New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties totalled.....CLICK TO READ MORE

Home Sales Activity Strong through Olympic Period

c/o REBGV : Greater Vancouver home sales remained strong last month, with the second highest number of residential sales ever recorded for the month of September.

 

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 3,559 in September 2009, an increase of 3.4 per cent from the 3,441 sales recorded in August 2009, and an increase of 124.5 per cent compared to September 2008 when 1,585 sales were recorded.

 

“As homes sales in Greater Vancouver continued at an elevated pace in September it’s encouraging to see that more homes were listed on the MLS® in the month than any other so far this year,” Scott Russell, REBGV president said.

 

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 5,764 in September 2009. This represents a 6.2 per cent decline compared to September 2008 when 6,142 new units were listed, but a 26.8 per cent increase compared to August 2009 when 4,544 properties were listed on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Greater Vancouver.

 

At 12,596, the total number of property listings on the MLS® increased 5.5 per cent in September compared to last month and declined 36 per cent from the 19,852 homes listed for sale during the buyer’s market that was experienced at this time last year.

 

“During this period of renewed demand in our marketplace, home values have gradually recovered from the declines that occurred in 2008,” said Russell.

 

Since the beginning of the year, the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver has increased 13 per cent to $547,092 from $484,211, while home prices compared to Septembers 2008 levels are up 1.6 per cent.

 

Sales of detached properties increased 160.6 per cent to 1,423 from the 546 detached sales recorded during the same period in 2008. The benchmark price, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, for detached properties increased 2.1 per cent from September 2008 to $741,632.

 

Sales of apartment properties in September 2009 increased 94.9 per cent to 1,489, compared to 764 sales in September 2008. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 1.5 per cent from September 2008 to $374,686.

 

Attached property sales in September 2009 are up 135.3 per cent to 647, compared with the 275 sales in September 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 0.4 per cent between Septembers 2008 and 2009 to $466,276.

Yes. There is a large group of people who have great opportunities in front of them right now. Some of them just don't know it yet. Move up Buyers, First time buyers, Investors and Builders with cash for inventory are all in a good position to take advantage of this downturn market.

We are now seeing the best opportunities to purchase in several years. Competition for properties is low, interest rates are a bargain (3.99% for a 5 year fixed) and Canada looks like it will have the quickest economic recovery. Now is the time to make a move and create some wealth for your future.

If you look you can find a situation where you have a strong Vancouver Real Estate Agent representing you and an eager seller or a property that has been on the market for a long time. Just make sure your agent is capable of negotiating and can prove that they have done so in the past.

The move up buyer is the person who currently owns their own home but is looking to buy a larger lot, a nicer home, something that is completely renovated or maybe leaving a condo for a house. It is true that you will lose money selling your existing home in the current market, but that is fine because you will be buying something at a higher price which will allow you to make back every penny of the loss and create new gains.

The real estate buyer who is in the best position is the one who was on the fence 6 months ago about whether or not they should buy a better home or someone who received a promotion or raise but has been too busy with the new job to execute a move. As long as you have some job security, now is the best time to make the jump.

If you bought your current home for $600K in 2007 and now you can maybe sell it for $500K. You have taken $100K loss. That is okay if you buy a more expensive home in the same market because the home that was bought for $1.2M in 2007 is only selling for $1M today. Therefore you make back the $100K you lost on the sale of your existing home plus you saved an additional $100K by buying in today's market. The above mentioned situation will vary depending on your specific situation so be sure to work with your real estate agent to work out the exact figures to ensure it is a profitable move for you.

In Vancouver West it does not seem like things are going to slow down much more, we are starting to see the surplus inventory dry up and there is a lag in new listings.

First time buyers are also in an amazing position to jump into the real estate market feet first. The official description of a first time buyer is someone who has never owned property before or has not had an interest in owning a property for at least 4 years.

There are a lot of government programs available to assist the first time purchaser. There are rebates for land transfer tax, both municipal and provincial, there is a tax credit to help with closing costs, and you can access $25,000 of your RRSP, tax free, for your down payment ($50K if you lump together you and your spouse). And most importantly, at the introductory level there is a surplus of properties to choose from and negotiate for. The key is to have an agent who is not afraid to go in and fight for the best price for you.

Investment Buyers are also in buying heaven. Right now there are many homes that are available to buy that have multiple units in them. The rental market has stayed strong in Vancouver West and there are still a number of potential tenants filling the appointment books. This is the time to buy because you can lock in a low interest rate with a nominal down payment, which will allow all of the operating costs to be carried by the rental income.

The other segment of the investor buyers are builders. If a builder has sold off their finished products and are now sitting with cash in the bank they can buy up inventory at a good price for future projects and sit on them until the higher markets return.

In every market there are opportunities to be had, you just need to know where to look and be in the right position to take advantage of them.