It’s a good thing the weather was warm this past September, as the Vancouver real estate market was definitely cooler than expected with an 8.1% drop in home sales compared to August and 32.5% decline compared to September 2011.
In spite of this, buyer presence remains very strong with many waiting in the wings to dive back in when they find the right fit. As more stability sets in to the market place, I anticipate we will see an increase in sales volume heading into the Fall season.
A few other statistical notes include a sales-to-active listings ratio of 8%, which plants us firmly in a Buyer’s market, and a decline in benchmark pricing of 0.8% compared to last year and 2.3% over the past 3 months.
In Kitsilano specifically, a few more interesting trends are developing:
Attached properties saw a slight increase in sales after a slow August but still lagged behind September 2011 numbers. Inventory levels climbed 18.8% over last month, which is no surprise, but active listings are also up 37.8% over the same time last year. Average pricing dropped sharply again after what seemed to be a misleading increase in August, bringing us back to numbers we saw in July. These numbers are still 5.9% below what September 2011. The strongest product types here are the $300-400k entry level one bedrooms, the $500-600k entry level two bedrooms and the $800-900k entry level townhomes.
Detached homes statistics are a little more difficult to interpret due the the limited number of sales, with just 9 home sales last month. This is up from 7 in August but down for the 11 homes sold last year at this time. Active listings remain virtually unchanged when compared to last month and last year. Average pricing slipped 3% since last August and 6.2% since last year. The hotspot here is the $1.2-1.4m range and there are some great buys out there for buyers who may not have been able to sneak into the detached market in recent years.
Moving forward, expect to see buyers and sellers start to get on the same page with the current market place, leading to increased sales activity. Prices may continue to trend downward toward the end of the year as sellers who need to sell may lower their prices to do so. Homes that are listed sharply and show well are still selling quickly. Buyers who are patient are finding some great deals.
Last modified: October 14, 2012
