Hi East Van! Happy October. I hope the start of Fall has treated you well. We’ve been pretty lucky with the weather and hopefully that trend continues through this long weekend.
In short, the Fall Market has been busy! As has been the case all year, low or reasonably priced listings sell immediately and in multiple offer scenarios, whereas listings that are priced too high tend to sit on the market. The bad news is multiple offer scenarios are still common, the good news is it feels like things are starting to ease off slightly. I’ve seen a couple good listings not get offers on their planned “offer day”, particularly in the one or two bedroom market, so opportunities are coming up, but overall the market is still really active so you still have to be on the ball. As I always say, the one bedroom market is always the first to slow down because one bedroom buyers are typically new to the process and a lot more risk averse, so they can get nervous easily. But when they don’t buy, then they don’t allow the 1 bedroom owners to move up to a 2 bedroom, and the 2 bedroom owners to get the townhouse, and the townhouse owners to get the house, so one bedroom buyers can logjam the market to some extent. That market is still very active, but it doesn’t feel as hot as it was a few months ago, despite some strong continued stats.
I’ve had one of my busiest Septembers ever, and October is shaping up to be the same. The market is going to slow down just before Christmas through to January, so October and November are often the best months for Buyers in terms of inventory levels, and that’s something that I’m seeing on the ground. Buyers, particularly those looking in the detached house or 2-3 bedroom market, you still need to be prepared to compete in multiple offers. Sellers, you need some finesse in the handling of your move if you’re going to be purchasing and selling – it takes some risk and great timing.
Onto the stats:
The HPI Price was steady for houses and condos this past month, but rose slightly for townhouses. The HPI price for condos has been steady since February (hovering around $600k), while houses have finally flatlined and townhouses have been increasing since the summer. The sales to active ratio is hovering around 30% for each market which is a strong Sellers Market. The market was busier at the beginning of the year but it’s going strong now.
As expected, inventory numbers increased this month which is always great to see. Inventory for condos and townhouses are a bit high compared to previous years but detached houses are still lower than normal. Having said that, the number of new listings is really high which indicates to me that we’re seeing a lot of turnover.
East Vancouver Real Estate Stats up to and including September 2020
It sounds like these rock bottom mortgage rates will be staying low for the time being, so there isn’t a huge push to lock into a rate, but you’ll still do yourself a giant favour by chatting with a mortgage broker now to find out what you can afford, what you need to do to improve your file and if there’s anything important to know (your mortgage penalty rate? options to re-finance? etc).
Feel free to contact me – no question is stupid or too soon to ask: [email protected] or 778-387-7371.
Sending you health and happiness as we move into a strange, socially distanced holiday season. And please continue supporting your local East Van businesses – get a massage! get your hair done! order from a restaurant! buy local! Your community could use your support.
– Kristi
