BC Real Estate Association (BCREA) Chief Economist Cameron Muir discusses the July 2011 statistics and an in depth look at the seasonal adjustment of housing statistics.
B.C.'s average MLS price up 18 per cent in February: BCREA
METRO VANCOUVER - The average Multiple Listing Service price of a home in British Columbia was up 18 per cent in February compared to the same month last year, according to the B.C. Real Estate Association.
The price surge was largely due to sales in Metro Vancouver, the BCREA said, citing even high price increases in the mostly densely populated region of the province.
In Metro Vancouver the average MLS residential price climbed more than 19 percent, compared to February 2010.
"The surge in consumer demand in Metro Vancouver continues to propel the provincial statistics higher,” Cameron Muir, BCREA chief economist, said in a news release issued this morning.
“Elevated sales activity in Vancouver’s pricier communities has pushed average home prices higher than market conditions would suggest.”
Below is the full BCREA Report for Vancouver Real Estate Market:
Realtor Bob Rennie dodged questions Thursday morning about whether taxpayers would even come close to breaking even on the Olympic Village development.
Hosting a media launch about sales that start Friday at what’s now branded The Village on False Creek, he said Rennie Marketing Systems was working to stabilize the city’s asset and to maximize revenue.
Rennie said he sees the downtown condo market stabilizing and the real estate market reviving from its recent slump.
Instead of aiming to sell approximately 480 unsold units like he did last May after the 2010 Winter Games ended and the property was returned to developer Millennium Water and the city, Rennie aims to sell 230 condos in two areas of the village. Of the 737 condos at the village, 263 have sold, most of them in 2007. Friday’s launch is the third time the units have gone on sale.
Receiver Ernst and Young has contracted with a company to rent approximately 114 units to get the “ghost town” populated fast. Those units don’t include the 119 rental units purpose-built by the developer or the city’s 252 market rental, co-op and below-market rental units in the village.
Rennie blamed slow sales after the Games on bad timing due to a sluggish economy.
“I do not believe we ever had a product problem,” Rennie said. “What I do have is a pricing problem, and that pricing problem on May 15 was compounded by the fact that there was 480 units for sale and people didn’t see any sense of urgency and everybody just moved to the sidelines and folded their arms.”
He’s confident the prices are appropriate now. He said market testing done before the latest sales launch attracted 31 offers in 10 days. They included 12 for units that cost more than $900,000, 11 offers for units priced from $600,000 to $900,000 and eight offers for units under $600,000.
Seven chairs sat outside the sales centre at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. Fourteen chairs labelled with people’s names were positioned outside the sales centre just before 11 a.m. Thursday morning. The sales centre was to open at noon Thursday with sales to begin Friday. Rennie said he was giving a tour to 1,058 realtors through the site yesterday starting at 2 p.m.
Prices for the unsold units have been reduced an average of 30 per cent from May 2010 rates. Rennie said rates on the lower priced units weren’t reduced much—a studio now goes for $349,500 to $354,900—but prices on larger units that were priced at $1.5 million saw greater reductions.
He aims to sell 60 units in 60 days.
He noted the receiver for the village, Ernst and Young, has been tackling building deficiencies and that regular new home warranties protect owners.
Only a bank and a private liquor store operate at the village. Rennie said London Drugs is eying population numbers, negotiations are underway with an unnamed grocery store—previously the grocery seller was meant to be Urban Fare—and a consultant has been hired to focus on leasing the other commercial spaces.
The city is owed $740 million for the development.
Real estate market calm expected to follow hectic 2010 in Metro Vancouver
Home sales forecast to increase modestly across B.C. as prices stabilize
VANCOUVER - If there's one sentence to sum up B.C.'s real estate picture in 2011, it's probably "Let's take a breather."
While Metro Vancouver prices rose fairly sharply over the past year, the same wasn't true in the Interior and other parts of the province where prices were flat and sales stalled.
A combination of low interest rates, relatively stable prices throughout the province and a gradually improving economy helped by the 2010 Winter Olympics brought buyers -- especially first-time buyers -- back into the market after a recessionary slump.
