Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[Presto]

People and their lack of personal responsibility means they gotta blame someone except themselves. I've seen strata council members threatened and yelled at because someone's car gets rightfully towed.

[Ch28]

Originally Posted by ImportPsycho

I'm guessing retail shoppers accidentally trickled in to residential parking lot.
Is waiting for gate to close, and not letting car behind in before gate close, strickly enforced?

It can't be retail customers accidentally spilling into the residential parking lot. Her parking stall is located on the very last parkade floor. The retail parking space already has 15+ designated stalls that are never full.

The retail parking space is located after the first gate. So customers have to dial into the retail number and the retailer opens the gate for them. In order to get into the residential parking area, you'll have to open a second locked gate via buzzer at the end of the retail parking area. The residential parking gate doesn't automatically unlock on the way out, so the only way to leave residential parking is having someone with a registered buzzer buzz you out.

She emailed strata and the building management company last night, so we'll see what they respond back with.

She's the type of person that likes to avoid conflict if possible, which isn't a bad thing. I'd like to get the car towed for the simple fact that the person stole her spot. If you lack the common sense to park in a non-visitor spot then fuck you.

[Tapioca]

Some interesting stats...

According to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (which excludes Surrey and Langley) condo sales were 14% above the 10 year average during the month of February, while townhouses and detached houses were down 6% and 32% respectively.

Multiple offers on condos are happening now. Prices for other properties still haven't gone down, so if you want to trade up from your condo to something larger, it might be a good time to do it.

[Hondaracer]

Yea some of the realtors I follow on Facebook are kind of touting thay right now

"Great time to get out of thay condo and into a home with a suite!"

Yea ok lol

[ForbiddenX]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

Some interesting stats...

According to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (which excludes Surrey and Langley) condo sales were 14% above the 10 year average during the month of February, while townhouses and detached houses were down 6% and 32% respectively.

Multiple offers on condos are happening now. Prices for other properties still haven't gone down, so if you want to trade up from your condo to something larger, it might be a good time to do it.

Every condo we made an offer on also had at least 2 other offers it seemed. For the condo we got there were 5 offers going in.

[Tapioca]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Yea some of the realtors I follow on Facebook are kind of touting thay right now

"Great time to get out of thay condo and into a home with a suite!"

Yea ok lol

Yeah, the marketing is not really in the best interest of upgraders because there isn't a lot of inventory. But if you find a diamond in the rough and can get bridge financing, you should feel pretty secure because your condo will probably sell above asking price.

Detached homes in East Vancouver are creeping up again. Heck, even strata townhouses in my area are moving at prices higher than the supposed peak last year.

So much for the foreign buyers tax, eh? As far as I know, banks are still giving out HELOCs which is keeping renovations going and helping millennials get into the condo market.

[SumAznGuy]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

So much for the foreign buyers tax, eh? As far as I know, banks are still giving out HELOCs which is keeping renovations going and helping millennials get into the condo market.

And rental prices remain high, so there is always that safety net when people can't pay the mortgage or high ROI for the slumlords.

[fliptuner]

Not much inventory for detaches in my area either. If the prices are going to drop on them, I think it'll take some time before sellers accept that there's a correction.

[Tapioca]

Richard Wittstock is reporting on Twitter that the median price for detached houses north and south of the Fraser is now back to the July 2016 median price. He also shared an anecdote that a realtor selling a house in Maple Ridge had 18 offers last weekend. So much for that other thread about commuting, eh?

It appears that the valley for detached houses was last fall.

[quasi]

Originally Posted by Tapioca

Yeah, the marketing is not really in the best interest of upgraders because there isn't a lot of inventory. But if you find a diamond in the rough and can get bridge financing, you should feel pretty secure because your condo will probably sell above asking price.

Detached homes in East Vancouver are creeping up again. Heck, even strata townhouses in my area are moving at prices higher than the supposed peak last year.

So much for the foreign buyers tax, eh? As far as I know, banks are still giving out HELOCs which is keeping renovations going and helping millennials get into the condo market.

Agreed, burbs is similar not much on the market and when the homes do come up they don't stay up for long. I've looked at moving to get closer to the high school my son wants to go to but not really worth it at the moment, worried my place will sell and I won't find anything I like to buy.

[Adorkami]

I finally listed my condo in Vancouver a couple weeks ago, gotten five offers and waiting on one i accepted to complete in a few days. Had an open house for one weekend, realtor said about 50 different groups came by and he is still getting requests to see the unit.

[Hondaracer]

Consider yourself lucky in a sellers market imo.

Pretty stressful when we sold our appartment although it was much older than most (30 years) but to have a listing last a couple months and have to lower your price is stressful as fuck when you're budgeting for your next place

[Liquid_o2]

GF and I are looking at buying a condo over the next few months. Absolutely ridiculous out there. Condos in the Edmonds area asking over $650/SF.

We are trying to find an older unit, late 90's or early 2000's. Not much inventory out there at all is driving up the demand.

[Hondaracer]

$650 for how old a building

[Timpo]

YouTube

[jing]

I closed on my 1/2yo Edmonds condo mid summer 2016 for just under $530/sqft. We were extremely fortunate however since we were the only offer for some reason, likely because there was no open house and the listing agent was a bit dodgy. Comparables at the time were going for roughly $580/sqft but a few years older.

