Synchro Vancouver By Bold Properties- 379 E Broadway Synchro by Bold Properties is a 5 storey mid-rise building coming soon to the up and coming Mount Pleasant area. Located at 379 East Broadway, Synchro is within walking distance of cafes, pubs, boutiques shops and exotic restaurants. Mount Pleasant offers a short walk to Olympic Village and False Creek. This new condo development will consist of 13 one bedroom suites ranging from 532 – 653 square feet and 16 two-bedroom units ranging from 724-1062 square feet. Synchro will offer state of the art design, smart technology, panoramic views, and multi-functional community communal spaces. To view all floor plans click here. To register for updates on the development click here.  

Yukon Residences Vancouver by Alabaster Albaster Homes has announced their newest development Yukon Residences. Situated along the Cambie Corridor, within walking distance of Winona Park and Langara Golf Course. Within minutes of grocery stores, fitness centres, Oakridge mall and the skytrain. Yukon Residences is a boutique development consisting 33 three and four bedroom townhomes. Expected completion has not yet been announced. Sales will begin in the spring of 2017. You can join their registration list for further details HERE. Alabaster highlights the new Vancouver development as “An incomparable location, perched high atop Winona Park. Yukon Residences will feature exquisitely appointed Townhomes and single-level Garden Homes. Close to top-ranked schools, Canada Line, and access to YVR.” View all New Condo Developments Here  

Housing Debate Gets Heated Amongst Finance Committee Just the other day local politicians got together to discuss the future of Canadian housing. There was about a one hour segment where politicians grilled CMHC’s Evan Siddall. Most of the focus was on the stress test and further lending policies moving forward. You can watch that full interview here. Mortgage Stress Test Since the implementation of the stress test CMHC says there has been a 15-20% reduction of first time buyers being able to qualify for an insured mortgage. CMHC says they are pleased with the results to weed out over leveraged buyers.  Of course, this had some local politicians up in arms saying that CMHC is denying first timers the Canadian dream of home ownership. How quickly they forget just how generous the banks have been in recent years. The massive lending towards residential real estate is unprecedented. Risk Sharing with Banks CMHC’s Evan Siddall says the Bank of Canada is continuing their research towards implementing risk sharing with the big banks. They want the banks to pay a deductible should someone default on their payments. CMHC says if this is implemented that borrowers can expect between a 10-50 basis point

Activity remains sluggish in Vancouver Real Estate Market Activity in the Vancouver real estate market remains quite sluggish through the first half of February. This report follows the two previous January reports (January 2017 Detached Market Report and January 2017 condo/townhouse Market Report). So what do I mean by sluggish? Well sales are down, way down from last year. New listings are also quite scarce. Let’s take a look. REBGV Detached Detached sales are following the exact same trend as the past six months or so. Detached sales through the first 15 days of February are down 52% year over year. There have been a total of 385 detached sales across Greater Vancouver which is 28% below the 10 year average.   There have been 690 new listings added so far in February. This puts the current sales/actives ratio at a paltry 9%, which of course means it’s still considered a buyers market. REBGV Townhouse Townhouse sales remain relatively stable, once again following a similar trend we have seen over the past few months. Through the first 15 days of February sales are down 30% year over year, and are also 8% below the 10 year average. Through 15 days

Arne Vancouver Townhouses by Mondevo Arne Vancouver is a new development by Mondevo. It will bring twenty new townhouses to the Mount Pleasant area. Located at 321 E16th Avenue.  Offering a clean, warm expression that balances architectural modernity with flexible layouts. Its floor space ratio, open courtyard layout, outdoor stroller lockers, and proximity to a park with a playground make this development ideal for young families. The first two storeys are a very crisp cube in white brick veneer, with form and material emphasizing the individuality of each dwelling. The upper storey is a more subtle, contrasting expression of metal faux wood siding that recedes from view, giving the impression of a smaller external facing. Arne Vancouver Prices It’s estimated completion is Spring 2018, the development is now sold out.

Grosvenor Pacific Vancouver- 819 Pacific Street Grosvenor, a privately owned property group has announced that they have plans to develop the site located at 801-819 Pacific Street in Vancouver. The proposed plan for this adjacent site includes a seven-storey City-owned arts and culture building as part of the community amenity contribution for the rezoning of 1380-1382 Hornby Street.  The plan also includes continuation of the new Pacific Street dedicated bike lane, expanded sidewalks and additional street trees to improve the public realm.  You can find more details on the application here. Located at the corner of Hornby and Pacific the development will consist of approximately 212 homes including 1,2 and 3 bedroom condos along with 3 two storey town-homes. This prime Yaletown location will feature spectacular views of False Creek and the city. Within walking distance of seawall, Aquabus, and Yaletown restaurants. You can register for more information at the Grosvenor website HERE.