Those conditions are expected to continue in 2011, although interest rates are predicted to gradually rise.
That may keep a lid on housing prices, which are also expected to rise a bit, although less than in 2010.
However, there will be no repeat of 2010's price bump.
"When you look at 2010, we saw fewer sales than 2009 [across B.C.]," Cameron Muir, chief economist for the B.C. Real Estate Association, said in an interview. "Since [July], we've seen a modest increase in consumer demand."
Muir said he expects the province will see that continue into 2011, although the sales numbers aren't expected to post any records or rise above the 10-year average.
"I'd expect housing sales to be around 80,000 to 82,000 units in 2011. We're likely to see a six-to seven-per-cent increase in housing sales this year compared to last year."
Muir said job growth and rising incomes will underpin demand, although higher interest rates in the second half of the year will partly offset the benefits of more economic activity.
"There will be a much more gradual increase in consumer demand and less volatility. There will be more stable market conditions this year."
Robyn Adamache, senior market analyst for Metro Vancouver with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., said in an interview that she doesn't see any huge changes this year over 2010.
"We're expecting a slight increase in sales, about five to six per cent, for 2011.
"For 2010, we were around 31,000 sales.
"For 2011, we're expecting 33,000 sales."
However, Adamache said Metro Vancouver should see much less price growth in 2011.
"In 2010, we saw a 14-percent increase in prices.
"We're calling for a three-percent increase in 2011."
Adamache said she expects that mortgage rates will creep up later in 2011, although not dramatically. "So, that will put a bit of a damper on sales."
Tsur Somerville, director of the centre for urban economics and real estate at the University of B.C.'s Sauder School of Business, said he doesn't like forecasting the future, but nevertheless believes that 2011's real estate picture will be largely determined by the speed of the recovery and the Bank of Canada's action on interest rates -- and how that reflects on mortgage rates.
Ron Antalek, a realtor with ReMax Ridge Meadows Realty, said in an interview that he's seeing an uptick in buyers who believe interest rates are heading north.
He believes there will be a modest increase in both pricing and demand this year.
"The vast majority of buyers are convinced that prices won't decline and that interest rates will rise.
"So, they feel their investment is safe.
"Sales are picking up." Mike McDougall recently took possession of a new detached home in Maple Ridge after moving to B.C. from Alberta.
"Hopefully, it was a good time to purchase," McDougall said in an interview.
"From what I hear, it was. I think there's still potential for rates to go up."
McDougall, who moved into his new home on Jan. 12 with his wife and two small children, said he was also comfortable with the price he paid.
Average BC home price hits record high of $505,178 in 2010 BCREA: Sales fell 12%
VANCOUVER - The average price for a home in British Columbia reached a record high of $505,178 in 2010, the B.C. Real Estate Association says.
Home sales fell 12 per cent last year to 74,640.
The BCREA cited fewer active listings and increased consumer demand in a news release this morning.
"Tighter credit conditions and expended pent-up demand curbed home sales during the first half of 2010,” Cameron Muir, BCREA chief economist, said in the release.
“However, low mortgage interest rates and improved economic conditions buoyed home sales in the latter half of the year.”
"The inventory of homes for sale peaked at 53,375 units in May before declining 14 per cent to 46,000 units by December,” added Muir. “The combination of fewer active listings and increased consumer demand has improved market conditions in many areas."
Below is the district-by-district breakdown of average home prices in BC:
BC Northern: 192,971, down 5.8 % Chilliwack: 264,266, down 13.8% Fraser Valley: 444,258, down 0.5% Greater Vancouver: 700,773, up 11.7% Kamloops: 288,009, down 5.5 % Kootenay: 256,013, down 8.4% Northern Lights: 175,403, down 19.5% Okanagan Mainline: 393,512, down 3.6% Powell River: 275,732, up 19.8% South Okanagan: 282,308, down 19.3% South Okanagan: 282,308, down 19.3% Victoria: 496,814, down 4.9%
BC Real Estate Association (BCREA) Chief Economist Cameron Muir discusses the November 2010 statistics and an in depth look at the rollercoaster of home sales.
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