Vancouver Real Estate Blog by Brock Smeaton » Market News

Balanced Summer Housing Market Continues

Brock Smeaton — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 20:06:38 +0000

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reports that the balance between home buyers and sellers remains in an “equilibrium range”. Residential property sales of detached, attached and apartment properties reached 2,571 in July which is a 14% increase compared to the 2,255 sales in July 2010 and a 21.2% decline compared to the 3262 sales in June 2011.

The Board is seeing less multiple offer situations in the market today compared to the last few months, however homes that are priced competitively continue to sell at a relatively swift pace; on average 41 days.

There are currently 15,226 residential property listings on MLS which is a 0.8% increase in July compared to the previous month and a 7.3% decline from this time last year. The number of homes listed for sale in the region has increased each month since the start of the year. The benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver over the last 12 months has increased 9.2% to $630,251 in July from $577,074 in July 2010.

In West Vancouver, July 2011 recorded 86 detached home sales compared to 134 last month. Attached home sales in West Vancouver decreased from 26 in June to 23 in July.

Thinking of selling this summer? Need more information regarding the value of your home? Please call me anytime; I would be pleased to provide you with a confidential market evaluation of your home.

Brock Smeaton, Personal Real Estate Corporation, Prudential Sussex Realty

Summer Housing Market trends toward ‘balance’

Brock Smeaton — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 22:18:45 +0000

Home sellers outpaced buyers in June, drawing the market back toward balance this summer. With sales below the 10-year average and home listings above what is typical for the month, activity in June brought closer alignment between supply and demand in the marketplace. With a sales-to-active listings ratio of nearly 22%, we are now in the upper end of a balanced market.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reports that residential property sales of detached, attached and aparment properties reached 3,262 in June, a 9.8% increased compared to the 2,972 sales in June 2010 and a 3.4% decline compared to the 3,377 sales in May 2011.

There are currently 15,106 residential property listings on MLS which is a 3.1% increase in June compared to last month and a 14% decline from this time last year. The benchmark price for all residential properties in Great Vancouver over the last 12 months has increased 8.7% to $630,921 in June 2011 from $580,237 in June 2010.

The largest price increases continue to be in the detached home market on the westside of Vancouver and in West Vancouver. Since the end of May, the benchmark price of detached homes on the westside and in West Vancouver rose more than $147,000 and $80,000 respectively.

In West Vancouver, June 2011 recorded 134 detached home sales compared to 167 detached home sales last month. Attached home sales in West Vancouver decreased from 34 in May to 26 in June.

Thinking of selling this summer? Need more information regarding the value of your home? Please call me anytime; I would be pleased to provide you with a confidential market evaluation of your home.

Brock Smeaton, Personal Real Estate Corporation; www.brocksmeaton.com

May Housing Market Holds Steady

Brock Smeaton — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 01:44:59 +0000

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reports that home sales in Greater Vancouver remained at typical springtime levels on the Multiple Listing Service.

There were 3377 homes sales in May, an 7% increase compared to the 3156 sales in May 2010 and a 4.7% increase compared to the 3225 sales in April 2011.

With a sales to listing ratio of 23%, conditions continue to favour sellers in the Greater Vancouver housing market, but activity has eased away from the near record-setting pace we saw in March.

On the list side, 5931 homes were listed in May 2011 which represents a 15.4% decline compared to May 2010 and a 1.4% % increase from April 2011. There are currently approximately 14,656 listings on MLS which is a 2% increase from last month and a 16% decline from this time last year.

The benchmark price over the last 12 months in Greater Vancouver has increased 6.2% or $36,906.

In West Vancouver, May 2011 recorded 167 detached home sales compared to 141 detached home sales last month.

Attached home sales in West Vancouver declined just slightly to 34 in May compared to 35 sales last month.

Thinking of selling this summer? Need more information regarding the value of your home? Please call me anytime; I would be pleased to provide you with a confidential market evaluation of your home.

Brock Smeaton, Prudential Sussex Realty 604.619.9131

www.brocksmeaton.com

A Typical Solid Month of April

Brock Smeaton — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 01:43:17 +0000

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reports that Greater Vancouver saw a typical, solid month of residential home sales in April, in contrast to the near record pace witnessed in the two preceding months.

There were 3225 homes sales in April, an 8.2% decrease compared to the 3512 sales in April 2010 and a 21% decline compared to the 4,080 sales in March 2011.

