“November home sales outpace seasonal norms and long-term averages”. This was the headline from the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board newsflash and therefore the sound bite picked up by every newscast. Reading on in the Board’s report, a quote from Board Chair, Colette Gerber:- “While demand remained elevated across the region, home buyer activity was particularly focused in more remote areas like the Sunshine Coast, Gulf Islands and Squamish.”
Thank goodness for the detailed analysis from SnapStats attached which still does not give us the full story with regard to condos. Ms. Gerber was correct in that the total number of homes for sale have been lagging behind the pace of demand, but this refers only to those listings posted with the Multiple listing Service. We see in the attached stats that uniformly across the region, inventory is down, in some cases a pretty sharp decrease in inventory. But…what about the surge of condo new builds in almost all our municipalities? These are not factored in anywhere.
What we see is existing condos selling below list price with low selling to listing ratios – except for Pitt Meadows. This makes no sense with a well reported steeply declining inventory…until we leave the Real Estate Board behind and look around our communities – construction and presentation centers everywhere. Existing condo inventory is battling the universal increase in maintenance fees caused by exorbitant insurance costs, along with, in many cases, upcoming repairs and ongoing maintenance to cover. For cautious buyers without a large bank account, the attraction of a 10 year warrantee, low maintenance fees, new appliances and systems, is completely understandable. Yes, size may be sacrificed in this decision, but mostly location is not and competitive developers are offering buyer incentives.
What this means is that the importance of a realistic asking price for an older condo cannot be overstated. There is indeed way more competition in the market than these numbers indicate.
Port Coquitlam was our hot spot for November sales – 7 in 10 detached houses selling – at ,on average, 3% over list price. Proximity to SkyTrain probably responsible for Glenwood being the most desirable location. Their attached sales ratio also better at 5 in 10 homes selling – although below list prices.
Patience is a virtue in Anmore, currently with 11 detached listings and only one sale in November.
Now is the moment that we focus on the joy of the season and the hope of a New Year with a vaccine! Enjoy the many Christmas lights, your families, friends and the opportunities that technology gives us to stay connected.
In turn, we feel grateful for our hard working staff, colleagues and our many loyal clients without whom there would be no Generations Real Estate Partners! Thank you for your positive attitudes, allowing us into your families for a while and most of all, for your trust. It is humbling as we reflect on this at the close of an incredibly difficult year for so many.
We sincerely wish you a Merry Christmas and happy, healthy New Year, full of promise. We pledge to continue to keep you covered through 2021.
Michelle Hawthorne, Scott Johnson, Sheila Francis, Ray Harris, Shane Goutsis and Stacey Bevan.