As our provincial government has continually promised to devalue real estate in British Columbia, their tactics are certainly coming to reality, especially for the higher end properties.
Residential property values across Metro Vancouver fell in 2019, with the value of all homes — including detached houses and condo units — decreasing by up to almost 16%. That's according to B.C. Assessment, the provincial agency which appraises all properties in the province annually and released its 2020 assessments Thursday.
West Vancouver was the hardest hit with a 15.9% decrease for detached houses, while Vancouver has decreased 12.1% - most affected by the international market. The least affected areas have been Langley with a 5.5% decrease and Surrey with a 4.5% decrease - again the stronger local market.
Focusing on the Downtown Vancouver condo market in December 2019, the number of sales are up and the inventory is down compared to December 2018 and the median price remains steady.
As we have seen all year, the local money under $1,250,000 is selling very well and the opportunities are in the luxury high end segment.
The under $900,000 market is selling at a rate of 74% or 97 out of 131 homes are selling.
The $900,000 to $1,000,000 range is selling at a rate of 38% or 9 out of 24 homes are selling.
The $1,000,000 to $1,250,000 range is selling at a rate of 38% or 16 out of 42 homes are selling.
After seeing a great surge in the $1,250,000 to $2,000,000 range in November, this segment has come back to reality selling at a rate of 14% or 15 out of 107 homes are selling.
The $2,000,000 to $2,500,000 range is selling at a rate of 13% or 2 out of 16 homes are selling.
The $2,500,000 to $5,000,000 range is slightly improving, selling at a rate of 13% or 10 out of 79 homes are selling.
And there were no sales in the above $5,000,000 as 0 out of 41 homes have sold.
Total unit sales in Downtown Vancouver were down 21% from last month and up 81% from December 2018. Those who are priced correctly for this market are selling on average in 22 days down from 24 days last month.
The median price increased 1% from last month, and the median price is up 2.5% from December 2018.
The average price per square foot barely changed from $1,029 in November to $1,024 in December.
And inventory has decreased almost 30% with 438 active listings (typical for December) and down 25% from December 2018.
As always, the sellers’ best bets are studios and 1 bedroom condos in the Downtown area. And the buyers’ best bets are units between $1.75 and $2.0 million and above $5 million.
Looking at the year ahead, what I believe will be the theme of 2020 is a continued strong local market. The $1,250,000 to $2,000,000 will start to move again and the $2,000,000 to $5,000,000 market will continue to putter along with very little change. As the foreign buyer’s tax will continue to deter international investors to Vancouver, the luxury market above $5,000,000 will continue to struggle and it will be up to smart buyer’s to take some chances with some bold lowball offers.
I hope you find this helpful, but should you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask.
Sincerely,
Ian
PS Here are some interesting articles with some 2020 predictions
https://bc.ctvnews.ca/property-tax-assessments-show-home-values-dropping-in-lower-mainland-1.4722454
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-housing-market-2019-2020-1.5407180