On the list side, 5847 were listed in April, which represents a 23.5% decline compared to April 2010 and a 14% decline from March 2011. There are currently approximately 14,187 listings on MLS.

The benchmark price over the last 12 months in Greater Vancouver has increased 5% or $29,572.

In West Vancouver, April 2011 recorded 141 detached home sales compared to 152 detached home sales last month.

Attached home sales in West Vancouver recorded a decline to 35 sales in April compared to 37 sales last month.

Thinking of selling this summer? Need more information regarding the value of your home? Please call me anytime; I would be pleased to provide you with a confidential market evaluation of your home.

Brock Smeaton, Prudential Sussex Realty 604.619.9131

www.brocksmeaton.com

Record Pace in March

Brock Smeaton — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:51:37 +0000

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reports that both the number of homes sold and new listings added reached near record levels in March, 2011 which has meant a very strong start to the spring season.

There were 4080 home sales in March which was the 4th highest ever recorded and just 300 sales shy of an all time record set in 2004. This represents a 31.7% increase compared to the 3,097 sales recorded in February 2011.

On the list side, 6797 homes were listed in March, which represents a 19.4% increase from February 2011 and a 3% decline from March 2010. The total number of residential properties on MLS increased 9.9% in March compared to last month, a decline of 3% from this time last year. There are currently approximately 13,110 residential listings on MLS.

The benchmark price over the last 12 months in Greater Vancouver has increased 5.4% or $30,000.

In West Vancouver, March 2011 recorded 152 detached home sales compared to 92 detached home sales last month. New detached listings also jumped in March to 199 compared to 174 in February.

Attached home sales in West Vancouver recorded 37 in March compared to 21 in February. Listings remained static.

Thinking of selling this Spring? Need more information regarding the value of your home? Please call me anytime; I would be more than pleased to provide you with a confidential market evaluation of your home.

Brock Smeaton, Prudential Sussex Realty, 604.619.9131

March 2011

Strong Housing Demand in Advance of Spring Market

Brock Smeaton — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 23:41:02 +0000

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reports a strong demand for detached homes across Greater Vancouver in February, with particularly high sales volumes occuring in Richmond and Vancouver’s West Side.

For the past 2 months, the number of properties listed for sale and those sold on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in Greater Vancouver outpaced the 10-year average in both categories. The total number of residential property listings on MLS increased 14.2% in February compared to last month (11,925 vs 10,400) and increased 5% from this time last year.

Sales of detached properties on MLS in February 2011 reached 1,402, an increase of 42.6% from the 983 detached sales recorded in February 2010 and a 139.9% increase from the 587 units sold in February 2009. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 6% from February 2010 to $848,645.

In West Vancouver, February 2011 recorded 92 detached home sales compared to 46 detached home sales last month. New listings also jumped in February to 174 detached homes vs 130 in January.

Attached home sales in West Vancouver recorded 21 in February compared to 13 home sales last month. Listings jumped to 54 in February vs 43 in January 2011.

Thinking of listing this Spring? Need more information regarding the value of your home? Please call me anytime; I would be more than pleased to provide you with a confidential market evaluation of your home.

Brock Smeaton

Prudential Sussex Realty 604.619.9131 c 604.925.2911 o

Balanced Market Conditions – January 2011

Brock Smeaton — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 20:13:15 +0000

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reports a healthy balance in real estate between home buyers and sellers. In January, there were 1819 home sales on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). From a historical perspective, this sales figure slightly surpassed the 1790 home sale average recorded in the region over the last ten years.

Listings in January reached 4800 which, combined with active listings already on the market, brought the overall total to 10,400 homes for sale in Great Vancouver.

These figures provide a sales-to-active listings ratio of 17% which analysts say represents a balanced market. In general, analysts suggest that when this ratio is at 10% there is downward pressure on home prices; at 22-23% we can expect upward pressure on home prices.

Richmond and Vancouver’s West Side have seen the most dramatic increases in home sales this past January with the former spiking at 22% and the latter at 12%. The benchmark price of homes in general has risen 2.7% from $788,000 in 2010 to $810,000 to date in 2011.

In West Vancouver, January 2011 recorded 46 detached home sales compared to just 26 sales in January 2010. Listings on the other hand dropped for the same period from 142 to 130.

