Trending towards a seller’s market!
The real estate trends for Vancouver have seen a shift this past year. The sales-to-active-listings ratio in February was 25.7 per cent. This is the highest that this ratio has been in Metro Vancouver since March 2011. The sales and listings totals came in well above the region’s ten-year average for the month of February. According to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, home sales in Metro Vancouver saw a 20.2% increase this February. Listings also went up by 11% – but the demand far exceeds the supply. Low supply can be held responsible for the upward surge in house prices in Vancouver, despite slumps in other regions of Canada.
Agents and buyers alike have been noticing this change. Ray Harris, REGBV president, was quoted as saying, “It’s an active and competitive marketplace today. Buyers are motivated and homes that are priced competitively are selling at a brisk pace right now.” Harris also termed February as one of the busiest months the market has seen in a long while. “One month does not make a market, but three consecutive months over 22% would be a clear indication that we would be in a sellers’ market,” he said.
In February, sales of detached properties reached 1,296, an increase of 25.6 per cent from the 1,032 detached sales recorded in February 2014. For apartments, an increase of 20.5% was observed in comparison to 2014. Attached property sales totaled 521, which is an increase of 11.8 per cent compared to the 466 sales in February 2014.