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Condo Prices Surge By Nearly 50% In Areas of Metro Vancouver

Steve Saretsky -

One Bedroom Condos Up Nearly 50% Year over Year In Certain Areas

As i’ve been highlighting for some time now, one bedroom condos remain the hottest segment of the market. A growing choir of first time buyers experiencing a ‘just get in’ mentality are driving up prices with hopes of climbing the property ladder.

First time buyers, combined with local investors seeking a secondary investment are clashing to snatch up the remaining one bedroom units. Just last month Vancouver one bedroom condo inventory plunged 53%.

Recent price growth in Vancouver is well documented, but it’s actually the outlying areas experiencing the largest price growth. Here are the top three.

1. New Westminster Condos Increase by 46%

With New Westminster condos nearly flat for almost a decade, prices have exploded over the past year. The average sales price of a one bedroom condo is up 46% year over year. Yes, forty-six. Interactive chart here.

New Westminster condo average sales price
Average Sales Price of a one bedroom condo in New Westminster

2. Surrey Condos Increase by 45% Year over Year

North Surrey (Whalley area) one bedroom condos increased by 45% year over year in August. You’ll notice prices were virtually flat for a long period of time before rapidly accelerating in early 2016. Interactive chart here.

North Surrey condo prices
Surrey condo average sales price surges 45%.

3. Burnaby Condos Increase 28%

Last but not least, Burnaby one bedroom condo units have increased by 28% year over year. Interactive chart here.

Burnaby condo average sales price
Average sales price of a one bedroom condo in Burnaby.

One has to wonder what the ceiling is for one bedroom units. Especially considering incomes are failing to keep pace.

Either way you slice it, whether it’s a shortage of supply, limited land, foreign investors, low interest rates, or excessive credit growth, it seems impossible to justify nearly 50% price growth in one year.

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The Saretsky Report. December 2022