now back to normal at about 30 to 60 days.
Vancouver Real Estate Agent Peter Raab can answer any questions you may have on these listing.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Living in Vancouver - Paradise on the West Coast
Consistently ranked among the best places to live anywhere in the world, Vancouver is a city that's often described as having it all. Blessed with a temperate climate, a multicultural outlook, and a passion for healthy, active living, its tough to argue the point.
Whether your idea of gourmet is dinner out or creating your own culinary adventure at home, Vancouver boasts some fo the best. Restaurants ranging from fusion to traditional and offering food from all four corners of the globe await discovery in every neighbourhood.
The Vancouver Real Estate Market has finally softened up so for all those who didn't want to get into the crazy bidding wars of the summer, now is the time.
Vancouver Real Estate Agent Peter Raab can answer any questions you may have on these listing.
Friday, October 13, 2006
OPEN HOUSES THIS WEEKEND
I will having holding open houses for the following listings:
605 2055 Yukon Street
MLS: V608574
$399,900
Vancouver West, Mount Pleasant
1 Bedrooms, 1 Bathrooms
715 Square Feet
Open House Saturday October 14th and Sunday October 15th from 2:00-4:00pm
520 10 Renaissance Square
MURANO LOFTS
MLS: V608987
$299,900
New Westminster, Quay
1 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms
778 Square Feet
OPEN HOUSE Saturday, October 14, 2006 - 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Vancouver Real Estate listings and showings.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Vancouver Real Estate sales in September move towards a more balanced market.
The current issue news by The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that total residential sales for detached, attached and apartment properties reached 2,519 units in September 2006 which is a decrease of 24.7 per cent compared to the 3,344 units sold in September 2005, and a 11.5 per cent decrease compared to the 2,845 sold during the same period in 2004.
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New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties increased by 11.4 per cent to 5,115 units when compared to the 4,590 units listed in September 2005. This is extremely positive news for buyers.
"We're moving towards a balanced market, a balance that brings greater stability to buyers and sellers throughout the Greater Vancouver area," says REBGV president Rick Valouche. "We're finally seeing an increase in inventory and that is great news for buyers in our active market.
"We're still selling far more properties monthly than we were four or five years ago," notes Valouche. "There's been a shortage of listings for some time. If listings continue to increase at this pace, we may be able to start meeting the strong demand for real estate that has been the driving characteristic of the Greater Vancouver market for the past five years."
According to Multiple Listings Service® (MLS®) data, sales of apartment properties decreased by 18.4 per cent to 1,093 sales in September 2006 compared to 1,339 sales in September 2005. The benchmark price of an apartment property in Greater Vancouver, calculated by the MLSLink® Housing Price Index, is $334,482, up 21.6 per cent from one year ago.
Sales of attached properties decreased by 33.8 per cent in September 2006 to 392 sales, compared to 592 sales in September 2005. The benchmark price of an attached unit is $411,898, up 19.6 per cent from a year ago.
Sales of detached properties decreased by 26.8 per cent in September 2006 to 1,034 sales, compared to 1,413 sales in September 2006. The benchmark price of a detached unit is $659,269, up 18.2 per cent from last year.
Condos For Sale Kitsilano - Specializing in selling homes in Vancouvers West Side.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
In the Vancouver Real Estate Market, Housing Sales seem to have dropped off.
However, listings have increased!
This trend could help balance an overheated market
In Greater Vancouver, there were 3,344 sales of homes in September, representing a 24.7-per-cent drop from the same month a year ago. New listings in Greater Vancouver increased 11.4 per cent to 5,115 units.
The hot, sellers' market in Lower Mainland real estate is slowly coming to a close. Sales in September declined sharply and listings rose for the fourth month in a row this year.
In Greater Vancouver, the Multiple Listing Service recorded 3,344 sales in September, representing a 24.7-per-cent drop from the same month a year ago. New listings in the region increased 11.4 per cent to 5,115 units.
Between both regions the number of sales compared with the number of listings is still too high to bring buyers significant price relief. Still, a trend toward fewer sales and more listings could balance the market so that neither the seller nor buyer has a particular advantage.
September's results mark a continuation in the market shift driven by steep increases in house prices, said Cameron Muir, senior analyst for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
"The asking price of many home sellers is getting to the point at which fewer and fewer buyers can pay," Muir said. This is also diminishing all the multiple offers that occured this summer.
The average MLS sales price for a single-family home in Greater Vancouver during September was $741,644, a percentage point off the average August price, but still up by double digits compared with a year ago.
Single-family home sales across Greater Vancouver fell 26.8 per cent to 1,034 transactions compared with a year ago. The townhouse market saw the biggest drop with 392 sales, 33.8 per cent below September, 2005.
Condominium sales in Greater Vancouver fell 18.4 per cent to 1,093 transactions.
In the Fraser Valley, where average single-family-home prices hit $493,727, home sales fell 29.6 per cent. Townhouse sales were down 17 per cent to 254 and condominium sales dropped 17.5 per cent to 241.
Muir noted that a decline in sales, even as dramatic as the region has experienced, shouldn't be a surprise following the frenzied activity of 2005.
"At this point, it's not a signal of any kind of significant market correction," Muir added.
However, Tsur Somerville, director of the centre for urban land economics and real estate at the University of B.C.'s Sauder School of Business, said the trend in sales is a sign the Lower Mainland market "is clearly putting the brakes on."
"But it's too early to say how much."
Somerville said real estate markets pass through a balanced period when they are rising from depression to overheated, and will also hit balance, or "equilibrium" on their way back.
"Since [the market] has been very overheated, it's quite reasonable to go back to balance," Somerville added.
"The question is, are we going to stay there or keep going?"
Somerville wonders whether the psychology of buyers is shifting and more of them are focusing on negatives rather than positives, such as cost overruns for the 2010 Olympics. Somerville said buyers might also be looking at the poorly performing U.S. housing market and worrying how that might affect B.C.
Whether it does or not is immaterial, he added, "because psychology matters."
"If sales continue to drop and listings . . . keep going up, you can get prices declining, even in the midst of very strong employment numbers," Somerville said.
Rick Valouche, president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, added that it is hard to characterize the drop in sales as decline when the comparison is being drawn against Greater Vancouver's best year ever.
"We're on pace for the third-best year ever," he said.
The frenzy of bidding wars for properties has disappeared, but there is still demand. On average, houses are staying on the market 40 days before selling, compared with 48 days in 2005 and 43 days in 2004.
Prices, Valouche said, have "definitely scared some [buyers] out of the market, but it's hard to say we're having a down market when we sell 2,500 units in a month."
David Rishel, president of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, added mortgage rates are expected to remain at low levels for the time being, and the economic picture looks solid.
"Nobody's saying [the market] will continue at the pace it has been forever," Rishel added. "There are always going to be peaks and valleys. But we don't anticipate the valleys will be very deep and hopefully the peaks won't be as high."
Vancouver BC Realtor Peter Raab can answer any questions you may have on Vancouver Real Estate listings and showings.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Vancouver Real Estate Market Update
Well all you buyers out there, it looks like the real estate market in Vancouver is finally cooling off. There as been lots of new condo's and houses hitting the market over the past month. Demand for real estate has cooled off and prices for condo's especially has held steady. Now is a great time to buy real estate in the Vancouver Westside. Real Estate agents can no longer price properties high and expect them to sell in multiple offers after one weekend.
What happens to the Real Estate Market in Vancouver over the next month should be very interesting.
Vancouver Real Estate Agent Peter Raab can answer any questions you may have on these listing.
