Market Update

With Spring just around the corner (thank goodness!), we are entering into what is typically the busiest season of the Vancouver real estate market. As the sun comes out, so too it seems do the buyers and sellers. Often in droves. And I have little reason to believe that this year will be much different.

February saw the continuation of the trends we saw in January, with active listings and sales volume climbing across the board. Vancouver West led the sales charge with a 60% increase in attached sales and a 69% increase in detached sales compared with the January numbers. Only the North Vancouver attached market showed a decline in sales, with a drop of almost 28%. A little surprising given the rest of the market data, but we will monitor this trend through March to see if it was just an aberration.

Average sales price for both attached and detached homes in Vancouver East slipped slightly in February, while Vancouver West attached homes dropped almost 13%. Vancouver West detached prices saw a slight increase last month. Downtown prices climbed almost 8%, while North Van showed slight price increases in both categories.

We still haven't seen the influx of inventory we have been expecting, but let's see what March brings. I suspect that many of the people who have been talking about listing their homes for sale will take action this month. And for buyers, now that all the major banks have announced that conventional mortgages will be subject to the 30 maximum amortization period as well as the unconventional mortgages as of March 17, 2011. If you need that 35 year mortgage, don't forget that you'll need a firm contract before the 17th!

I look forward to your questions and comments,

Ben