Real eState

Detached home sales and prices cool in Metro Vancouver. How long will it last — and how low will it go? – Vancouver Sun

Published

3 years ago

August 11, 2021

Analysts wonder if a combination of market fatigue and the usual slow days of summer will give way to the prospect of rising interest rates and a return of normal travel

Author of the article:

Joanne Lee-Young

Publishing date:

Aug 11, 2021 • 7 hours ago • 2 minute read • 10 Comments

The average sales price for all homes in the region reached a peak at $1.982 million in June and then slid $67,000 to $1.915 million in July. Photo by Tyler Anderson/National Post files

Metro Vancouver home sales and prices are beginning to cool from their pandemic-fuelled highs.

“Detached properties fail in the latest attempt to surpass the two-million (dollar) price barrier,” was how Dane Eitel, a Vancouver real estate analyst and agent, described the scenario as the average sale price for all homes in the region reached a peak at $1.982 million in June and then slid $67,000 to $1.915 million in July.

He and other observers say growth will stall after a crazy stretch during the past year.

In July 2020, the average sales price was $1.602 million, meaning there was a “torrid price increase” of 24 per cent to that high in June this year, Eitel said.

The most pressing questions for some are how low might the dip go and how long will it last?

Analysts also wonder if a combination of market fatigue and the usual slow days of summer will eventually give way to the prospect of rising interest rates and a return of normal travel and increasing immigration that will again fuel the market.

“We are going through what I would consider a seasonal correction,” said Romana King, who looks at market trends for Zolo Realty. “This is the regular time when the markets are closed. A lot of people want to go on vacation, see their kids. They want to travel. So we’re going to slow down, and I don’t think that the market correction is abnormal.”

“We haven’t normalized yet” from the pandemic, she said. “We still have restrictions across the world. Immigration is going to start rolling in. That will increase demand. But there will be higher mortgage rates that will decrease demand.”

A Bloomberg Economics report in mid-June ranked New Zealand, Canada and Sweden as the world’s top markets among countries that are mostly members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. It looked at whether prices could sustain their rise based on indicators including rent costs and price-to-income ratios. The main factors for the rise in prices included low interest rates, buyers tapping into savings, limited inventory, and expectations for a strong economic recovery.

New listings for detached homes locally fell to the lowest they have been in 20 years, according to Vancouver real estate agent Steve Saretsky.

He says there will likely be a rebound in listings after the summer, but there may also be a trend of homeowners “hoarding” their properties and refinancing them to make downpayments on other properties since the market has been strong for so long.

Eitel said that in the near-term and into next year, the average sales price could drop between eight to 13 per cent, but by 2023, immigration and the fear of missing out on locking in interest rates as they rise will spur a new, significant upward price trend.

jlee-young@postmedia.com

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Real eState

Homelessness: Tiny home village to open next week in Halifax suburb

Published

2 weeks ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – A village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.

Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.

Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.

The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.

Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.

They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave.

The Atlantic Community Shelters Society will also provide support to residents, ranging from counselling and mental health supports to employment and educational services.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.

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Real eState

Here are some facts about British Columbia’s housing market

Published

3 weeks ago

October 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.

Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.

Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500

Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438

Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103

Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359

Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent

How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

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Real eState

B.C. voters face atmospheric river with heavy rain, high winds on election day

Published

3 weeks ago

October 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

VANCOUVER – Voters along the south coast of British Columbia who have not cast their ballots yet will have to contend with heavy rain and high winds from an incoming atmospheric river weather system on election day.

Environment Canada says the weather system will bring prolonged heavy rain to Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, Fraser Valley, Howe Sound, Whistler and Vancouver Island starting Friday.

The agency says strong winds with gusts up to 80 kilometres an hour will also develop on Saturday — the day thousands are expected to go to the polls across B.C. — in parts of Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver.

Wednesday was the last day for advance voting, which started on Oct. 10.

More than 180,000 voters cast their votes Wednesday — the most ever on an advance voting day in B.C., beating the record set just days earlier on Oct. 10 of more than 170,000 votes.

Environment Canada says voters in the area of the atmospheric river can expect around 70 millimetres of precipitation generally and up to 100 millimetres along the coastal mountains, while parts of Vancouver Island could see as much as 200 millimetres of rainfall for the weekend.

An atmospheric river system in November 2021 created severe flooding and landslides that at one point severed most rail links between Vancouver’s port and the rest of Canada while inundating communities in the Fraser Valley and B.C. Interior.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

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