Vancouver is definitely a phenomenon all its own when it comes to Canadian real estate, and as a realtor working in Canada’s big West Coast hub that’s both a blessing and a curse. Same goes for your clients living and buying there, however, and so there’s much to read into given recent (but ongoing) developments in the city. Detached real estate there has now seen some of the worst sales numbers ever, but that didn’t stop prices from rising.
Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) March numbers show prices climbed close to the all-time high. And all of this occurred in spite of sales dropping much faster than inventory levels.
One of the immediate ramifications of trends like these is the elimination of certain demographics of prospective buyers. As a realtor that’s never a benefit, but it also does necessitate changes to how you approach your prospecting efforts. Here at Real Estate Leads, our online real estate lead generation system can open more doors for you and help you get in touch with greater numbers of buyers who are qualified despite the difficulty of doing that in Vancouver.
Less Than A Point From High
The benchmark price of a detached home hasn’t stopped climbing in Greater Vancouver. The benchmark reached $1,608,500, a 0.4% increase from the previous month. This represents a 7.4% increase compared to the same time last year. This brings the detached benchmark within 0.5% of the all-time high, which was seen in September of 2017.
What’s happening with the annual detached increase in Greater Vancouver is quite indicative. This is the first time since 2013 we’ve seen annual growth shrink from February to March. Prices were in negative territory throughout that year.
Prices aren’t up as much in Vancouver itself, but they’re not down that much either. The detached benchmark in Vancouver East is now $1,553,100, which is down 0.5% from the month before. This brings prices to 6.9% higher than the same time last year. Go to the very-desirable Vancouver West, however, and the detached benchmark reached $3,449,000. That’s a 1.5% decline from the month before. This represents a 0.4% decline from the same month last year.
It’s worth noting that Vancouver West is the only REBGV region where the detached benchmark is negative in comparison to the year previous.
Detached Sales Are Down 37% in Lotusland
Detached sales are down substantially compared to previous years, with REBGV reporting 717 sales being up 15.6% from February but a decline of 37.73% from this time last year. This decline in detached sales is particularly interesting, and quite unique.
As mentioned, Vancouver had the worst first quarter for detached sales seen in the last 27 years. The overarching belief is that demand has dried up in that segment, particularly with regards to offshore investment. Further, listings of detached homes are also down over 6%, and part of a 6.44% decline compared to the same time last year. This decline in sales had a minimal impact on prices, however, and that’s something that goes agains standard market predominances.
Detached prices are climbing towards their all-time high, despite sales dropping significantly faster than inventory. Normally real estate prices are slow to fall as sales decline, but they usually don’t rise when sales are falling faster than inventory. Interesting stuff to be sure, and equally interesting terrain for real estate professionals to negotiate.
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