Fraser Valley Detached Slumps, Condos on Fire After popular demand i’ve decided to put together a quick update on the Fraser Valley real estate market. For the most part it’s doing similar things as the rest of the Greater Vancouver market. The trend appears to be detached sales and prices slumping, while condos continue their torrid pace. Let’s break it down. Detached Market Fraser Valley detached sales were down 47% year over year in January. To add to that, detached sales were also 15% below the 10 year average. The detached in the Valley lagged behind Greater Vancouver on the way up and appears to be doing the same on the way down. While sales fall, inventory is also rising, up 16% year over year. The median and average sales price shows a 7% price correction since it’s peak in May. The MLS benchmark shows a 4% drop. Townhouse Market The townhouse market is still going quite strong. The sales/actives ratio of 39% (way down from it’s ridiculous high of 105%) indicates it’s a sellers market. With that being said, townhouse sales are down 22% year over year, but still 27% above the 10 year average. Inventory is down 29%

Zero Risk, No Money Down Happy Monday Morning! Zero risk, no money down, no interest for 5 years! Sounds like an advertisement from a used car salesman.. Nope, it’s the BC Government’s 5 year interest free loans. The entry level market appears to be heating back up again, despite the detached market crumbling underneath us. In January, 25% of Vancouver condos sold over asking price. That’s down slightly from 38% the year previous but there seems to be a lot of momentum right now. Meanwhile, over in the Fraser Valley it’s even worse. So far in February, 37% of condos have sold over asking price. The condo market is littered with first time buyers competing for the few condos available. Many bidding up prices with cash in hand from the BC government. So far the program has approved 356 first time buyers since January 16. Gambling with BC taxpayer money, there appears to be little cause for concern about the health of the market. Risk aversion? What’s that? Just a couple weeks ago I was in a multiple offer situation with one of my buyers. After reading the strata documents it was discovered the unit was about to be hit

Loan Approvals and Multiple Offers Booming in Condo Market As I mentioned in a recent post, there’s an Entry Level Feeding Frenzy in the condo market. Prices and sales are picking right back up from the dark winter months, despite the detached market crumbling. I believe there’s a strong possibility this could be fuelled in part from Christy Clark’s first time buyer loan program. As CTV News reports, 356 first timers have already been approved since the program began taking applications January 16, 2017. Just to put that into context, in January there were 828 condo sales in Greater Vancouver, and 276 sales in the Fraser Valley. Although some of the loans will go to buyers in other markets such as Victoria, or the Okanagan. Nonetheless, the condo market in the lower mainland was not ready for any surplus of demand. It was and is still in the process of recovering from record low inventory levels. This especially holds true in the Fraser Valley where entry level condos were in high demand. The Fraser Valley condo market didn’t heat up until February 2016 and with or without the home loan program still had plenty of wind left in the sails.

Population Growth, Limited Supply, and a Strong Economy? As of today Greater Vancouver real estate prices have soared by 39% since January 2015. We’ve been told the astronomical price growth has been a direct result of population growth, limited supply and a strong economy. New findings show otherwise. Population Growth Population growth in Vancouver has been average at best. Metro Vancouver ranked 11th of all Canadian cities for population growth from 2011-2016. The population grew by 6.5% down significantly from the 9.3% growth from 2006-2011. Meanwhile, as prices continue to surge, research from U-Haul suggests people are leaving Vancouver. Each year, U-Haul studies how many of its trucks leave various communities on one-way trips versus how many trips are arriving. According to the U-Haul data, Vancouver is a “net-loss city,” with 52.9 per cent of one-way U-Haul trucks leaving the city versus 47.1 per cent arriving. “While migration trends do not correlate directly to population or economic growth, U-Haul growth data is an effective gauge of how well (communities) are attracting and maintaining residents.” Supply As i’ve talked about before, supply tends to be a symptom of the underlying issue and a shortage tends be more a result of unsustainable levels of demand.

Multiple Offers Still Ravaging Entry Level Condo Market Despite the detached market in turmoil mode, prices down 15% or more and sales plummeting, the condo market remains red hot, particularly at the entry level. Just as I have noted in previous blogs and videos, Christy Clark’s first time buyer loan program would likely pin buyer against buyer in a royal rumble cage match to compete for the record low inventory available.   Disguised in the form of free money, the provincial government and sellers alike have begun dangling the bait.  It appears UBC Economist Tom Davidoff’s prophecy is coming true, buyers are devouring the loan, creating a feeding frenzy at the entry level. Just last week I was caught up in several multiple offer situations with my buyers all competing at the entry level. Four or five offers later, amidst a flurry of first time buyers, the highest bidder came away the victor. Sometimes tens of thousands over ask.  Bidding up prices for the next eventual buyer.  This prompted me to dive into the numbers further. Just how many condos are going to multiple offer? In January 2017, 25% of all Vancouver West condos sold over asking price. Down slightly

Condo Sales Fall Again, Inventory Levels Remain Critically Low The Vancouver condo market remains quite hot. Sales continue to fall, following a similar trend to (December Condo Report December 2016) however, because inventory is still at historically low levels buyers are still stuck competing for the few condos available. This is causing some multiple offer situations which can lead to price increases. Sales Here’s a five year history of Vancouver condo sales for the month of January. [table id=32 /] Vancouver condo sales fell across the board from one year earlier. Using a larger data set, Vancouver west condos fell 30% year over year. Condo sales were also 7% below the 10 year average for January. Average Days On Market Vancouver West- 33 days Downtown- 40 days Yaletown- 23 days West End- 23 days Kitsilano- 29 days False Creek- 35 days Vancouver condos are selling quickly. This is primarily because inventory remains scarce, especially at the lower end of the market (anything under $600,000). However, days on market is up 3% from the same time one year ago. As we head towards the spring market things generally tend to sell quicker so it’s likely days on market drops in the