Vancouver Real Estate Market Analysis - 2nd Quarter 2012
Jul 25th, 2012
Whether you’re a buyer or a seller, it’s important to pay attention to the local real estate market so you can make educated, informed decisions. Let’s take a look at the Vancouver real estate market as of July 2012.
First, a little background: Vancouver is divided into two areas - Vancouver Westside and Vancouver Eastside. Vancouver Westside, which runs west of Main Street to UBC (now its own municipality) is the most expensive of the two areas. Vancouver Eastside runs east of Main Street to Boundary Road on the border with
Burnaby.
As of June 30, 2012
| Year to date listings |
2011 |
2012 |
% Increase / decrease |
| Vancouver - East area |
1,077
|
1,448 |
+15% |
| Vancouver - West area |
2,831
|
3,754 |
+34% |
| Year to date sales |
2011 |
2012 |
% Increase / decrease
|
| Vancouver - East area |
1,951
|
1,704 |
-12% |
| Vancouver - West area |
4,239
|
3,092 |
-27% |
| Average sale price |
2011 |
2012 |
% Increase / decrease
|
| Vancouver - East area |
$669,515
|
$604,934 |
-9% |
| Vancouver - West area |
$1,259,544
|
$1,023,693 |
-18% |
The Vancouver real estate market saw sales on a monthly decline, whilst listings are now higher than a year ago. Interest rates are at rock bottom, with 5 year terms between 2.99 - 3.25%.
Ottawa tightened the mortgage rules again in June, decreasing the amortization period, service debt ratio and capping CMHC insurance
(Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation), for buyers with less than 25% down, at $1M. The changes will impact the bottom of the market the most.
This spring did not see the same numbers of Mainland Chinese buyers as in past years, partly due to Ottawa temporarily closing the immigration for high net worth immigrants. This has affected the neighbourhoods that the Mainland Chinese buyers have been buying in and those neighbourhoods are undergoing the biggest decline in prices. The local market (townhomes and non-luxury condos) has been less affected.
Average Sales Price for Greater Vancouver Area since 2006
Average Sales Price for Vancouver West Area since 2006
Average Sales Price for Vancouver East Area since 2006
Source: Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver MLS ®
Written by Maggie Chandler, providing trustworthy real estate services for 30 years.
Tags: housing