The supply of Westside detached homes in September was 675, up 2% from 661 in August and down 11% compared to 775 in September 2018. Westside detached home sales this September increased 5% from August (59 v 56) and were up 55% compared to 38 sales in September 2018. Sales are down 45% from the 10 year September average of 108 sales.
Westside apartment supply increased 7% in September (1463 v. 1368) and this is up 9% from the 1342 listings we had in September 2018. At the same time, demand decreased 3% 303 sales v. 314 sales in August) but this is up 45% from 209 sales in September 2018.
MOS in September increased to 4.8 from 4.4 in August and is down 25% from 6.4 last September 2018.
The average price increased 8% to $933K in September v. $864K in August and was down 4% from September 2018. The median price increased to $789K v $756K in August and is unchanged from last September. Average and median prices are down by 22% & 10% from the peak of $1.199M and $880K in January 2018.
Westside townhouse supply increased 3% this September (288 v. 280) from August and that's up 6% from 271 in September 2018. Demand in September is down 15% to 39 sales from 46 in August but is up from 33 sales last September 2018.
With supply up and demand down, current MOS increased to 7.4 from 6.1 in August. That is down 10% from 8.2 in September 2018.
Townhouse average prices were down 3% in September ($1.35M) and were down 6% from $1.4M last September 2018. Median prices increased 1.1% to $1.338M from $1.324M in August and are relatively unchanged from $1.332M in September 2018. Both average and median prices are down by 25% & 12% from the peak of $1.8M and $1.5M in January 2018.
Detached, Attached and Apartments on the west side are still priced well below the peak and that is creating good buying opportunities. Detached home prices were creeping up since Feb. this year but have now dropped to $2.926M average & $2.48M median, which is 36% below the average peak price in Oct 2017 and appear to be extraordinarily good value.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in the region increased 46.3% to 2333 this September from 1,595 sales in September 2018. September 2019 sales were 1.7% below the 10-year September sales average.
The total number of properties currently offered on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is up 2.7% from September 2018 to 13,439. This is up .3% from last month.
For all property types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for September 2019 is 17.4%.
Downward pressure on home prices occurs when the ratio dips below the 12% mark for a sustained period, while upward pressure occurs when it surpasses 20% over several months.
Just when I thought we may have seen the bottom, prices hit a new low. Volume numbers are now closer to the 10 year average so this is showing sellers what it takes to get their properties sold. Many sellers are still asking too much to generate offers while serious buyers are finding the sellers who are sharply priced and are buying those homes.
The new assessed values may help sellers see the new pricing reality and encourage buyers to get offers on paper at these discounted prices.
Government policy continues to hinder home sales activity and the only beneficiaries of this policy are people who do not own real estate. If you own real estate consider what government policy has done to your net worth over the last two years. If you don't have fiscal responsibility you will not be able to take care of yourself let alone the rest of the population. Our governments are financially illiterate, spending far beyond our means. They need to develop some backbone and stop pandering to every special interest group with their hands out.
Please call me at any time for a considered response to any and all of your real estate questions.
Best regards,
Stuart