A Hint of Sunshine
Spring weather arrived on March 1st (though there was snow on the ground in some places) and March 2nd brought another day of dreary winter-like weather. However, the taste of sun on March 1st is all a Vancouverite needs to remember that summer is coming….Weather aside, the housing market had another month of split personalities. The strata side of the market continued to be extremely active with multiple offers being still highly prevalent and prices driving upwards (though, admittedly, at a more reasonable rate than 6 months ago). The detached side of the market continues to be fairly soft with prices on the top end of this market declining and prices on the bottom end remaining fairly strong.
The Numbers
Despite the problems we discussed with the numbers last month, I want to continue to present them as we always have. To that end, the numbers shown are a ratio of the number of active listings (at end of month) over the number of sales in that month. Numbers above a 7 are considered to be buyers’ markets, below a 5 are sellers’ and in-between are considered balanced. Beside the number, I’ve indicated the direction the market moved when compared to the previous month.
Reported Stats Vs. Actual Stats
As promised, we wanted to delve a bit further into the data errors discussed extensively last month. Unfortunately, despite our enquiries, we have not yet been able to determine why the numbers are different beyond the obvious (subjects removing after report is published and sales collapsing after the fact too). For the time being, we did want to present the variability in sales numbers between the stats report published on Feb 2nd and the numbers as we can source them today.
Update on the Provincial Budget
The 2018 NDP budget introduced a whirlwind of new real estate related taxes in BC. For a full update on those announcements and what they mean for Vancouver homeowners, be sure to tune in to The Vancouver UnReal Estate Show podcast this Sunday for a special update.You can download the show for free on our website, on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.