The market continued an intense level of activity and competition in February. Everything was receiving multiple offers and selling for quite a bit over their asking price, often a surprising amount. This goes for every market: 1 bedrooms condos (especially in Kits it seemed), 2 bedrooms condos, entry level 3 bedroom townhouses and houses under $3-million. The market seems to be settling down a bit now. Don’t get me wrong – it’s still very busy and you should expect multiple offers – but I’m seeing more properties either not get offers on their offer day (and then often ending up in multiple the next day when Buyers realize there might be an opportunity) or not selling for a significant jump in price. Much of this is attributed to an increase in inventory and the fact that asking prices these days have also increased compared to something similar in January, but it’s also a psychological effect where Buyers see an asking price and assume they’ll have to offer significantly more, so they don’t bother – which means properties priced at their value or above their value won’t see as many offers which means Buyers won’t feel the need to be as competitive in price. And I’ve mentioned before – don’t get caught up in how much a unit sells for over its asking price – units may be listed artificially low to bring in multiple offers, so when they sell for a lot more, that was by design.
This makes it really tough to value properties – basing your price off recent sales doesn’t necessarily lead you to the expected sale price. You should still expect to need to be competitive, but the offer strategy may be slightly different depending on how many offers they expect and end up receiving. I don’t anticipate the Spring market to be without multiple offers, but I anticipate that we’ll see see fewer offers on listings as time goes on (for example, instead of 5+ offers it may just be 1 or 2 offers) which helps the market remain a little more steady. I still anticipate Summer to be slow before picking up again in the Fall.
Interest rates did increase 0.25, and we will likely see another few increases this year (it remains to be seen how the issues with Russia will affect this plan). I’m certainly seeing a drive from Buyers to secure a property before their interest rate expires (and then increases) in the next few months.
If you’re thinking about selling your property, give me a call to chat about value, pricing strategy and the sale process. There are plenty of details to chat about – including timing, value, staging and your potential purchase – so don’t hesitate to contact me if you’d like to get started kristi@realestatevancity.ca or 778-387-7371. How an agent handles a multiple offer situation as you listing agent can be critical in ensuring you get good offers that are in your best interest. There is a finesse to dealing with multiple offers as both a listing agent and buyer’s agent, so make sure you’re working with good agents.
Onto the stats:
Here is a snippet of the monthly market update from the Real Estate Board:
“Our listing inventory on MLS® is less than half of what would be optimal to begin the year. As a result, hopeful home buyers have limited choice in the market today. This trend is causing fierce competition for a scarce number of homes for sale, which, in turn, increases prices,” Keith Stewart, REBGV economist said.
There were 5,471 detached, attached and apartment properties newly listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Metro Vancouver in February 2022. This represents an 8.4 per cent increase compared to the 5,048 homes listed in February 2021 and a 31.2 per cent increase compared to January 2022 when 4,170 homes were listed.
The total number of homes currently listed for sale on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is 6,742, a 19.3 per cent decrease compared to February 2021 (8,358) and a 19.1 per cent increase compared to January 2022 (5,663).
“Despite having a higher volume of people listing their homes for sale in February, the region’s housing market remains significantly undersupplied, which has been pushing home prices to new highs month after month,” Biggar said.
For all property types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for February 2022 is 50.8 per cent. By property type, the ratio is 34.9 per cent for detached homes, 64.3 per cent for townhomes, and 62.2 per cent for apartments.“
Vancouver West Real Estate Stats up to and including February 2022
Condos in Kitsilano still seem to be going strong (I was involved in a 14 offer scenario on a nice 1 bedroom the other day), but I’m seeing a bit of a settling down in the detached house market.
HPI Price for Vancouver West
*Unfortunately HPI Price can’t be any more specific than Condo/Townhouse/House*
Average Sales Price for Vancouver West
Median Percentage of Original Price for Vancouver West
New Listings for Vancouver West
Total Inventory for Vancouver West
Total Sales for Vancouver West
Sales to Active Ratio for Vancouver West
Median Days on Market for Vancouver West
East Vancouver Real Estate Stats up to and including February 2022
HPI Price for East Vancouver
*Unfortunately HPI Price can’t be any more specific than Condo/Townhouse/House*
Average Sales Price
Median Percentage of Original Price for East Vancouver
New Listings for East Vancouver
Total Inventory for East Vancouver
Total Sales for East Vancouver
Sales to Active Ratio for East Vancouver
Median Days on Market for East Vancouver
What questions do you have? Send me an email or give me a call: kristi@realestatevancity.ca or 778-387-7371.
Now is a great time to check in with your mortgage broker about your existing pre-approval considering that fixed rates are going up. My preferred mortgage brokers have been great about detailing the difference between fixed and variable rates and how you may be better off going variable, so if you’re looking for a mortgage broker, please ask for a referral! Having a thoughtful, organized broker can make a big difference in the sale, and knowing where you stand from a financial perspective now can give you sometime to improve your file to be ready for the busy part of the Spring market.
If you have any questions as you start thinking about your real estate goals for this year, don’t hesitate to ask.