Buyers appear to be coming back to Downtown Vancouver.
While many are still willing to drive out to the suburbs in search of homes, purchasers seem to be enamoured again by the charms of downtown living.
In February 2021, a total of 105 mostly condo properties sold in the area designated as Downtown Vancouver West, which is the urban core.
The area does not include Coal Harbour, Yaletown, and the West End.
The 105 sales last month represent the biggest volume for the past one year.
The COVID-19 pandemic crashed the market for condos in Downtown Vancouver to its lowest point in April 2020, when sales fell to 29 units.
Based on figures by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) and real-estate information site Zealty.ca, downtown sales slowly crept up reaching a high of 82 units by December 2020.
Per Zealty’s tracking, the 105 sales in February 2021 mark a 52.2 percent increase from January 2021.
Moreover, 29 out of the 105 sales, or 27.6 percent, sold either at full or above asking prices.
This ratio represents a 314.3 percent improvement over the rate recorded in January 2021.
Prices remain competitive in Downtown Vancouver West.
The median price for mostly condo properties stood at $699,000 in February 2021, down 0.1 percent from the previous month.
At its lowest point last year in April, the median price was $680,000.
On a per square foot basis, the price in February 2021 was $1,247, up from $1,030 in April 2020.
Earlier in March this year, the Straight reported about an anticipated revival of Downtown Vancouver with the arrival of vaccines and the resumption of travel and tourism.
Top executives of McNeill Lalonde & Associates, a real-estate marketing organization, talked about the subject in an interview over at a Vancouver podcast.
MLA cofounder Cameron McNeill noted that the downtown market may see price increases between 10 to 20 percent in the next 18 months.
McNeill and his business partner Ryan Lalonde both noted that Downtown Vancouver is a “very special” place.
The pandemic has driven many buyers outside the downtown core to find bigger homes and outside spaces.
Also in March this year, the Straight reported about a projection by Dexter Realty about condos and other strata properties.
The Vancouver company believes that these properties are going to be the next star of the housing market, and not just in Vancouver but across the Lower Mainland region as well.
It noted in a report that buyers are “pivoting to condos”.
Purchasers are “looking towards the easing of pandemic regulations”.
This, in turn, “will bring vibrancy back to downtowns and foreign students back to Metro Vancouver campuses”.
“Affordability is part of the equation,” Dexter Realty’s Kevin Skipworth wrote in the report.
In February 2021, the price of a typical condo in markets served by the REBGV stood at $697,500.
Compare this to the benchmark price of a townhouse at $839,800, and detached home, $1,621,200.
The appetite for condos outside Vancouver seems to be growing as well.
David Hutchinson with Sutton Group West Coast Realty told the Straight about a Port Coquitlam condo that was listed on March 16, 2021.
Unit 220, a one-bedroom unit at the River Rock Landing condo development at 2368 Marpole Avenue, was priced at $399,900.
Hutchinson’s client and 17 other buyers placed bids.
The condo sold for $492,000, or $92,100 over asking. His client, who is a first-time buyer, lost.
“I asked the realtor how many offers he was anticipating so we could gauge some kind of pricing strategy,” Hutchinson related.
“We were in the top three, and made it to the top two in back-up offer position, but the other offer removed their conditions,” he continued.
“Naturally, the buyer is discouraged, as are the other 16 buyers who lost out probably are too,” Hutchinson noted.
His client, who came to view the property with her mother, asked if she should “take a break for a little while”, which is a “natural reaction after such an emotionally draining experience”.
“Being a buyer isn’t easy in this market,” Hutchinson said.
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.
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.
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.
