Newsletter

Market Update

What's Going on with the market?

Well, it's official. The holiday season is upon us. I'm not sure about you, but activity around our office seemed to screech to a halt as soon as December hit. With festive plans filling social calendars all around, 'tis the season to be distracted! I would like to take this chance to wish all of you a very merry holiday season and hope that you find some time to kick back and enjoy a well deserved break.

Taking a look at the real estate stats this month, the predominant theme is one of falling inventory. All of the attached markets (Downtown, Westside & Eastside) and detached markets (Westside and Eastside) displayed lower active listings in November with most markets showing their 3rd or 4th consecutive month of decline. At any other time of the year this statistic might be alarming, but given the traditional winter slowdown much of the declining inventory was to be expected.

November showed slightly improved sales volumes, up 7.4% in Greater Vancouver, compared to October 2010. Sales volume did remain behind last year's at 18.6% lower than November 2009. Average house prices in Greater Vancouver, according to the Housing Price Index, are up 4.1% since November last year. Breaking it down further, detached homes on the both the Westside and Eastside showed growth this month, while all of the attached markets saw prices fall. This is primarily due to the lack of inventory and huge demand present in the detached market at the moment. I suspect that both the attached and detached markets will level off to end the year.

Overall, I think it is pretty safe to say that we are enjoying the longest stretch of balance the Vancouver market has seen in years. Homes that are priced well are selling and buyers have the opportunity to explore their options before purchasing. Let's hope it lasts a little while longer! Happy holidays and make it a fabulous end to 2010,

Ben