East Vancouver Real Estate Market Update Blog – March 2018
Hello WeLoveEastVan.com! This month offers a lot of news, so let’s dive in.
Our team was named the #1 RE/MAX Team in Vancouver for another consecutive year, and we’re really excited about that! We do a lot of business for a lot of great clients, across a variety of different neighbourhoods and types of properties, so it’s a fantastic feeling to be recognized as one of the best.
The New NDP BC Budget was announced in February. The BC Budget had some surprises, some of which are still being ironed out. The biggest changes (that will affect the real estate market) are:
- Increase in Property Transfer Tax for properties over $3-million. The new tax asks for an extra 2% on the portion exceeding $3-million. Effective immediately.
- Increase in Foreign Buyers Tax, from 15% to 20% and expansion to Greater Victoria, Nanaimo, Central Okanagan and the Fraser Valley. Effective immediately, though there was some relief for those with existing contracts.
- Increase in school tax on properties over $3-million. There will be an extra 0.2% on properties assessed between $3-million and $4-million, and 0.4% on properties over $4-million. Effective in 2019.
- A speculation tax, which is a hot topic in the news due to unknown factors. The proposal is to tax people who do not pay income tax in BC, but own a home and leave it vacant for a certain length of time. The proposed tax will be 0.5% of assessed value in 2018 and 2% of assessed value in 2019, effective in the fall of 2018 (unless the details change beforehand).
- New rules regarding pre sale condo assignments, land title registration and the ALR.
We’ll certainly see a change in the high end / luxury house market due a triple whammy of increased taxes: Property Transfer Tax, School Tax and Foreign Buyers Tax. However, the addition of the Foreign Buyers Tax in other areas of the province may push some Foreign Buyers back to Vancouver (or Squamish/Whistler) if they had started looking outside of Greater Vancouver.
Unfortunately, I don’t see any changes that will make it easier for first time home buyers or families to get into the market. I don’t foresee an increase in inventory due to these changes nor did they change the property transfer tax for first time buyers.
Aside from these changes, the market keeps chugging along at the same pace – multiple offers on just about every condo, townhouse or duplex, a variety of price strategies being used by listing agents and the need for Buyers to be informed and prepared. Read on for more information about each market..
The market stats in this report are based on February’s data.
East Van Condos:
The condo market in East Van is still competitive, so Buyers need to be prepared. The sales to active ratio increased form January to February. It’s at 78% for 1 bedroom units and 69% for 2 bedroom units (a balanced market is under 20%). Average prices remained pretty steady with $555k (or $953/sqft) for a 1 bedroom unit, $804k ($899/sqft) for a 2 bedroom unit and $1.275-million ($952/sqft) for a 3 bedroom unit. Inventory remained pretty steady as well.
Check out my full East Van Condo Market Update.
East Van Townhouses:
The townhouse market in East Van is just as busy as condos. Despite the housing market softening a bit, it’s still a big jump for a lot of Buyers and a lot of houses will need some major renos to feel livable. The sales to active ratio last month was 65% for 2 bed townhouses and 26% for 3+ bed townhouses. Average prices were $987k ($831/sqft) for a 2 bed and $1.165-million ($876/sqft) for a 3+ bed townhouse. To those who own a townhouse now, it could be a great time to jump into the detached market – don’t forget how much a mortgage suite contributes to affordability.
Check out my full East Van Townhouse Market Update.
East Van Houses:
The detached market in East Van saw a 11% sales to active ratio for both new homes and resales, which places it firmly in Buyers territory. Having said that, anything well maintained, appealing and on the lower end of the market will still sell quickly and in multiple offers. The average sale price was $1,658,322 for resale properties and $2,850,106 (a high average!) for new properties. For those looking to get into a detached house, start considering the areas of town that are a bit further than you’re considering: Renfrew, Hastings and Collingwood. You can find some great houses for much cheaper – worth the extra drive!
Check out my full East Van House Market Update.
This month will be interesting to see if the market adjusts to the new Provincial Rules, or if it will be business as usual. Inventory always increases in the Spring, so hopefully we’ll see more units at every price point hit the market to satisfy Buyer demand. If you haven’t already, talk to a good mortgage broker so you can be as prepared as possible to submit a subject free offer or know what your options are when it comes to moving up to a bigger property.. I always suggest Pinsky Mortgages!
Keep in mind that the numbers vary depending on neighbourhoods and types of properties, so if you would like more information on a particular type of home or neighbourhood, let us know and we’ll give you the stats.
(Green is Detached Houses, Blue is Townhouses, Orange is Condos)
Total Inventory:
Sales to Active Ratio:
Home Price Index (HPI) Price:
