2014 Fall Recap

  • The rental market report said Metro Vancouver’s apartment vacancy rate fell to 1% in October from 1.7 % in October 2013.
  • This fall's sales were 16.6% above the 10 year average! We've seen strong and consistent demand from home buyers throughout this year. This has led to steady increases in home prices of between 4 - 8% depending on the property.
  • The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $637,000. This represents a six 6% increase.
  • Sales of detached properties this fall increased 19.1% from sales recorded in the fall of 2013, and a 60.9% increase from units sold in the fall of 2012. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 7.9 % from the fall of 2013.
  • Sales of apartment properties this fall increased 15.5% compared to sales in the fall of 2013, and a 57.9% increase compared to the sales in fall of 2012. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 4% from fall of 2013.
  • Last month’s sales were 6.9% above the 10-year sales average for November.
  • Given the cycle of the real estate market, winter times are drastically slower. Therefore, this is traditionally a low inventory time of the year, so it’s a good time to list your home for sale if you want to face less competition in the marketplace.
  • Did you know that foreign residents own nearly 7% of downtown Vancouver condominiums and 3% of condos in the Metro Vancouver region. 13 downtown Vancouver condo buildings by Vancouver condo marketer Bob Rennie found that 12% of the 3,515 units in those buildings — representing about 10% of the downtown market — were owned by foreign residents. The highest percentage of foreign buyers — 30% — was found in the Cascina and Denia towers on Nicola and Broughton streets. The lowest percentage — 5% — occurred in the Electra building at Burrard and Nelson.

    “I think the foreign ownership number will increase slightly in the future but it’s growing more on the single-family home side, rather than the condo side of things,” Rennie said. “For the most part, foreign money is not buying for speculation. They want to end up living here.”