Vancouver Real Estate Blog - Real Estate Market News, Statistics and Opinions

Downtown Vancouver Real Estate Statistics and Chart for October 2008

Posted on November 12th, 2008 by Sebastian. Filed in Statistics, Downtown Vancouver Real Estate.
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!

Here are the downtown Vancouver real estate market statistics for October, 2008. I’ve included the chart above so that you can see visually what’s been happening in the Downtown Vancouver real estate market over the course of the year.

Downtown Vancouver Homes for Sale (Downtown Vancouver Condos only) -785

Total Active Listings in the Downtown Vancouver real estate market dropped slightly to 785. The high was reached in September, and 785 is more in line with numbers we saw in June, 2008.

Downtown Vancouver Homes Sold (Downtown Vancouver Condos only) -46

There was yet another drop in sales in the month of October. The previous low we reached in September was surpassed and the new low is now 46 (from 65). The average sale price in the Downtown Vancouver real estate market rose slightly to $427,000 (from $380,000). Of the units that sold, the cumulative Days on Market fell to 70 (from 109). The average per square foot price for Downtown Vancouver condo sales in the month of October, 2008 was $569 (from $562).

Downtown Vancouver Home Sale Prices (Downtown Vancouver Condos only)

There were 8 sales under $300,000, 21 sales between $300,000 and $400,000, 8 sales between $400,000 and $500,000, 6 sales between $500,000 and $700,000, 1 sale between $800,000 and $900,000 and 2 sales between $1,100,000 and $1,200,000.

More Information on Vancouver Real Estate

There is more information on Downtown Vancouver real estate on this page, or search Downtown Vancouver homes for sale right here. Should you want to learn more about the Vancouver real estate market generally you can check out this page.

You can also review all of the statistics for Vancouver East and Vancouver West broken down for you here:

Enjoy Vancouver real estate statistics? You can find all of the latest stats by area right here:

If you are thinking of buying or selling, or just have questions, contact me here or send me a quick email.

Weekly Update - Vancouver Real Estate Statistics November 3rd - November 9th

Posted on November 11th, 2008 by Sebastian. Filed in Statistics, Weekly Update.
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!

Here are the weekly statistics for the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver in the week of November 3rd, 2008 - November 9th, 2008 for my market area of Vancouver East and Vancouver West.

I wrote last week that the numbers had given me some hope with a number of positive signs. Unfortunately, that appears to have been short-lived. While New Listings remained relatively flat at 355 (+6.61%), Sales moved even lower to 65 (-18.75%) which resulted in a Sell/List ratio of 18.31%.

Removed listings remained relatively consistent. They show a big drop compared to the week before, but we always see a big bump in the Expired listings at the end of a month. The result of a bump of New Listings, declining Sales and flat Removed Listings was that the Active Listings grew moderately to 5703 (+1.53%).

More Info on Vancouver Real Estate

Should you want to learn more about the Vancouver real estate market generally you can check out this page. You can also review all of the statistics for Vancouver East and Vancouver West broken down for you here:

Enjoy Vancouver real estate statistics? You can find all of the latest stats by area right here:

If you are thinking of buying or selling, or just have questions, contact me here or send me a quick email.

Coal Harbour Real Estate Stats and Chart for October 2008

Posted on November 11th, 2008 by Sebastian. Filed in Statistics, Coal Harbour real estate.
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!

Here are the Coal Harbour real estate market statistics for October, 2008. I’ve included the chart above so that you can see visually what’s been happening in the Kitsilano real estate market over the course of the year. You can also download the PDF version of the chart by clicking on the image.

Coal Harbour Homes for Sale (Coal Harbour Condos only) - 286

There were 286 condo listings in the Coal Harbour real estate market in the month of October 2008. After hitting a high of 261 in September 2008, another high for the year was reached this month.

Coal Harbour Homes Sold (Coal Harbour Condos only) -11

There were only 11 Coal Harbour homes sold (condos) in the month of October 2008 in the Coal Harbour real estate market (a low for the year). The average sale price for these homes was $953,000. Of the units that sold, their cumulative days on market was 56 days. The average per square foot price for Kitsilano condo sales in the month of October 2008 was $957.

Coal Harbour Home Sale Prices (Coal Harbour Condos only)

There was 1 sale below $300,000, 1 sale between $300,000 and $400,000, 2 sales between $400,000 and $500,000, 3 sales between $700,000 and $800,000, 3 sales between $1,200,000 and $1,700,000 and 1 sales at $2,490,000.

More Info on Vancouver Real Estate

Should you want to learn more about the Vancouver real estate market generally you can check out this page.

