Week 43 – Market Update

As suspected, last week’s (relative) pause in sales was an anomaly. One which we can more than likely attribute to the Thanksgiving Day long weekend.

This past week, the general trends we’ve seen in recent weeks continued. Sales returned to well above 200 (228 from 193 the week before). We also had new listings continue to decline, although at a much slower pace (down from 401 to 390). Total active listings fell slightly to 4,210 from 4, 222 the week before…returning us to the lower end of a Balanced Market with 4.62 months of inventory.

The hottest market segment this past week was Townhouses with months of inventory in Seller’s Market territory at just 3.39. This was mostly in East Vancouver where sales jumped from just 11 last week to 24 this week. Houses were also VERY active with overall months of inventory also in Seller’s Markert at 3.86. Once again, this was led with East Vancouver where sales bumped from 25 the previous...

Week 42 – Market Update

Overall, this last week showed increasing signs of weakness in our market. We are still in Balanced Market territory, but we moved pretty significantly towards (from 4.45 to 5.47) a Buyer’s Market (a buyer’s market is generally agreed to be >6 months of inventory).

Sales fell from 234 to 193. This is just the second time in the last 2.5 months that sales in Vancouver dropped below 200 in a week. While active listings continued to climb, the pace has slowed…and new listings once again fell about 10% to 401 from 441.

In terms of micro-markets, there were some significant shifts from previous weeks. The most surprising is the drop in East Vancouver house activity. With just 25 sales and only 9 over asking, that’s the lowest sales activity seen in this micro-market since Week 33. Eastside condos as well as all of the Westside segments had a relatively strong showing.

I am hesitant to draw too many conclusions from this week, however....

Week 41 – Market Update

This past week the overall market remained in Balanced Market territory. The months of inventory edged down slightly to 4.45 from 4.62. Sales rose to their 2nd highest weekly level of the year (234) while New Listings fell nearly 10% to 441. Overall listings rose marginally from 4141 to 4169.

All micro-markets were in a Balanced Market. The greatest level of improvement and activity was seen for Apartments. Specifically, on the Westside of Vancouver where Sales rose from 46 to 60 (the highest level of the year).

House sales remained fairly consistent across the City but sales numbers have fallen for the last couple of weeks. East Vancouver detached continues to be hot with nearly 50% of sales happening in multiple offers.

The Downtown market is once again the lagard. Although Sales did improve for the first week after three straight weeks of declines.

Vancouver West (Westside)

East Vancouver (Eastside)

Downtown Vancouver

Summary

September isn’t usually a record month in the Vancouver real estate market.

Typically, it’s a bit slower as people return to their routines after summer. There’s often a bit of a summer hang-over before the fall market really gets underway.

As with so many other things, this year is different.

We saw a massive +40% increase in Sales year-over-year for Vancouver (and about 20% over the 10-year average). The 978 Sales that were recorded were the most ever sold in the month of September.

On first blush, that’s pretty astonishing given that we are still in a pandemic with so much uncertainty swirling around us. But, there are two things that appear to be driving this market right now.

Interest rates and lifestyle priorities.

For one, we are seeing incredibly low interest rates. That’s making things more affordable for buyers. While banks are making it more challenging to qualify for mortgages, those that CAN qualify are securing amazing rates.

Secondly,...

Week 40 – Market Update

Last week the market hovered just above Seller’s Market territory. This past week, sales slowed a little (down by about 10% to 224 from a 2020 high of 249) while new listings continued to rise (up to a 2020 high of 481 from 479). That meant we went from 4.18 months of inventory to 4.62…a solidly Balanced Market number.

And yet, the market isn’t uniform. We are seeing the most strength in East Vancouver where we’ve been in a Seller’s Market for the last 7 weeks…especially detached (houses) as well as apartments. The Westside market is a little slower, but the slowest market continues to be Downtown where both condos and townhouses are solidly in Buyer’s Market territory.

Once again, if you are looking for bargains in this market you need to be looking Downtown. That’s an area that has lost it’s allure through the pandemic, but it’s likely to come roaring back once we are able to make everyone feel...