Attached listings in West Vancouver recorded 13 homes sales in January 2011 compared to 15 sales in January 2010. Listings fell this past January to 43 from a high of 60 in 2010.

Thinking of listing this Spring? Need more information regarding your home? Please call me anytime; I would be more than pleased to provide you with a market evaluation of your home.

Brock Smeaton

Prudential Susses Realty

604.619.9131 c

604.925.2911 o

MORTGAGE RULES TO CHANGE

Brock Smeaton — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 20:25:46 +0000

NEW MORTGAGE RULES

As of March 18^th, mortgage rules in Canada will be changing. The move is to eliminate the 35 year mortgage for buyers who are putting less than 20% towards their down payment, and to reduce the maximum amount people can borrow when refinancing from 90% to 85% of the value of their homes. In addition, on April 18^th, the Government will no longer insure lines of credit taken out on homes. This last move is made with the intention of putting the onus on lenders to be more careful about who gets home equity lines of credit.

WHY

Debt levels in Canada are currently growing faster than income, with household debt (ratio of money owed to disposable income) at 150%. This is higher then US household debt levels before the financial crisis of 2008. The Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals recently released a study showing that mortgage debt in Canada surpassed $1 trillion for the first time in 2010, and 30% of all new mortgages have amortization periods of longer than 25 years, up from 18% last year. What’s worse is that over 2/3 of people who refinance or take out home equity lines of credit, are currently using the money for consumer items like boats, trips and TV’s, as opposed to improving the value of their homes.

THE IMPACT

This change may initially slow down the economy, and we can even expect to see prices drop as much as 7% over the next 12 months, as buyers who would have opted for 35 year terms are forced to look for lower priced homes. It is foreseen that this will hit first time home buyers and BC the hardest; first time buyers who are strapped for cash and BC who has the highest home prices in the country. In the long term, however, the changes are expected to lead to stronger financial household health. And really, the move should only remove the riskiest borrowers from the market.

The only alternative to these mortgage rule changes would have been an intense increase in interest rates. With borrowing levels so high, and so many people borrowing beyond their means, the Government felt changes had to be made. They felt increased interest rates would have been a greater threat to economic recovery as they would discourage business investment and drive up the Canadian Dollar, whereas they feel these changes in the mortgage rules minimize the risk of inflation while at the same time slowing down the borrowing binge.

Those who are able to put down 20% or more will still be able to write their own terms, and define the amortization length of their loan – but for everyone else, as of March 18, there is a 30 year amortization ceiling.

An Economic Snapshot

Brock Smeaton — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 20:35:45 +0000

After two years in recovery, economists suggest that BC’s economy is stable and gearing up for growth. At this time, we have one of the healthiest economies in North America and many businesses are reporting year-over-year growth and an increase in consumer confidence. In fact, Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist says “improved economic conditions and low mortgage interest rates have contributed to a 46 per cent increase in home sales since July.” On this note, rates are remaining historically low and because five-year mortgages are available under 4%, first time home-buyers and young families have been able to get into the housing market. In addition, the unemployment rate dipped to 6.9 per cent, the lowest recorded since January 2009.

The Close of 2010

Brock Smeaton — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 23:51:55 +0000

During the year of 2010, the Greater Vancouver housing market hit three distinct phases. We started the year out strong, carrying forward momentum from the post-recession recovery, which faded into a lull during the summer months. And finally we closed the year with continued stability through the fall. Jake Moldowan, the president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver looked back over the year with this statement, “the last two years have been a bit of a roller coaster for the real estate market. However, sales over the last six months have definitely shown a trend toward stability. This is good news for home buyers and sellers.”

Total sales in the Greater Vancouver area this year decreased 14.2% compared to 2009, but have increased 24.2% since the recession in 2008. However, we still look to the future for a full recovery as our total number of sales this year fell 10.3% below the ten year average. Looking more specifically at recent sales we can see that total residential sales in the region fell 24.3% from November to December this year; new listings fell 43.9% in the same period.

Specifically in West Vancouver, detached home sales fell from 69 in November 2010, to 50 in December 2010; listings fell from 79 to 35 in the same period. Apartment sales in West Vancouver from November and December 2010 were 17 and 12 respectively, while listings were 28 and 4 respectively.

Yet despite these decreases, things are looking good for 2011. Listings versus sales are really beginning to stabilize and we should see the market begin to pick up in the wake of the holiday season.