Vancouver Real Estate Market Update
The Vancouver real estate market finished off 2013 with a steady and balanced market. The first month of January 2014 continues this trend. In fact the first month of 2014 saw home sale and listing totals outpace historical averages in the Greater Vancouver housing market. There were 1760 residential property sales in January 2014 which is a 30% increase over the 1351 sales in January 2013.
If interest rates remain at record lows we can look forward to a very active spring market.
The following summaries discuss Vancouver’s market by area:
Vancouver West Detached
The Vancouver West detached housing market was balanced and steady in January 2014. The majority of activity was in the 1.5 million to 3 million price range which resulted in 30% of the total sales. There continues to be multiple offers on entry level houses in the Point Grey and Dunbar sub areas particularly those priced close to lot value. The January absorption rate* was 15% which equals a 6 months’ supply of listings and a balanced market. The highest sale price for January was $18,500,000 in Shaughnessy.
Vancouver West Attached
The Vancouver West condo/townhouse market remains balanced. There was strong activity in the sub $700k with the majority of activity taking place under $450k. The January absorption rate* was 18% which indicates an active market with a five month supply of listings. The highest priced sale was in Coal Harbour at $5,900,000.
Vancouver East Detached
The Vancouver East housing market continues to be balanced and active into the end of January 2014. Good properties in prime locations are receiving multiple offers. Particularly in the Main, Fraser and Grandview sub areas. One of my listings in Grandview had 27 groups through in its first day of showings which resulted in three offers all over asking. The busiest price range was in the 1 million to 1.5 million. It is important to note that there were only four properties that sold over 1.5 million with the highest priced sale at 1.67 million. There is currently a 22% absorption rate* which states that good east side properties will be getting lots of attention from qualified buyers.
Van3couver East Attached
The Vancouver East Side condo and townhouse market had a slightly slower pace compared to the other markets. Sales were a bit sluggish in all price ranges. There was one particular type of townhouse that did perform well and that is the ½ duplex. Buyers are opting to purchase a new to newer 3 bedroom / 3 bathroom ½ duplex over many of the 700k to 850k detached fixer uppers. The ½ duplexes are also selling quickly due to their lack of supply currently offered for sale on the East Side. The highest priced sale for the month of January was a one level apartment on Quebec Street by Science World at a selling price of $1,050,000.
I have attached sales charts below which indicate the most active sectors of the market. Please call or email me if you have any questions.
*Absorption rate is the rate at which available homes are sold in a specific real estate market during a given time period. It is calculated by dividing the total number of available homes by the average number of sales per month.
An Absorption rate of 12% or lower puts downward pressure on sale prices and or reflects weak activity.
An Absorption rate of 22% or higher puts upward pressure on prices and or reflects strong activity.
If prices remain stable through high absorption rate percentages the high percentages will reflect a strong sellers market with good activity and multiple offers in micro markets.
