Vancouver sees sharp increase in March sales
Vancouver’s residential property market was busy in March with MLS sales up 32.6 per cent from February and 53.7 per cent from March last year. The total number of sales recorded was 4,060. Data from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver also reveals that last month’s total sales figure was 26.8 per cent above the 10-year average. The board’s president Darcy McLeod says that there is strong competition with multiple offers, which is great news for sellers: “The number of homes for sale today is below what’s typical for this time of year. If you’ve been considering putting your property on the market, these market conditions indicate that now may be a good time to list.” That said, the number of listings was 13 per cent higher in March this year than the same month last year and new listings were up 4.7 per cent. All property types saw large increases in sales year-over-year: apartments up 47.1 per cent, detached homes up 53.3 per cent and attached properties up 72.3 per cent. McLeod added that buyers are acting fast: “For sellers, this means that it's taking less time, on average, for your home to sell if you have it priced correctly for today's market."
Home prices now almost a “two-city phenomenon,” says Kavcic
Toronto and
Vancouver are the only cities seeing home prices grow above the average, according to a report from BMO’s Robert Kavcic. Elsewhere in Canada prices are below average, he says, with the long-awaited “soft landing” in many markets and a “harder” one in Alberta and Saskatchewan. The report also highlights that price growth in
Toronto and
Vancouver has been mainly driven by single-family homes while condos have seen a more moderate rise. This, says Kavcic, is because the ‘new baby boomers’ are now entering their mid-30s and want to move up to family homes; and, with condos having been the main focus of developers in recent years, there is a lower supply of houses.
Toronto prepares for surge in listings
New listings of
homes in Toronto are expected to surge now that April’s arrived. Wilfred Veinot of Sutton City Realty says that families will be looking to list their properties now with the intention of closing the deal ready to move once the school year ends in the summer. He says that those who list in January and February tend to get fewer viewings compared to those who list in March and April, but for those without kids it has led to lower inventory. However, Vienot told
The Globe and Mail that he could be booking 70 to 80 viewings by next Tuesday.
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