You can also review all of the statistics for Vancouver East and Vancouver West broken down for you here:

Enjoy Vancouver real estate statistics? You can find all of the latest stats by area right here:

Coal Harbour real estate
Downtown Vancouver real estate
Fairview Vancover real estate
Grandview Vancover real estate
Kitsilano real estate
Mount Pleasant Vancouver real estate
West End Vancouver real estate
If you are thinking of buying or selling, or just have questions, contact me here or send me a quick email.

Kitsilano Real Estate Stats and Chart for October 2008

Posted on November 10th, 2008 by Sebastian. Filed in Statistics, Kitsilano real estate.
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!

Here are the Kitsilano real estate market statistics for October, 2008. I’ve included the chart above so that you can see visually what’s been happening in the Kitsilano real estate market over the course of the year. You can also download the PDF version of the chart by clicking on the image.

Kitsilano Homes for Sale (Kitsilano Condos only) - 283

There were 283 condo listings in the Kitsilano real estate market in the month of October 2008. This is slightly lower than the 286 (the high for the year) that was seen in September 2008.

Kitsilano Homes Sold (Kitsilano Condos only) - 16

Only 16 Kitsilano homes sold (condos) in the month of October 2008 in the Kitsilano real estate market. The average sale price for these homes was $487,000. Of the units that sold, their cumulative days on market was 55 days. The average per square foot price for Kitsilano condo sales in the month of October 2008 was $530.

Kitsilano Home Sale Prices (Kitsilano Condos only)

There were 5 sales between $300,000 and $400,000, 7 sales between $400,000 and $500,000, 2 sales between $600,000 and $700,000 and 1 sale at $1,385,000.

More Info on Vancouver Real Estate

There’s more information about Kitsilano real estate on this page, or search Kitsilano homes for sale right here. Should you want to learn more about the Vancouver real estate market generally you can check out this page.

You can also review all of the statistics for Vancouver East and Vancouver West broken down for you here:

Enjoy Vancouver real estate statistics? You can find all of the latest stats by area right here:

If you are thinking of buying or selling, or just have questions, contact me here or send me a quick email.

Grandview Vancouver Real Estate Statistics and Chart for October 2008

Posted on November 9th, 2008 by Sebastian. Filed in Statistics, Grandview Vancouver real estate.
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!

Grandview Vancouver MLS Statistics Chart 2008

Here are the Grandview Vancouver real estate market statistics for October, 2008. I’ve included the chart above so that you can see visually what’s been happening in the Grandview Vancouver real estate market over the course of the year.

Grandview Vancouver Homes for Sale (Grandview Condos only) -74

Total condo listings rose up to 74. This total is a high for the year, coming off last month’s previous high of 68.

Grandview Vancouver Homes Sold (Grandview Condos only) - 5

Only 5 Grandview homes sold (condos) in the month of October in the Grandview Vancouver real estate market. The average sale price was only $358,000 (or $391/sq ft), the lowest average we’ve seen this year and the second lowest number of sales. The average days on market for those sales was only 23, a low for the year.

Given the trends (more listings, fewer sales, and lower average sale price) I suspect that the DOM average being so low is an anomaly. Since there was such a small sample (only 5 sales) this could vary greatly from month to month.

Grandview Vancouver Home Sale Prices (Grandview Condos only)

There were 2 sales under $300,000, 2 sales between $300,000 and $400,000, and 1 sale at $625,000.

More Info on Vancouver Real Estate

Should you want to learn more about the Vancouver real estate market generally you can check out this page. You can also review all of the statistics for Vancouver East and Vancouver West broken down for you here:

Enjoy Vancouver real estate statistics? You can find all of the latest stats by area right here:

If you are thinking of buying or selling, or just have questions, contact me here or send me a quick email.

Olympic Village Gets City of Vancouver Bailout

Posted on November 7th, 2008 by Sebastian. Filed in Real Estate News, Vancouver Real Estate.
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!

There is a big controversy in Vancouver that exploded yesterday. In an October 24th in camera meeting, city council decided to loan up to $100 Million to ensure that the Olympic Village is completed on time.

The Olympic Village is a market housing development called Millenium Water. For the duration of the Olympics, the development will be home to Olympic athletes. At the completion of the Olympics, the village will be turned over to private owners. There will be 15 to 20 permanent buildings and 1,100 individual units.

It would appear as though the $1 Billion project is 7% over budget at the moment. The city has been in negotiations with Fortress Investment Group, the financial backer of the developer of the project Millenium Development Corp., to find a way to complete the project on time. The $100 Million loan is in addition to the $190 Million that the city has already put up as a loan guarantee.

