Hi Everyone! We’ve made it through January and the market is picking up steam, and quickly! We’re seeing new listings every week and Buyers getting excited about their options, which is normal activity for January. This month we’ve seen (a lot!) of multiple offer scenarios particularly on the Eastside, though the Downtown condo market is nuts!
HPI Price in East Van has been slowly increasing over the last few months. The activity levels started in the Fall, and have continued ever since. Now, units are going into multiple offers which is pulling up the overall price. Interest rates are still really low, which increases affordability and has brought investors back into the market – another factor in why prices are slowly increasing and why, particularly condos that allow rentals, are extremely busy right now.
The amount of inventory on the market is inventory is interesting – January is typically a really slow month, but the number of listings on the market in East Van is far lower than this time last year, with detached houses and townhouses being at their lowest numbers since 2016. Check out this graph of inventory levels of detached houses (green), townhouses (blue), 2 bedroom condos (orange) and 1 bedroom condos (purple) in East Van: Inventory Levels in East Van. Inventory levels for Detached Houses are particularly low compared to their history, which aligns with the fact that we are seeing multiple offers on anything even half decent right now. The number of townhouses doesn’t vary much but we need to see more options to keep the market moving and increase inventory of condos. The total inventory for condos is somewhat low right now so I’m hoping for a big increase in good options – any condo priced low to reasonable, especially condos located close to downtown that allow rentals, are getting multiples. After a year and a bit of a slow market and a slight drop in prices, Buyers are back to the table so we need more inventory in order to satisfy the demand to keep competition and big price increases at bay.
Overall, each market in East Van is a Sellers market so be prepared for a busy market – work with a good agent (me!) and a good mortgage broker (my recommendation!) who can help you submit a subject free offer (or close to it) in order to compete in multiples.
This market isn’t easy to figure out. Multiple offers can be frustrating to navigate while pricing on certain listings has increased quite a bit over last year, while some listings are sitting on the market with some negotiation room. This kind of market leads to a needed reminder for Sellers – you need to ensure your property looks good, is priced right and has an agent truly trying to sell it. Contact me to talk about the best plan of action for the sale of your home – you need good marketing positive open houses, market knowledge and good negotiation. It’s still early in the year, and the market still has a lot of growth to see this Spring.
East Vancouver Real Estate Stats up to and including January 2020
Median Percentage of Original Price for East Vancouver
New Listings for East VancouverTotal Inventory for East Vancouver
Total Sales for East Vancouver
Sales to Active Ratio for East Vancouver
Median Days on Market for East Vancouver
Based on these stats, the bottom of the market was August 2019. The market has been picking up ever since, and there should be some great new listings hitting the market sometime in the next few months. Like I mentioned above, the good listings come and go really quickly, so now is the time to get your financing sorted out and to start learning about the market so you can understand your options and make the most of the slowly increasing market. If you want to start learning about the market, send me a message or give me a call and let’s sit down to chat about the process, your questions, and your options.
If you’d like to slowly dip your toes in the market, I can also set you up on a Custom Real Estate Search so feel free to contact me: [email protected] or 778-387-7371 to let me know what you’re looking for in a new home.
