An apparent buyer's market in Metro Vancouver's high-flying housing sector is a seasonal blib that won't last the winter, according to a seasoned real estate developer, but some realtors warn it will be tough for sellers while it lasts.
The issue flared with the release of October sales figures from local real estate boards, which showed sales are falling, listings are soaring and prices have flatlined over the past few months.
An example is the Fraser Valley, where the price for a typical home has not budged in six months, according to the president of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. Sukh Sidhu said listings of homes for sale soared 18 per cent in October, compared to the same month last year, while sales were down 2 per cent from September and have been tracking lower since the summer. Overall, there are now at least 10,000 residential properties for sale across the Valley. As of the end of last month, the typical detached house in the Valley was selling for $530,335, and typical condo apartments for $243,725, both up from a year ago but unchanged from the second quarter of this year. "There is a large amount of inventory in the Fraser Valley, in particular with condos and townhouses, and that's what's holding prices in check," Sidhu said.
"It has been a buyers market in the Valley condo market for months," said Surrey realtor Brent Roberts, who blamed overbuilding in central Surrey for a glut of resale and new condos overhanging the market. "There are some great deals to be had right now," he said, noting that some investors are trying to sell condos for what they paid for them two or three years ago.
In Greater Vancouver, October's overall housing sales were the second lowest for any October in the last 10 years. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver saw listings soar 18 per cent in October compared to a year earlier as sales slumped 1 per cent in the same period. Still, even with the slower market, the price of a typical detached house in Greater Vancouver was up 11 per cent from a year earlier to $884,778, the Board reports. And some real estate veterans do not expect prices to fall.
"The slow sales right now is due to seasonal factors," said Howard Steiss, who once led the Adera Group and is now president of Red Dot Real Estate Marketing. Steiss is predicting a strong upturn in the local housing market by the spring of 2012.
