Week 7 – Market Update

The last week could be summed up in one word; stability. After six weeks of fairly quick and steady improvements for nearly every micro-market last week was a sideways move.

Sales rose only marginally from 252 to 254. New Listings climbed from 351 to 353 and overall Active Listings reached 2,761 (from 2,717 the week before). This all translated to a slight increase in Month-of-Inventory 2.72 (from 2.7)…still squarely in an overall seller’s market.

In terms of micro-markets, East Vancouver continues to be the hotspot for buyers. East Van condos in particular had a very strong showing (MOI of just 1.65) as did East Van townhouses (MOI of 2.09). The parallel markets on the Westside also had a strong showing, but not quite as hot.

The Downtown core appears to be seeing a resurgence of buyer activity. What was one of the weakest micro-markets for much of 2020 has been in a Seller’s Market for the last month. Even downtown townhouses had their best...

Week 6 – Market Update

For the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vancouver real estate market was firmly in a seller’s market last week. We were at 2.7 months-of-inventory which is the lowest it’s been since late March 2020 (a number below 4 is typically considered to indicate a seller’s market).

Sales continued to rise last week, going from 219 to 252. Simultaneously, the listing inventory edged lower from 2,748 to 2,717…and new listings went from 328 to 351.

We are seeing elevated levels of demand and shrinking supply in most micro-markets. The most competitive markets in the last week were the condo markets across the city (East Van, Westide and even downtown), the East Van townhouse market as well as houses (even Westside houses are seeing signs of life but are not yet in a buyer’s market).

The weakest micro-markets were for Westside and downtown townhouses. Sales fell on the Westside from 13 back down to just 7 (although there...

Summary

In a “normal” year, January is one of the quietest months of the real estate calendar. It’s a month that many local realtors usually take vacation, because very little happens.

As we know, this isn’t a “normal” year and this January isn’t following the typical plan.

Overall inventory levels are low, which is fairly normal. Yes, they are a bit lower than normal but not significantly so (2,656 listings in January nearly 7% below the 2,848 of the 10-yr average).

What’s unusual is the amount of demand. There were 612 sales in January 2021. That’s nearly 23% above the 10-yr average (498)!

It appears that our market is ramping up in activity far faster than it usually does.

This is an indication of just how much untapped demand that there is in our market…especially for “affordable” price-points. But, even the luxury end of the market is now starting to see a bump in activity.

What does all this mean?

With elevated...

Week 5 – Market Update

Rising demand drove the Vancouver real estate market in the last week.

Sales more than doubled across the city since the beginning of the year. Going from 105 in Week 1 to 219 last week.

It’s normal for demand to ramp up at this time of year, but not this quickly. This level of demand is more typical of early-March than late-January.

Meanwhile, supply (the number of listings) is increasing but only slowly. The number of active listings has increased by less than 10% since the beginning of the year (from 2,517 to 2,734).

The result? We’ve entered a seller’s market with 3.82 month-of-inventory. The hottest seller’s markets in the last week were East Van houses (the previous week’s softness was indeed temporary) and condos as well as Westside condos (with an honorable mention to an increasingly active Downtown condo market).

Slower pockets across the city would include Downtown townhouses (where there have been no sales in the last...

Week 4 – Market Update

One month into 2021 and our real estate market continues to increase in activity. We are seeing that activity rise on all fronts including sales, new listings and total active listings.

So far, demand is outpacing supply. This is demonstrated by the months-of-inventory dropping in every consecutive week. This past week we find ourselves hovering at 4.1 months-of-inventory which is just at the edge of a seller’s market.

The hottest micro-market in the past week was East Vancouver townhouses. Sales jumped from 7 in the previous week to 23 last week (sales for this micro-market only reached >20 3 times in 2020).

Downtown apartments also continue to see increasing levels of activity. Both sales and new listings are indicating that buyers are returning to this market that was hardest hit by the pandemic. So far, it looks as though bargain hunters are the dominant buyers…but it looks as though this micro-market is one to watch.

