January inventory bounces back, Buyers with more options; sales continue to be Very strong.
The not so Short, yet Easy summary
SALES
Our 1st review for 2021... here we go! This could be the 1st January that did not keep up to December sales. This just tells us what a CRAZY month Dec'20 was. This does not discount January tallies as they outpaced Jan'20 by 52%. The big story in January was the re-filling of inventory into the market. Buyers had more options in January and looking better moving into February.
January '21 sales were 36.4 higher than the 10-year average.
SALES - How does last months sales break down?
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1) Sales of detached homes in Jan'21 reached 740, a 39% decrease from the 1,026 sales recorded in Dec'20 and a 68.6% increase from Jan'20 (439).
2) Attached(townhouse) totalled 454, a 30% decrease compared to the 593
sales in Dec'20. Dec'20 sales saw a 42.8% improvement from Jan'20(318).
3) Sales of condos homes reached 1,195 in Dec'20, a 23% decrease compared to the 1,474 sales last month (Dec'20). Dec'20 surpassed '19 totals(814) by 40%.
Great performances compared to 2020 totals especially for detached homes, yet substantial decrease from December. Very impressive sales results.
INVENTORY - Properties for Sale
The total number of residential homes for sale(8,306) is a 2.7% decrease compared to Dec'20(8,617). This inventory total is just 3.6% lower compared to Jan'20 (8,603). .
New listings continues to be a bright spot to keep up to sale volumes. Homes brought to market in all categories increased by 86% compared to new listings in Dec'20. Compared to Jan'20, new listings increased by 15%.
This tells me that a lot of the real estate market activity is internal with movement up/down through different asset classes for primary residences.
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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:
28.8 % (all properties combined) compared to: Dec (36.2)Nov (29.7), Oct (29.7)
26.3 % (detached homes) compared to: Dec (35.2), Nov (27.9), Oct (30.9)
37.6 % (townhouses) compared to: Dec (50.4), Nov (40.1), Oct (43.5),
27.8 % (condos) compared to: Dec (33.1), Nov (23.9), Oct (24.9)
What does this mean?
The market is beginning to regulate and moved considerably towards a balanced market in the last month. We are still in a convincing Seller's market but with much more inventory and options at the moment.
Prices
The MLS Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential property is Metro Vancouver is 6% higher than Oct'19, and a mere 0.4 increase from Sept'20.
1-year Change
Detached HPI up 10.8 %
Townhouse HPI up 4.3 %
Condo HPI up 2.2 %
Now that we are entering 2nd Wave COVID-19 conditions... what is to be expected?
Real Estate Council of B.C. asking that Realtors NOT hold in-person open houses until case numbers come down to manageable levels. 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 2020, reach out to me, and lets talk about TECHNOLOGY, INVENTORY and TIMING!
Fraser Valley Real Estate Update
Strongest January sales on record.
The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) processed a total of 1,718 sales on its Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Dec'20, an decrease of 21% compared to sales in Dec'20(2,086) and also an increase of 76% compared to Jan'20.
Sales
Detached homes had a 10% decrease in total in sales volumes (881) compared to Nov'20 (978) and a 90.3% increase from Dec'19(463).
Attached Townhouses saw a 5.8% decrease in sales (501) compared to Nov'20 (532) and a 75.2% increase from Dec'19(286).
Condos saw a sales increase of 6.3% (457) compared to Nov'20 (430) and a 46% increase from Dec'19(313).
Detached and townhouses continue to light up the sales environment in the the Fraser Valley.
Inventory
New listings increased by 85% compared to Dec'20. Also, new listings are 25% higher than Jan'20.
Total Inventory saw an decrease of 6.6% compared to Dec'20 inventory and a decrease of 18% from Jan'20.
Prices
Average HPI Price Index for ALL property types increased by 2.5% from Dec'20, and an aggressive 15% 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.
