METRO VANCOUVER
As we move into the second month of 2018, average price levels across all property types continue to inch upwards, or remain the same as last month. However, it’s worth keeping in mind that even a modest price increase of less than 1.0 per cent can add several thousands of dollars to home when we are in a market where the composite benchmark price for all residential properties, based on last month’s closing figures of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, is $1,056,500. Since my January newsletter, when this same benchmark was $1,050,000, you can see the actual difference. So, once again, my general advice to anyone who needs to find a home before being outpriced, is not to delay because it’s likely you will pay more in the future for a similar property. That said, I am still continually scouring the market for any specific good buys for my clients that can get overlooked in a general average.
Some good news this month is that there were 3,796 new listings across all property types on the Multiple Listing Service for Metro Vancouver. This brings the total inventory of listed properties to 6,947, which provides a wide choice selection, although admittedly in a high demand market. Looking at the sales in each property type last month, we continue to see the greatest number was for condominiums with 57.2 percent, followed by townhouses with 32.8 per cent. Detached homes remained in the last place, as has been the trend for several months. Looking at the actual number of sales in each category last month, we can compare these figures with one year ago to see the underlying upward pressure on price levels now in place. Detached home sales in last month were 487, an increase of almost 10 per cent over January sales in 2017. The current benchmark price for detached properties in Metro Vancouver is $1,601,500, an increase of just over 8 per cent since January 2017. Condominium sales last month were 1,012, an increase of almost 23 per cent since January 2017. The current benchmark price for a condominium in Metro Vancouver is $665,400, an increase of slightly more than 27 per cent over January 2017. Townhouse sales last month were 319, almost 26 per cent higher than sales in January 2017. The benchmark price for a Metro Vancouver townhouse is currently $803,700, an increase of almost 18 per cent since January 2017. Although the correlation between the increase in sales and the increase in price here is a bit rough, there appears to be relationship between the monthly number of sales and the price increases that is somewhat in synch. You might want to use this a rule of thumb, though not a perfect one, for predicting future price increases in whatever property category you are searching. I will keep you informed of monthly sales and prices in each of my newsletters.
Detached Properties
There is quite a large difference between the extremes in prices for Single Family Detached homes across Metro Vancouver. Excluding areas such as Whistler and Sunshine Coast which are farther out than my clients are looking, here is the range of the prices that make up the benchmark price of $1,601,500. In West Vancouver and Vancouver West, the benchmark price is, respectively, $3,099,500, and $3,548,400. On the other end of the scale are Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, at, respectively, $833,600 and $904,600. Only Burnaby South, Richmond and North Vancouver are higher than the Metro Vancouver benchmark, while other municipalities are currently below. In each of the middle-priced municipalities, the prices are close to the Metro Benchmark. I will be happy to supply anyone looking to buy a detached property an exact benchmark for the desired area if you would like to contact me.
For the other property types, I have made the following area selections based on current price changes.
Townhouses
The benchmark price for townhouses in Metro Vancouver, excluding Whistler and Squamish, remained unchanged since the previous month’s figures at $665,400. The extremities of the average in January ranged from $1,247,900 in Vancouver West to $533,800 in Maple Ridge. Two municipalities showed a one month decrease: Vancouver East with a benchmark of $857,600 was a drop of 2.5 per cent from one month previous, and Ladner at $776,000 was a one month decrease of 0.1 per cent. Most of the other municipalities had small increases below 1.0 per cent. But there were three notable exceptions where the month-over-month benchmark price was somewhat higher: Burnaby South showed the biggest jump with a 2.8 per cent increase to $786,400; Richmond had one month increase of 1.8 per cent to $822,500; and Burnaby East increased 1.3 per cent to $667,900.
Condominiums
The benchmark price for condominiums in Metro Vancouver, excluding Whistler and Squamish, showed a 1.5 per cent increase over one month. The benchmark average had extremities of $1,179,400 in West Vancouver, which was a one month increase of 0.7 per cent; and $291,500 in Maple Ridge, a one month increase of 3.3 per cent. Notably, the one month increase in Maple Ridge was the highest across Metro Vancouver, followed by a 3.2 per cent increase in Pitt Meadows to $436,200. The third highest monthly increase was in Burnaby North at $618,400. It is worth observing that the largest monthly increases appear to be happening in the lower priced market segment. Since condominiums are often the entry level for residential property owners, I would recommend that this category of buyers, often singles or young couples, not delay in making a purchasing decision if your budget down payment and mortgage are already determined.
FRASER VALLEY
The Valley market showed one of the strongest January sales volumes ever, with 1,210 sales across all property types. This was a 24 per cent increase for January sales since 2017, and third highest January on record with the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. The January benchmark price for a Fraser Valley Single Detached property $982,700, still under the $1-million mark and only a slight increase 0.6 per cent from the preceding month. Note that this was a over a 15 per cent increase year over year, which is a good reflection of the market activity in this region. The greatest sales activity, however, continues to be for townhouses and condominiums, which represented 51 per cent of all sales in January. Of the total number 1,210 of residential sales, 281 were townhouses, and 338 were condominiums. It is important to note that demand is outpacing supply in the Fraser Valley. While there were 2,092 new listings in January, which brought the total Valley inventory to 3,962, there continues to be an increasing number of potential buyers, so prices overall are moving upwards, although not with any alarming increases. I will be happy to show provide specific and current benchmark prices for single detached properties to anyone shopping in the that category, but with most Fraser Valley clients looking for the other two property types I will focus on these segments here.
Townhouses
The January benchmark price for a Valley townhouse was $519,400, a 1.2 per cent increase from the preceding month. Again, I point out that this price level is a year over increase of 23.4 per cent so it is important keep in mind that delayed purchasing decisions in this current market can be costly. The current benchmark average price has relatively narrow extremities ranging from a high in South Surrey/White Rock at $664,200 to a low of $361,800 in Abbotsford. Interestingly, the South Surrey/White Rock price is a 0.5 per cent decrease from the preceding month. All other municipalities show modest month-over-month increases. The areas with the three largest month-over-month benchmark price percentage increases were: Mission at $432,000, an increase of 3.7 per cent; Langley and North Surrey both had monthly increases of 1.9 per cent, bringing their prices, respectively, to $499,200 and $543,400; and Abbotsford, at $361,800, a monthly increase of 1.7 per cent.
Condominiums
The January benchmark price for a condominium in the Fraser Valley was $404,100, a month-over-month increase of 4.0 per cent. The extremities of this average range from $507,400 in South Surrey/White Rock, an increase of 4.0 per cent from the preceding month to $300,100 in Abbotsford, an increase of 4.7 per cent from the preceding month. The three municipalities with the biggest month-over-month increase in this segment’s benchmark price were Surrey, with an increase of 5.2 per cent bringing its January benchmark to 402,000; Abbotsford, with an increase of 4.7 per cent bringing its January benchmark to $300,100; and Cloverdale, with an increase of 4.6 per cent, for a January benchmark of $469,300. Again, I would draw attention to larger percentage increases often occurring in the lower end of the market prices. For entry level buyers, I would advise if you are looking for condominium to get started, that you don’t delay too long as prices are moving up in this market segment.
If any of my newsletter readers would like a personal and confidential consultation on your home requirements, I would be very happy to advise you. I have experience in both finance and Real Estate, and pay close attention to the market.
Please feel free to give me a call. I am here to help!
Thanks for reading!
Sibo Zhang, REALTOR®