So let’s dive right in, so for the month of August 2020 we had 3047 sales, now what’s interesting about this number is it’s almost 20% higher than the 10 year average for August, it clocked in at 19.9%, so sales activity is way up from what we are used to in August, and actually from last August it’s about 36.6% higher, so we’re seeing a lot more transactions across the board take place, very interesting for the month of August, which is typically as things taper off towards the end of the year.
The new listings, new listings that came online for the month of August were 5813, which compared to last year is higher than about 55%, so we’re seeing a lot more listings come on the market. What I think is important to note here is that there are a lot of people who were thinking about selling in the Spring, that because of Covid-19, they didn’t put their home on the market, and now we’re starting to see a delayed spring market in Vancouver, and I think there’s a few reasons for this:
We’re seeing very tight inventory across most product types, and that’s resulting in a lot of multiple offers, a lot of buyers competing for the same homes. So if you’re a seller, and you have a good saleable product, now is your time to shine. And I think there’s a few reasons for this:
- Everyone’s a little more comfortable operating with the perimeters that we’re looking at right now, sellers are more comfortable allowing people into their homes, agents are more comfortable with protective equipment as we go out and show homes, and I think buyers in general are more confident that they can transact as well.
- We’re also seeing incredibly low-interest rates - we had a client this week that got a rate of 1.94% for a five year fixed, and my broker also did another one this week with a AAA client at 1.74%, so money is very cheap, if you’re a buyer and you’re going into a multiple offer, you definitely have some room to play with, because the cost of borrowing money is so low.
- The third factor we’re playing with is limited supply - things that are in demand, for example, lower-priced product in the valley, single-family homes out in the valley, single-family detached in Vancouver as well on the lower end - super limited supply, which is contributing to the market conditions we are seeing at the moments.
I’m also hearing anecdotally from other agents in the office, and other agents that I network with that there is a little bit of an exodus after covid where families are looking for more space, they are looking for more yard space, because they realize now that maybe they don’t have to commute, and maybe they can move out of town, get something more affordable and get more value.
I’d be interested to get your take on this, if you’re watching this - if you’re a buyer are you considering this? And if you’re an agent from our office at Oakwyn, or if you’re an agent from another brokerage, just comment below and let me know if this is something you’re seeing with your buyers and sellers as well. When we look at the downtown condo market vs the Fraser Valley detached market, it paints a very different picture - if we look at the Fraser Valley on one side, sales are up, the number of sales are through the roof, whereas downtown, the sales haven’t really changed, and we’re also seeing inventory build a bit as we’re getting people looking to liquidate their AirBNB properties or their investment properties as well.
As always with these market updates, I caution you, it’s very specific to the market you’re looking in and also the property type as well. So work with your agent, work with your trusted Realtor® to understand exactly what’s going on in each market segment.
Adam Chahl
Personal Real Estate Corporation
Oakwyn Realty Downtown
https://www.placerealestate.ca
