October Sales up 29% over Oct'19 totals, and 34.7% over the 10-year September average.
The Short, the Quick, the Easy summary
SALES
The 2nd most sales on record for October... Ever!
The party continues! Homeowners are flexing their equity muscles and making lifestyle moves happen. Fueled with 5-year fixed mortgages available under 2%, sales in the townhouse and detached home segments are flourishing.
Moving forward we will not see as drastic changes in sales volume year-to-year as our recovery from the market correction really started taking place late fall '19.
SALES - How does last months sales break down?
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1) Sales of detached homes in Oct'20 reached 1,335, nearly identical with a 1.1% increase from the 1,317 sales recorded in Sept'20 and a 42.3% increase from Oct'19 (938).
2) Attached(townhouse) totalled 782, a 7.1% increase compared to the 730
sales in Sept'20. Oct'20 sales saw a 46% improvement from Oct'19(536).
3) Sales of condos homes reached 1,570 in Oct'20, a 1.6% decrease compared to the 1,596 sales last month (Sept'20). Oct'20 surpassed '19 totals(1,384) by 13.4%.
INVENTORY - Properties for Sale
The total number of residential homes for sale(12,236) is a 5.2% decrease compared to Sept'20(13,096). This inventory total is 1.2% higher compared to Oct'19. Any decrease in supply is our trigger to then watch for higher prices.
New listings continues to be a bright spot to keep up to sale volumes. Homes brought to market in all categories increased by 13% compared to new listings in Sept '20. Compared to Sept'19, new listings increased by 36.7%.
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.
The ratio for the property types are:
29.7 % (all properties combined) compared to: Sept (27.8) Aug (23.8) July (25.9)
30.9 % (detached homes) compared to: Sept (28.3), Aug (23.7) July (25.1)
43.5 % (townhouses) compared to: Sept (36.1), Aug (30.5) July(31.1)
24.9 % (condos) compared to: Sept (24.8), Aug (21.6), July (24.7)
What does this mean?
We are DEEPLY engaged in a Seller's market and we have been officially in a Seller's market since June. Townhouses are running rampant in this stat breaching the 40% mark. Condos remain the slow-zone surprisingly.
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.
Detached HPI up 8.5%
Townhouse HPI up 5.4%
Condo HPI up 4.4%
Now that we are entering 2nd Wave 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
Fourth consecutive month of record-breaking or near-record activity for sales and new listings in the region.
The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) processed a total of 2,370 sales on its Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Sept'20, an increase of 6.2% compared to sales in Sept'20 and also an increase of 48.9% compared to Oct'19. New listings was actually the big story! They reached the highest monthly total added in 10-years.
Sales
Detached homes have seen a 11.6% increase in sales volumes (979) compared to Sept'20 (877) and a 60.7% increase from Oct'19(609).
Attached Townhouses have seen a 10.1% increase in sales (611) compared to Sept'20 (516) and a 54.3% increase from Oct'19(396).
Condos saw a sales increase of 4.1% (502) compared to Sept'20 (482) and a 21% increase from Oct'19(415).
Detached and townhouses continue to light up the sales environment in the the Fraser Valley.
Inventory
New listings decreased by 12.3% compared to Sept'20 intake. Good news is that the new listings is 29.3% higher than Oct'19 a 10-year high!
Total Inventory saw an decrease of 6.8% compared to Sept'20 inventory and a decrease of 7.1% from Oct'19. Once again; low inventory level growth comparative to high sales growth is sending the market in 1 direction... higher prices
Prices
Average HPI Price Index for ALL property types increased by 0.2% from Sept'20 and a whopping 17.4% increase in 1-year. This gain is weighted due to the high sales volumes of single detached homes and townhouses. Note: condo prices dropped 2.9% compared to Sept'20.
- 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.