East Vancouver houses...

Week 3 – Market Update

The last week was another of incremental increases in activity. We saw upticks on all fronts including sales (130 from 125), new listings (331 from 288) and active listings (2,672 from 2,588.

The market remains in balanced territory for most micro-markets. Months of inventory is hovering just over 5 for both townhouses and apartments. However, houses are tipping slightly into a seller’s market.

It’s the East Vancouver side that’s carrying the load, though. East Van houses are once again the hottest micro-market (

Downtown Vancouver is also seeing signs of increased activity. While condos are still well in a buyer’s market, it’s held up well over the last few weeks. Some optimism appears to be returning in this market that has been hardest hit by the pandemic.

It should also be noted that downtown townhouses had their best week in the last year…with 4 sales and just 38 active listings. That’s a strong seller’s market,...

Week 2 – Market Update

We had an overall (marginal) increase in activity in the last week. Sales climbed from 105 to 125 and listings went from 2,517 to 2,588. These are both low numbers, but to be expected at this time of year.

The one number that saw a significant increase was of new listings. These hit 288 in the last week which is a number we haven’t seen since the first week of November, 2020 (Week 45).

That level of new listings is pretty significant for so early in the year…but it’s notable that total active listings hardly increased (meaning we likely saw a higher than normal number of listings get removed from the MLS last week).

The only micro-market that showed strength last week was East Vancouver Houses where we had 24 sales, 9 of which sold over their asking price. Those numbers are pretty astounding given how quiet much of the rest of the city was.

If you are thinking of selling a house, these numbers indicate that there’s absolutely no reason...

Summary

An unusual year ended up being capped by an unusual December.

The month of December 2020 saw an unusually high level of sales. The 872 sales that took place was 46% over the 10 year average for the month (+0.1% month-to-month) …and the highest amount ever recorded.

There were 672 new listings in the month which was also well above normal for the month. In fact, it was 37.5% higher than the 10 year average. While total active listings of 2704 was just 5.2% over the 10 year average for the month.

In the grand scheme, this meant we had elevated demand with lower levels of supply. This was especially true for East Vancouver where all housing types were well within a seller’s market. On the Westside, houses and townhouses were both in balanced territory with only apartments in a seller’s market.

What this means is that as a buyer, you will likely be facing strong competition as you move forward. You will need to act quickly and decisively in order to secure the best...

Week 52 – Market Update

Mid-December through to mid-January is traditionally one of the quietest periods on the real estate calendar. Most people are either taking vacations, preparing for the holidays, or spending time with family…and as a result we see fewer listings and sales during this period.

This past week definitely played into this overall trend. For the 7th straight week we saw overall listings drop and for the 4th straight week we had both sales and new listings decline. In fact, there were just 44 new listings overall in Vancouver this past week (3 months ago we were getting more than 10x that in a week).

While the overall trend is expected, there are as always pockets of surprising strength as well as weakness. Of note, the strongest markets were East Vancouver houses as well as apartments in all areas (East Van, Westside and even Downtown). The weaker micro-market in the past week was for townhouses/duplexes in all areas.

Next week, I expect that we will see another...

Week 51 – Market Update

Overall, recent trends continued. Our market is easing into the winter holidays. Taking a breather as is typical for this time of year.

Total Sales in the last week remained below 200 at 193 (falling just 4 from the week before). There was a much more significant drop in New Listings (down to 148 from 202 the previous week) and Total Active Listings (3,259 down from 3,419 the week before).

The most active market remains Townhouses. While Sales did slow considerably from the crazy week before, it remains in a Seller’s Market. Interestingly, it’s the only market segment that saw New Listings outstrip Sales.

The hottest micro-markets were for East Van Houses and Downtown Condos. These two micro-markets were the only ones to see their sales increase from the previous week. In fact, the 61 Sales Downtown were that market’s high of the year. Westside + Eastside Condos also had a good week.

The coolest market segment in the last week was Westside...