Vancouver may have had a snow day yesterday, but the Real Estate Market here is heating up, with detached homes taking centre stage. Find out how that affects buyers and sellers on today’s Monday Market Monitor.
WOW, that is all I can say about the latest data from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver for the week of Feb 20th-26th, 2023. There is much to unpack, so let’s dive in without delay.
Starting with the new listings. With only 857 new listings last week, we find ourselves down on the number of new listings, and technically, our new listings have been dropping week-over-week for the last three weeks. And what we are starting to see is the market getting squeezed as the buyers that are pounding the pavement have less to look at, so there is more competition for the properties coming to market. We will get into that more in just a minute.
Expired listings have remained steady over the last couple of weeks, so there is no need to look further into the 51 listings that came to the end of their term this past week.
On to Price Changes. Last week, one hundred seventy-one sellers thought it might be a good time to adjust their pricing. Given that there are some serious multiple offers happening (which we will get to). I have said it before, and I will mention it again, that I still think this number is on the low side and that sellers who wish to have a successful spring market sale need to rethink their pricing strategy to capitalize on the number of buyers that are out there making offers.
Speaking of successful sales, there were 433 of those last week, and that number is down significantly from the previous week’s number of 507.
And those sales only took an average of 14 days on market to achieve a successful sale.
So, we are seeing that the shrinking amount of inventory hitting the market is pushing buyers into competition, which is reflected in the number of homes selling at or above the list price.
And last week the percentage of homes that sold at or above the list price was 30%!!
To give you context, in case you have not been watching these videos, five weeks ago, the percentage was 20%; four weeks ago was 23%; three weeks ago was 22%; two weeks ago was 26% and ending last week as I mentioned at 30%.
The total sales last week were split almost right down the middle when it comes to the percentage of properties selling under $1M vs over $1M . 54% to 46%, respectively.
And it may come as no surprise that condos and townhomes are still more popular than detached with 71% of the sales in favor of condos and townhomes.
So, what does all this data really mean?
Well, that is a great question!
When I look at all the data, the determination that I make is that with so little inventory coming to market (please keep in mind these are the lowest inventory levels that we have seen in over two decades) that prices will rise across all entry-level categories and move up price points over the next year, especially if the inventory stays this low.
The well-priced homes are selling very strongly, so pricing is still king for condos and townhomes if you are looking for a successful sale. But I would say don’t wait too long to pull the trigger since you may find that the opportunity to sell high and purchase a move up with ease and without buyer competition may pass you by!
If buying a home is on your Spring agenda, consider speeding up your timeline a little.
Remember, if you want to have an in-depth conversation about the Vancouver Real Estate Market and how these stats will affect your Spring home sale or home purchase, then reach out for some expert advice.
Thank you so much for tuning in to your Monday Market Monitor, and we will see you in the next video.
