I hope that you are keeping well in these tumultuous times.  It’s definitely been an emotional time as we see the world starting to stall to prevent further spread of COVID 19. The question this week has really been how is this all going to shake out  and what exactly are we seeing in the Real Estate Market?

Well, we have seen the Vancouver Real Estate Market ebb and flow in the recent years as homebuyer confidence has swayed; but in spite of everything I think we will still have a busy, highly active year ahead. Demand is back to where it was in 2017 after a brief dip following the regulation and tax changes in BC. Now that we seem to be accustom to the new laws, and tensions grow globally from stock market plummets and coronavirus, many people are looking locally for investment security.

Looking at the stats, we are definitely feeling a pinch between supply and demand. We saw a 44.9% increase in sales compared to February 2019, and a 36.9 per cent increase in homes sold in January. This sounds great, but the issue is that the supply just isn’t keeping up with the demand. The total number of homes currently listed for sale decreased by 20.7 per cent. This means multiple offers on well priced properties is back to being the norm.  5-15 offers on a single property is becoming common place. We were involved in a multiple offer scenario for a detached home in Kitsilano that received 43 offers and sold half a million dollars over asking price!With the worldwide caution around coronavirus, The Bank of Canada cut rates for the first time in four years. Rates across the board continued to decline this week, with the 5 yr High-ratio Fixed down to 2.34%, and regular 5yr fixed 2.54%: Variable, both Conventional and Insured, still at P-1.00%, however some lenders have started to allow this to increase. These rates will probably not be seen again in our lifetime. We detail current rates and what we are seeing from the banks in another blog post, linked here.

http://caseyarchibald.com/blog.html/bank-of-canada-rate-cut–7145977

Benchmark prices have increased by 0.3%, but what’s more important is that they have increased by 2.7% over the past 6 months. I think we will see this continue to trend upwards if we see this type of activity continue. Like I said; as mortgage rates drop by the minute, and the stock market grows more volatile, Vancouver real estate has picked up once again. There is a bit of concern for buyers surrounding strata insurance, but this is easy to navigate by looking through strata documents prior to an offer or during the subject period. As a buyers agent we will review documents on your behalf to make sure the deductible hasn’t increased beyond belief.

If you would like to know how this may impact you, please reach out any time. I’m always here to help you make the best decision for your real estate investments.