July sales continue to surpass 2019.
Post COVID-19 shutdown real estate is strong in Greater Vancouver
The Short, the Quick, the Easy summary
SALES
In July, Greater Vancouver continued to surpass pre COVID-19 2019 sales volumes. Confidence in the market is strong, led by unbelievable interest rates. I have a client who closed on a purchase at the end of July at a 2.09 5yr fixed interest rate! Sales in July continued to see growth; 28% over June'20 sales volumes and once again exceeded 2019 monthly tallies by 22.3%. Starting in April I stopped comparing current real estate activity to previous years as we were a new COVID-19 environment and it was not an even playing field to compare. We are past that now, that we not only keeping up to 2019 but surpassing sales levels.
Another great milestone is that July'20 exceeded the 10-year sales average by 9.4%. It has been well over 1 year since monthly sales have exceeded the 10-year monthly average. The market is strong!
SALES - How does last months sales break down?
As we are returning to a regular rhythm in real estate activity, statistic focus will return to annual comparisons as well as previous month stats.
1) Sales of detached homes in July'20 reached 1,121, 32.8% increase from the 866 detached sales recorded in June'20 and a 33.3% increase from July'19 (841).
2) Attached(townhouse) totalled 607, a 28.6% increase compared to the 472
sales in June'20. July'20 sales saw a 28.3% improvement from July'19(473) .
3) Sales of condos homes reached 1,400 in June'20, a 26.7% increase compared to the 1,105 sales last month (June'20). July'20 surpassed '19 totals by 12.6%.
INVENTORY - Properties for Sale
The total number of residential homes for sale(12,083) is a 5.7% increase compared to June'20(11,424). However, the 15% decrease compared to July'19 is moving in opposite direction of increased sales volumes; putting more pressure on Buyers.
New listings kept up to sales. Homes brought to market in all categories increased by a mere 2.8% compared to new listings in June'20. Seller engagement is stronger with 28.9 increase of newly listed for sale compared to July'19.
My concern is the month-to-month stalemate of new listings, while pent-up demand continues to push sales through.
Our 2nd 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.
The ratio for the property types are:
25.9% (all properties combined) - compared to June'20 (21) May'20 (15) & April'20 (11.8)
25.1% (detached homes) compared to June'20 (20), May'20 (13.5) April'20 (10)
31.1% (townhouses) compared to June'20(25), May'20(18.9), April'20 (14.7)
24.7% (apartments) compared to June (21), May'20(14.8), April'20 (12.4)
What does this mean?
The ratios are ALL now in the Seller's market range. We are only 2 months into this trend but are close to an official Seller's market... again.
Prices
The MLS Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential property is Metro Vancouver is 4.5% higher than July 2019, and a mere 0.6 increase from June'20.
Now that we are returning to 'normal' conditions... what is to be expected?
- Realtors - Buyer Agents be ready to compete. Listing agents can get creative with listing and pricing strategies.
- Sellers - Are you getting the most for your property? Don't be afraid to give your listing time (more than 1 week) and exposure to find that right Buyer and your maximum price. I sold a condo DT Vancouver closing end of July and it took the full week for the offer, but did obtain 99% of the asking price.
- Buyers - Interest rates are low. If you find a good deal, take it! If you don't, someone else will.
- REBGV Sourced Summary
If you are thinking of selling in 2020, reach out to me, and lets talk about COMPETITION, INVENTORY and TIMING!
Fraser Valley Real Estate Update
44% increase in sales compared to July'19 sales!
The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) processed a total of 2,100 sales on its Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in July'20, an increase of 22% compared to 1,718 sales in June'20 and also an increase of 44% compared to the 1,458 sales during July'19. Sales reached the 2nd highest recorded in July.
Chris Shields, President of the Board adds, ““In the context of the current pandemic environment, our market is significantly ahead of what we anticipated. We’re seeing market conditions representing a seller’s market for townhomes and single-family homes in the Fraser Valley.”
New listings increased by a mere 2% compared to June'20 intake. Good news is that the new listings is 26.9% higher than July'19 and 18.3% higher than the 10-year avg. July is notoriously a slow month for sales and new inventory; this gives some relief that inventory will be able to keep up to sales volumes.
Sales
Detached homes have seen a 32% increase in sales volumes (867) compared to June '20 (657) and a 55.7% increase from July'19.
Attached Townhouses have seen a 23.1% increase in sales (555) compared to July'20 (451) and a 44.9% increase from July'19.
Condos saw a sales increase of 5.7% (430) compared to June'20 (407) and a 25% increase from July'19.
Townhouses and detached homes are the main drivers in the Fraser Valley. For every 100 homes for sale in July, 40 were sold!
Inventory
The Fraser Valley Board received 3,549 new listings in July'20, a 2.7% increase compared to June'20 and a 26.9% increase compared to July'19. July finished with 7,341 active listings, an increase of 3.9% compared to June'20 inventory and a decrease of 12% from July'19.
Digging deeper into the stats the real story/concern is decrease in active listings in detached and townhouse year-to-year; as its these areas that are seeing the highest sales activities.
Single Detached: - 22.2%
Townhouse: - 15%
Prices
Average HPI Price Index for ALL property types increased by 16.5% from July'19. This gain is weighted due to the high sales volumes of single detached homes and townhouses. Note: Detached homes are up 14.3% compared to July'19.
- 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 recent
Blog on COVID-19 and how we can respond in the real estate sector in Vancouver.
