A very unstable Real Estate Market is upon us. We’ve grown accustom to either all up or all down but now us REALTOR’s are having to really examine the data to get the whole picture. The data for the whole Vancouver Region is out and the numbers look a little daunting for sellers but pretty impressive on the buyer side. There are, however, some very strong markets for sellers within all the numbers if you look close enough.

Year over year as a whole we are down 10% in sales and up in listings by a whopping 28.2%. This is putting a lot of downward pressure on prices. Buyers are out there but there is tremendous competition with all this product on the market so prices must be competitive and don’t count on a bidding war for your fixer-upper. There are some bright spots for sellers though:
Delta-South (Ladner & Tswassen) had 86 listings in May, 2010 and 71 sales in the same period for detached homes. Thats an 83% sale rate. Down 6% year over year but still very strong. New Westminster attached homes (Townhouses and Duplexes) saw an 86% sale rate. Again down from May, 2009 but nothing to shake a stick at. If you own an townhouse in New West or a detached home in Ladner and are thinking of selling this is your time. The key is to presentation and marketing. Get the right REALTOR in your corner and you could still do very well.

The impossible to hide trend though is down. If you are on the buying side this means deals for you. The big glut is West Vancouver. Listings are up almost 100% over last year and even last year during the Real Estate boon sales in West Vancouver were sluggish. Last May only 28% sold which is almost nothing. These are high priced homes and that brings the overall numbers down substantially. Vancouver East and West are two other spots that aren’t keeping up with the Jones’s. 43% and 37%, respectively and these numbers are similar to April which suggest that this is a trend and not just a one off.

A few other areas to note for buyers looking to pick up a good deal are Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody. These areas are all sitting under 45% which isn’t too bad at first glance but dig a little deeper and you find the truer picture. In April these communities were down around the 35% mark which is getting down to West Van’s level. The reason the percentages got better in May is not because there are more buyers but because less people wanted to put their homes on the market at the current market value - it’s just too low.

Burnaby and Richmond, two typically strong markets, are also feeling the pinch. Both are 50% or under (Except Attached Richmond homes - 55%) and the listings keep coming. It looks as though the tide is turning and that our strong growth in price might be over for a while.

My strong pick is New Westminster, My homestead. The numbers are strong - over 50% sales and the prices have gone up year over year which demonstrates market strength. Also a careful look at the numbers shows growth in sales. While there are a lot more listings keeping prices down year over years sales are actually up in all areas. The reason for this is affordability and, of course, location. Your still just a short Sky Train ride to Downtown and you’re getting 1300 sq/ft for what you pay for 700 sq/ft downtown. To me it’s a no-brainer. For the investor you have Skytrain, schools and a great community for your tenants and with the lower prices your ROR is higher...simple.
My guess is that we will see a price drop over all and then a slowing of listings as people who are trying to sell but need to hit a mark that this market won’t bare sit on their investment and wait for the tide to, once again, turn. Once that happens we’ll probably ride another price increase wave again - now it’s time to go polish that Crystal ball of mine.

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Call or email Barry Conerty for all your New Westminster Real Estate Needs
604.813.5130 Barry@Connerty.ca

www.BarryConnerty.com

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New Westminster Realty