Month over month, the consistent rise in our listing count has been outpaced by home sales, keeping a lid on home prices. However, this has pushed the Greater Vancouver housing market into the upper end of a buyers’ market. The number of properties listed for sale on the MLS® rose to 16,085 in September 2011. This represents a 4.6% increase over last month and a 4.4% increase compared to September 2010.
What does this mean for you? Honestly, it really depends on where you live but generally speaking, sellers and their REALTORS® have to work harder for an offer. Home staging is becoming popular for sellers to get top dollar and potentially drive multiple offers. They also need to be more accurate in their pricing because they actually have competition.
With more properties to choose from, a home’s value becomes apparent especially when buyers can take their time and view multiple properties, sometimes more than once, before making a decision. Buyers are looking for move-in-ready homes that are properly priced and when they find them, they’re ready to make a move.
In September, there were 78 detached home sales in Vancouver West, 29 of which resulted in buyers paying list price or higher. Â In West Vancouver those numbers were 6 out of 53 sales and North Vancouver saw 22 out of 63. Despite the rise in inventory and current global economic conditions, experts and economists continue to predict an increase in value heading through 2012 as demand in our fair city continues to be strong.
A new contributing factor in these predictions is a potential flux in first-time home buyers. Interest rates are expected to remain at record low levels into 2013 while some areas of the city are experiencing scarce rental inventory, pushing up prices. Current renters don’t seem to notice but if you’re out there looking, it can be discouraging. The competition is fierce and it’s causing people to weigh their options. The condo resale market remains relatively unchanged over the past year, encouraging renters to jump off the fence and embrace the idea of home ownership.
MLS® SALES STATS - September 2011
Residential property sales of detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver reached 2,246 in September 2011, a 1.2% increase compared to the 2,220 sales in September 2010 and a 5.6% decrease compared to August 2011. Simply broken out, Vancouver home sales look like this:
| Greater Vancouver Area | September 2011 | September 2010 | August 2011 |
| Detached Units Sold | 957 | 866 | 1,021 |
| Attached Units Sold | 367 | 383 | 403 |
| Apartment Condo Units Sold | 922 | 971 | 955 |
MLSLINK HPI -Â September 2011
Compared to August 2011, the Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark for single family, attached and condos increased slightly for single family and attached housing from $888,243 to $896,701 and from $511,433 to $516,697 respectively, while apartment condos decreased slightly from $407,457 to $405,569.
In Greater Vancouver, over the past 12 months, the benchmark price for all residential properties (detached, attached and condos) has increased by 8.8% from $577,174 to $627,994. Since reaching a peak in June of $630,921, the benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver has declined 0.5%.
| Property Type | Area | Benchmark Price | Price Range | 3 Month Avg Benchmark Price | 1 Year Change | 3 Year Change | 5 Year Change |
| Detached | Greater Vancouver | $896,701 |
+1.3% |
$894,610 | +13.4% | +23.5% | +36.0% |
| Detached | North Vancouver | $973,469 | +2.7% | $961,019 | +11.1% | +19.4% | +27.6% |
| Detached | Vancouver West | $2,030,720 | +2.9% | $2,012,830 | +24.5% | +54.4% | +75.6% |
| Detached | West Vancouver | $1,716,247 | +4.3% | $1,735,533 | +18.9% | +22.0% | +32.1% |
| Property Type | Area | Benchmark Price | Price Range | 3 Month Avg Benchmark Price | 1 Year Change | 3 Year Change | 5 Year Change |
| Attached | Greater Vancouver | $516,697 |
+1.0% |
$517,680 | +5.4% | +11.2% | +25.4% |
| Attached | North Vancouver | $617,579 | +2.8% | $637,987 | +0.4% | +10.4% | +18.6% |
| Attached | Vancouver West | $841,990 | +3.4% | $817,539 | +9.5% | +20.6% | +33.4% |
| Attached | West Vancouver | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Property Type | Area | Benchmark Price | Price Range | 3 Month Avg Benchmark Price | 1 Year Change | 3 Year Change | 5 Year Change |
| Condo | Greater Vancouver | $405,569 |
+0.6% |
$406,111 | +4.4% | +9.9% | +21.3% |
| Condo | North Vancouver | $377,261 | +2.47% | $388,917 | -1.6% | -0.2% | +10.4% |
| Condo | Vancouver West | $526,026 | +1.2% | $522,951 | +5.8% | +13.0% | +23.2% |
| Condo | West Vancouver | $733,981 | +9.7% | $731,844 | +15.8 | +21.2% | +22.1% |
Stats are provided by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver; feel free to view the complete REBGV Stats Package for September, 2011 on their website.
| Attached | Greater Vancouver | $511,039 | +0.7% | $504,432 | +3.6% | +7.9% | +35.9% |
| Attached | North Vancouver | $637,633 | +2.4% | $612,752 | +4.6% | +2.5% | +31.2% |
| Attached | Vancouver West | $782,842 | +2.5% | $771,100 | +1.6% | +10.0% | +41.5% |
| Attached | West Vancouver | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Kerri - you are SO right. Home staging makes all the difference in the world. A fresh pair of eyes, a little editing and decluttering and an otherwise ordinary, hum-drum home is transformed into a thing of beauty. No seller can underestimate the value of this service - whether it means a home will simply get sold for a fair price when it may otherwise not get sold at all, or whether it means the home will sell for top dollar because the time and attention were taken to present it optimally. Home staging is THE #1 thing aside from correct pricing that will get a listing attention!
Posted by Jolenta Averill on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 at 12:01pmAbsolutely Jolenta! I only wish every seller would agree. It's a lot of work but it is worth it! Every home that I've staged has sold in less than a week, but one. The proof is in the stats :)
Posted by Kerri Demski on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 at 2:08pmLeave A Comment