[SumAznGuy]

Originally Posted by jing

I closed on my 1/2yo Edmonds condo mid summer 2016 for just under $530/sqft. We were extremely fortunate however since we were the only offer for some reason, likely because there was no open house and the listing agent was a bit dodgy. Comparables at the time were going for roughly $580/sqft but a few years older.

I think that is the problem. Sounds like the realtor did a shit job and thought the unit would sell itself in a hot market and didn't do their client any good.

Same thing happened to my friend when her parents decided to sell the house and downsize. The realtor took a screen cap from the internet and used that 1 pic on the MLS listing. Only 3 parties went to the open house and I am sure they sold for below market value.

[Tapioca]

Originally Posted by Liquid_o2

GF and I are looking at buying a condo over the next few months. Absolutely ridiculous out there. Condos in the Edmonds area asking over $650/SF.

We are trying to find an older unit, late 90's or early 2000's. Not much inventory out there at all is driving up the demand.

Condos in the Tri-Cities along the Skytrain are going for $500 per square foot.

Or there's always the pre-construction route.

[Hondaracer]

A huge factor for your listing agent that is often not discussed is the buyers comission. All those "1% realty" etc give the buying parties agent little to no comission so in a lot of ways there isn't much incentive for an agent to show a property to a potential buyer if they are going to make peanuts on it.

When we listed our appartment both agents we were potentially going to use gave the buying agent pretty good comission (I think it's somthing like 2% on first 100k then 1% on the balance?) which they both said is a huge incentive to get traffic to the listing. On top of that I feel like our listing was also one of the nicer listings in terms of photos, description, etc when it was up.

[Tapioca]

http://www.fvreb.bc.ca/statistics/Package201702.pdf

Look at the year over year increases for condos and townhouses in Surrey and Langley. Bonkers.

[Timpo]

Home sales fall in Greater Vancouver but condo prices rise
BRENT JANG
VANCOUVER — The Globe and Mail
Published Thursday, Mar. 02, 2017 10:54AM EST
Last updated Thursday, Mar. 02, 2017 1:36PM EST

Home sales fall in Greater Vancouver but condo prices rise - The Globe and Mail


A real estate for sale sign is pictured in front of a home in Vancouver.
(© Ben Nelms / Reuters)

Sales have tumbled in Greater Vancouver’s housing market but prices for condos and townhomes are edging up.

The number of sales of detached houses, condos and townhomes fell to 2,425 last month, down 41.9 per cent when compared with 4,172 transactions a year earlier – a record for the month of February.

Sales volume last month rang in 7.7 per cent under the 10-year February average.


Last August, the B.C. government implemented a 15-per-cent tax on foreign home buyers in the Vancouver region, contributing to the real estate market’s slowdown.

In January, the province’s new program aimed at making it easier for B.C. residents to come up with down payments for their first-time purchase took effect. In the case of the Vancouver region, that program targets mostly condos and townhouses.

Over the past year, average condo prices in Greater Vancouver have jumped 13.7 per cent to $603,737, while average townhome prices have risen 10.8 per cent to $827,893. By contrast, the price of detached houses sold in the area last month averaged $1.76-million, down 3.2 per cent compared with $1.82-million in February, 2016.

The benchmark price for various housing types hit $906,700 last month, a 2.8-per-cent decline over the past six months but up 14 per cent since February, 2016, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver said Thursday. The benchmark price is the industry’s representation of typical properties sold.

“While home sales are not happening at the pace we experienced last year, home seller supply is still struggling to keep up with today’s demand. This is why we’ve seen little downward pressure on home prices, particularly in the condominium and townhome markets,” board president Dan Morrison said in a statement.

The board’s territory covers the City of Vancouver and nearby suburbs such as Burnaby and Richmond.

Greater Vancouver is part of the broader area called Metro Vancouver, which includes suburbs such as Surrey and Langley in the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. Sales in the board’s territory dropped to 1,396 last month, down 41.5 per cent from a year earlier.

The benchmark price for detached houses sold in the Fraser Valley board’s area was $859,300 in February, up 20.4 per cent from the same month last year, while benchmark prices for condos and townhouses have experienced sharp increases of more than 25 per cent.

[Harvey Specter]

Here's a few condo/house stats for Vancouver from last month;

Spoiler!

[Liquid_o2]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

$650 for how old a building

4 years old only. Yes I know, newer product, but still IMO absolutely insane for that area. Demand is obviously there so who am I to say.

[Tapioca]

Originally Posted by Liquid_o2

4 years old only. Yes I know, newer product, but still IMO absolutely insane for that area. Demand is obviously there so who am I to say.

The thing with condos is that you're on borrowed time. The newer the building, the better it is for you provided that you can pay a higher mortgage payment. If you buy into an older building, you'll have more problems and youll have a higher chance of a special assessment during your ownership which you won't be able to roll into your mortgage, as you would by paying a higher purchase price for a newer building up front.

Pick your poison, I guess.

[jing]

Originally Posted by SumAznGuy

I think that is the problem. Sounds like the realtor did a shit job and thought the unit would sell itself in a hot market and didn't do their client any good.

Same thing happened to my friend when her parents decided to sell the house and downsize. The realtor took a screen cap from the internet and used that 1 pic on the MLS listing. Only 3 parties went to the open house and I am sure they sold for below market value.

Not only was our condo below market value, it was also below asking price!



Had to go back and forth a few times from my initial lowball offer to what we ended up paying, but my realtor (whom I met on here) helped out with that and ultimately secured my first real estate transaction. PM if you want a referral!