It is officially a 3x Sellers' Market
The not so Short, yet Easy summary
SALES
Yes, you read the headline correctly, March is officially 3x a Seller's market. Now what does that mean? As you will see detailed, further into this monthly real estate review, the sales-to-active ratio becomes a Seller's market at 20%. We are at 62.4!
March'21 sales were 72.2% higher than the March 10-year average.
SALES - How does last months sales break down?
.
1) Sales of detached homes in Mar'21 reached 1,965, a 59% increase from the 1,231 sales recorded in Feb'21 and a 130% increase from Mar'20 (852).
2) Attached(townhouse) totaled 1,046, a 42% increase compared to the 737
sales in Feb'20. Mar'21 sales saw a 112% improvement from Mar'20(493).
3) Sales of condos homes reached 2,697 in Mar'21, a 53.3% increase compared to the 1,759 sales last month (Feb'21). Feb'21 surpassed Mar'20 totals(493) by 128.8%.
Lets also take this massive increase of sales with a slight grain of salt. COVID-19 was just taking hold of North American society. Closures and lead up to an imminent shutdown was on the horizon. Sales in March 2020 were lower than normal.
INVENTORY - Properties for Sale
The total number of residential homes for sale(9,145) is a 9.4% increase compared to Feb'21(8,358). This inventory total is just 5% lower compared to Mar'20 (9,606).
New listings continues to be a bright spot, trying to keep up to sale volumes. Homes brought to market in all categories increased by 62.4% compared to new listings in Feb'21. Compared to Mar'20, new listings decrease by 4%.
Current listings are 18.6% below the 10-year average.
.
Arguably the MOST important stat at this time is the listing-to-sales ratio. Our benchmarks are 12 and 20. When the ratio goes below 12, for continuous months, we are generally in a Buyer's market where prices can come down. When the ratio rises above 20 for continuous months, we are in a Seller's market where prices can rise.
Sales-to-Active ratio for the property types:
62.4 % (all properties combined) compared to: Feb (44.6), Jan (28.8),Dec (36.2)
52.9 % (detached homes) compared to: Feb (41.8), Jan (26.3), Dec (35.2)
79.9 % (townhouses) compared to: Feb (61.8), Jan (37.6), Dec (50.4)
65.4 % (condos) compared to: Feb (41.7), Jan (27.8), Dec (33.1)
What does this mean?
It is officially a 3x Sellers' Market. This is the 1st time since June'20 that condos ratio has surpassed detached, signaling a real surge of the condo marketplace. Townhouse at 79.9 % is minimum 2.5x any 'normal' rate of sales to inventory. This shows incredible demand for the townhouse product in our marketplace. Participants transferring from condos to townhouses are leveraging their equity and low interest rates to make that next step.
Prices
The MLS Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential property is Metro Vancouver is 9.4% higher than Mar'20, and already a 3.6 increase from the previous month of Feb'21.
1-year Change
Detached HPI up 17.9 %
Townhouse HPI up 10.4 %
Condo HPI up 3.7 %
Now that we are operating in a 3rd Wave COVID-19 conditions... what is to be expected?
Realtors are able to conduct in-person, scheduled, by-appointment ONLY open houses safely. Approx 15 min independent viewings. Here is link to our protocol and safety considerations we as Realtors are taking to keep our clients safe.
- REBGV Sourced Summary
If you are thinking of selling in 2021, reach out to me, and lets talk about TECHNOLOGY, INVENTORY and TIMING!
Fraser Valley Real Estate Update
More listings, more options, cannot keep up to demand.
The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) processed a total of 3,329 residential and commercial sales on its Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Mar'21, an increase of 18% compared to sales in Feb'21 (2,815) and also an increase of 131% compared to Mar'20.
Sales
Detached homes had a 30.6% increase in total in sales volumes compared to Feb'21 and a 145% increase from Mar'20.
Attached Townhouses saw a -1% decrease in sales (788) compared to Feb'21 (461) and a 100% increase from Mar'20(341).
Condos saw a sales increase of 21.6% compared to Feb'21 and a 145% increase from 1 year ago; Mar'20.
Townhouse activity and condo activity have slowed in the last 1-month reporting period.
Inventory
New listings increased by 56% compared to Feb'21. Also, new listings are 91% higher than Mar'20.
Total Inventory saw an increase of 21.7% compared to Feb'21 inventory and a decrease of 17.6% from Mar'20.
Prices
Average HPI Price Index for ALL property types increased by 7.2% from Feb'21, and an aggressive 31.9% increase in 1-year. This gain is weighted due to the high sales volumes of single detached homes and townhouses.
- FVREB sourced summary
Considering COVID - 19 What does this mean?
As a Seller - Do you want the public in your home? Leverage digital marketing efforts such as 3D virtual tours. Accept Subject to Viewing offers. Consider lockbox options allowing flexibility in showing times. Open Houses are still being discouraged by local real estate boards.
As a Buyer - will Sellers be allowing Buyers and the public into their homes? Traditional Open houses are NOT an option during the state of emergency in BC. Only private showings are permitted. Virtual open houses & tours are happening! Sellers & Buyer agents may require masks, gloves in order to create a safe environment for all.
Real estate has been deemed an essential service. Realtors are ready to find safe solutions to make transactions for our clients (Buyers and Sellers) happen.
Here is my
Blog on COVID-19 and how we can respond in the real estate sector in Vancouver.
