The Blog

On the surface, it looks like the August market is slowing some more from July. The residential sales figure in August is down 5.2% from the July. However, seasonally August is a slower month. Adjusted for seasonality, August was actually more active than July. The August sales figure is actually 20.4% above the 10-year  August sales average, while last month’s sales was only 13.3% above the 10-year July sales average. The pace of new listings is not keeping up with the sales. Compared to last month, the new listings dropped by 7.9%. The total number of homes currently listed for sales is 8.6% lower than in July. This is reflected in the general increase in the sales-to-active listings ratio and the pricing strength of the

The market is still active in July but has been declining for several months now. Nevertheless, July’s sales were still 13.3% above the 10-year July average. New listings are particularly low. 12.3% below the 10-year average and 25.2% lower than the month before. Maybe as the covid restrictions loosen and the summer is upon us, people are putting their housing plans on hold. The sales-to-active listings ratio remains elevated but pricing increase has slowed and for townhomes it has actually reversed. While typically ratios above 20% indicate an upward pricing pressure, pricing increase has stalled. The sales-to-active listings ratio for detached homes is 25.5% but there is no increase in the benchmark price over last month. However, it is an amazing 21% higher than last

It is hard for me to believe that Hong Kong style suites are already in Vancouver. Earlier in the month an ad for a micro rental suite for a building in downtown Vancouver appeared in Craigslist. It is a 160 square feet furnished “studio” that is asking for $680/month rent. It looks more like a large bathroom with a mattress in the corner. There is no kitchen but a hot plate and a micro-fridge are supplied. I hope this is a prank but most likely not. As density increases in a city, typical problems occur. Prime locations in a city are bid up. The price ripples out from there. Wages never appreciates as fast as real estate so more and more people are priced out

Stats from the May Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver showed that the market has slowed, though it is still quite hot. May’s sales were 27.7% above the 10 years May average even though it is a 13% decrease from April. The listing is growing faster than the sales, so there is less upward pricing pressure. The total number of homes listed for sale is 10.5% higher than May 2020 and 7.1% higher than April 2021. The lower sales-to-active listing ratios also reflects the decrease in upward pricing pressure.  For May it was 29.8% for detached homes, 53.8% for townhomes and 43.5% for apartments. The month before the ratios were respectively 37.4%, 70% and 51.5%. While lower these are till high numbers. Any time the

The government has decided to expand their First Time Home Buyer Incentive Program. In terms of containing a hot housing market, this does not seem to make sense. While the IMF and local banks warn against such types of incentives, the government definitely have different goals. This program was originally launched in 2018 and basically the government is helping buyers with not enough down payment to get into the housing market. Depending on the situation, the government will lend you up to 10% of the purchase price. It is an interest free loan BUT that 10% is consider an investment by the government. Regardless of what price you sell your property for, the government will want 10% of it back. So, the government will share

Many buyers seem to think when a bank gives them a pre-approval with a rate on it that this will guarantee a mortgage. That is not true! At best a pre-approval will guarantee you a rate if the bank approves your property.  For mortgage specialist who do not examine your documentation before hand, there is even less of a guarantee. When you have less than 20% down payment, you will have to get mortgage default insurance which means the insurance company also has a say on your property. There are many condo towers that insurers do not lend against because of large assessments or on-going repairs. Other property specific issues that might derail your mortgage approval are commercial zoning, self-managed properties, age-restrictions, property on leased

“Builders and developers are focusing their efforts on meeting the demand of the homebuyers in Vancouver ’’ Scarpelli said. “We know that we have a housing supply problem and until the industry can somewhat alleviate that problem, housing prices will continue to soar, thus limiting the affordability of housing. Our members care about the community and unfortunately, they’re working to overcome many barriers that impact affordability; rising building material costs, new energy code standards, shortage of skilled tradespeople, and limited availability of land supply.” Not surprising? What if I told you this was from Clark County Today, about Vancouver, Washington. A small town of approximately 160,000 people (in its 2010 census). Why is there a real estate boom in Vancouver, Washington? Why did the real