Interestingly, in an article from way back on January 30th, 2003 the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation told the Georgia Straight that, “The developer would be liable for any cost overruns with regards to the athletes’ village.” Apparently, this is no longer the case. The lending environment has changed drastically since 2003 with the fallout of the US credit crunch. Developer’s are finding money much harder to find…and I’d say that this is clearly another example of how we are being affected by what’s happened in the US.

Of course, what’s the alternative? If the city did not step in to help the project complete we’d have a massive project that is nearing completion come to a standstill. Hundreds of construction workers would be out of work, and we’d be unable to move forward with the Olympics at all (unless there was an emergency athlete billeting program started up).

I think that it’s unfortunate that this information was all held private. The only reason that the information came to light was because someone leaked the information from the in camera council meeting to the Globe and Mail’s Gary Mason. It makes one wonder what else might our politicians be keeping from us?

You can read more about the situation with these great articles:

This is the article that broke the story from Gary Mason.
Here’s the first reaction from the Vancouver Sun.
And then some great stories on the issues from Charlie Smith at the Georgia Straight.
CBC News coverage of the story.

More Info on Vancouver Real EstateShould you want to learn more about the Vancouver real estate market generally you can check out this page. You can also review all of the statistics for Vancouver East and Vancouver West broken down for you here:

Enjoy Vancouver real estate statistics? You can find all of the latest stats by area right here:

Trading Up in a Down Vancouver Real Estate Market

Posted on November 6th, 2008 by Sebastian. Filed in Investing, Vancouver Real Estate.
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!

The Background

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the current Vancouver real estate market is the ideal market for trade up real estate buyers. I’ve received some inquiries from you readers asking me to explain exactly what I mean. Of course, as a Vancouver realtor I’m happy to oblige answering any and all of your Vancouver real estate questions.

Your wish is my command.

The Situation

Let’s take a situation where someone is currently living in a small one bedroom condo in East Vancouver. The owners are having a child and need a larger home as a result. They’d like to buy a two bedroom condo in Grandview (Commercial Drive).

The Details

The Vancouver real estate market peaked in March, 2008. So, we’ll compare our example scenario from March, 2008 to today. Let’s say that the market declined exactly 12% in this time period.

$300,000 x 88% = $264,000 (-$36,000)
$450,000 x 88% = $396,000 (-$54,000)

Home A (the current home) was worth $300,000 before the decline. Home B (the desired home) was worth $450,000. The 12% decline hits both homes equally resulting in Home A now being worth $264,000 and Home B $396,000.

The Bottom Line

$54,000 - $36,000 = $18,000 found money!

The difference in the price variation between Home A ($36,000) and Home B ($54,000) is $18,000 in the buyers pocket.

That’s real money. Our young example couple would actually be able to cover the costs of their move from the savings of trading up in the down Vancouver real estate market (real estate fees, lawyer’s fees, moving costs) and be in their perfect new home.

One More Thing

Not only is our young couple saving money, they are also more likely to find the home that they want in this market. There are lots of choices and you have the luxury of finding the right home for you in this market. That’s not a luxury you’d have in a seller’s market.

Right now we have a lot of homes for sale in Vancouver. Listings piqued in September and they’ve been coming down since (something that needs to happen for the Vancouver real estate market to stabilize). Who knows how much longer this situation will be ideal for the trade up buyer?

Want to Trade Up?

If you are considering trading up, thinking of buying or selling, or just have questions, contact me here or send me a quick email.

More Info on Vancouver Real Estate

Should you want to learn more about the Vancouver real estate market generally you can check out this page. You can also review all of the statistics for Vancouver East and Vancouver West broken down for you here:

Enjoy Vancouver real estate statistics? You can find all of the latest stats by area right here:

October 2008 Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver Statistics

Posted on November 4th, 2008 by Sebastian. Filed in Statistics, Monthly Update.
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) released the statistics package for October 2008 yesterday. The headline always gives it away. This week, it reads, “Residential Housing Price Decline Creates Buying Opportunities”. From May to October 2008, the residential benchmark declined 8.8%, year-over-year the decline was 3.9%.

“Homes sales are not keeping pace with the positive economic conditions in BC,” said REBGV president, Dave Watt. “That’s a direct result of a loss of consumer confidence in the overall market. Accordingly, today’s housing market is characterized by moderating home prices and wide selection. It’s definitely a buyer’s market.”

Vancouver West continues to be the area of the city that is hardest hit by price declines. The attached property benchmark was down -9.65% over last month (-6.71% in Vancouver East). While the apartment benchmark rose month-to-month in Vancouver East (+0.81%), it fell in Vancouver West (-3.58%).

Active listings looks to be on the decline over last month throughout the city (-3.59%). This is a positive, and it will need to continue to decline before the market can stabilize. I’m encouraged by a recent increase I’ve seen in expired listings as well as cancelled/terminated listings (you can review these by following my weekly statistics in the link below).

