Interest rates have continued to be low and buyers have continued to buy! Last month’s home sales were 22.4% above the 10 year October sales average. There was a 27.3% decrease in number of properties listed for sale last month compared to the numbers for the same time period last year.
“Home sale activity continues to outpace what’s typical for this time of year and the pool of homes available for sale is in decline. This dynamic between supply and demand is causing house prices to continue to edge up across the region”, Keith Stewart, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver economist said.
Given the prospect of rising interest rates at some point in the not too distant future, buyers with a guaranteed interest rate on hold will continue to be serious buyers even now at a time of year when we would normally anticipate a slow down.
By property type, townhomes experienced the briskest sales at 64.4% sales to active listings, whereas detached homes were at 33.6% – an 18.4% decrease compared to the same time last year.
Pitt Meadows in all housing categories continued to be a hot spot with 100% sales ratio average – 10 in 10 detached home selling at 14% over list price on average, while a record 177% sales ratio average was achieved in attached homes! Maple Ridge also just about sold out its inventory.
Across the board real estate inventory was in sharp decline.
We have been in the real estate business for many years and one thing we can guarantee is the recurrence of peaks and valleys – caused by interest rates, self fulfilling prophesies and inventory levels. Another guarantee is that the Government decides to step in and endeavors to influence the free market, with insufficient consultation and always with unanticipated consequences. The “cooling off period” the Government is suggesting gives a buyer with a fully agreed and signed accepted offer the right to rescind within one week. This may be fun for some buyers, but absolute chaos for a seller, who may well lose other buyers during that week and cannot proceed confidently with any purchase of their own. This will not make housing “more affordable”, but will redefine a contract, could cause a domino effect of collapsed offers and will leave the seller once more the victim of optics, as with the last interference. Let us hope that saner heads prevail and someone explains Economics 101 to the politicians – low inventory + high demand = increase in price. Watch this space!
If the statistics need to be boiled down to your street and neighborhood so that you can make plans, let us know. We are your “boots on the ground” and happy to listen to your goals, answer your questions and devise a plan of action tailored for you.
Enjoy the season – only 39 shopping days to Christmas!!
We are your Generations Real Estate Partners:- Michelle Hawthorne, Scott Johnson, Ray Harris, Shane Goutsis and Sheila Francis.