Here are some specific numbers for the month of October 2008. The numbers in the right column indicate the month-to-month change for that statistic:

More Info on Vancouver Real Estate

Should you want to learn more about the Vancouver real estate market generally you can check out this page. You can also review all of the statistics for Vancouver East and Vancouver West broken down for you here:

Enjoy Vancouver real estate statistics? You can find all of the latest stats by area right here:

If you are thinking of buying or selling, or just have questions, contact me here or send me a quick email.

Weekly Update - Vancouver Real Estate Statistics October 27th - November 2nd

Posted on November 4th, 2008 by Sebastian. Filed in Statistics, Weekly Update.
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!

Here are the weekly statistics for the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver in the week of October 27th, 2008 - November 2nd, 2008 for my market area of Vancouver East and Vancouver West.

There were some very positive signs in the Vancouver real estate statistics for this past week. Of note was the New Listing numbers that stayed relatively flat at 333 (+0.60%). The other big positive was that we saw a big bump up in Removed Listings (as we should see at the end of the month) to 534 (+149.53%) but this resulted in the lowest number of Active Listings (5617) we’ve seen since the beginning of September.

On the negative side, Sales were low once again at only 80 (-23.08%). This is only the third time we’ve had Sales dip below 100 since we began publishing these statistics in mid-July. The Sell/List ratio also fell sharply as a result to 24.02% (-7.40). Unfortunately, the gains that we saw in this number last week were shortlived.

Looking at the Removed Listings more closely, I am heartened to see that both Terminated/Cancelled and Expired listings saw a healthy rise. While the Expired listing jump can be attributed entirely to the fact that it was the end of the month, the Terminated/Cancelled listings continuing to rise is very positive. The excess listings that are just not selling are being removed from the market.

More Info on Vancouver Real Estate

Should you want to learn more about the Vancouver real estate market generally you can check out this page. You can also review all of the statistics for Vancouver East and Vancouver West broken down for you here:

Enjoy Vancouver real estate statistics? You can find all of the latest stats by area right here:

If you are thinking of buying or selling, or just have questions, contact me here or send me a quick email.

Who Should Buy in Today’s Vancouver Real Estate Market?

Posted on November 4th, 2008 by Sebastian. Filed in Investing, Vancouver Real Estate.
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!

Who SHOULD Buy in Today’s Vancouver Real Estate Market?

The answer to that question really depends upon your circumstances. I believe that there are four types of people that could greatly benefit from buying in today’s Vancouver real estate market. These are:

1. You want to trade up in the market.

A down market is the classic trade-up market. Yes, you will make less money on the home that you are selling however you will also be paying less for the home that you are buying. The difference will be money in your pocket.

I’ve written a more detailed explanation of the benefits of trading up in the down Vancouver real estate market.

2. You want the ideal home at the best possible price.

You can take your time to find the best possible home in this market. Sales are slow and inventory is high. When the market is hot once again, everyone will be wanting to buy and your competition will be fierce. Now is the time to cherry pick.

3. You are an investor.

Buy when there is panic, sell when there is euphoria. When everone else is heading to the exits is when the smart investor puts their money to work. Besides, where else would you want to put your money these days? The equity markets have taken a pounding. With real estate, you have a hard asset that will always have value…which you can rent and have someone else pay off your mortgage for you.

4. You HAVE to move.

Perhaps you’ve just got a new job in a new area, or maybe you just got married or had twins? Realise that you will be able to make up the money when you buy. You won’t be able to buy a new home unless you sell your old one, so price your home to sell.

Who Should NOT Buy in Today’s Vancouver Real Estate Market?

There’s definitely one group of people that I would recommend stay away from buying in the Vancouver real estate market as it stands today. That is if:

1. You will have to move within the next two years.

It’s never a good idea to buy real estate for the short term. A risky move in any market, a strong buyer’s market is the worst time to own real estate for the short term. The reason is that there are significant costs in moving in and out of home ownership. Most owners rely on increases in equity in order to cover these costs (real estate fees, lawyer fees, appraisal fees, property transfer tax, etc).

Final Words of Advice

Do not try and time the market. No one can pinpoint when the market will turn precisely. If you can find a home you like at a price that you can afford, then you should take advantage of the historically low interest rates. If you wait, interest rates could be higher negating your savings.

Most of all you should take a balanced and thoughtful approach when making a purchase. Sit down and consider all of the pros and cons of owning real estate. Do not panic over media headlines. Make your own informed decisions.

More Info on Vancouver Real Estate

Should you want to learn more about the Vancouver real estate market generally you can check out this page.

If you are thinking of buying or selling, or just have questions, contact me here or send me a quick email.