May 2019 Market Update

MAY 2019 Market Update:
As we all know, Spring is dubbed as one of the busiest times to purchase real estate in Vancouver. That would explain why traditionally we see a spike in sales over the May period. That busy time of looking, then starts turning into an actual purchase, would make sense as to why May sees this sort of activity. What’s interesting is we typically see this high, followed by a steady decrease into the summer months from June onward.

Well May followed suit this year, we had an increase in sale amounts of the following (from April):

East Side Condos:   35.6%      
West Side Condos:     34.5%
East Side Houses 87.9%           West Side Houses:     36.5%

Quite a substantial change overall, especially looking at East Side Houses up there! Overall, listings remained relatively similar to April, other than a decrease in available condos/townhouses on the Westside by 10%. 

Overall this year we’ve seen the market operate in the same way as normal, correction or not, just on reduced amounts than we are used to. But it’s important to note, the above figures on their own can paint a jaded picture and ‘an idea’ that the market is on the rise and about to take a turn upwards. However, looking at the trends and market activity over the last few years in Vancouver, we can clearly see this is a high point (and following suit for Vancouver) before the number of listings and sales start to reduce again as we enter into the summer months. Sorry to burst your bubble hopeful sellers!

When we take a look at May 2019 vs. May 2018, we’re seeing a decrease in sale amounts on average of 8.8% (as a blended rate.) That number jumps up to as high as -12% for East Side Houses, and as low as -5.5% for West Side Houses. May 2018 was when we were arguably a couple of months into the start of the market correction.

Now what WILL be interesting is seeing, IF and HOW, federal elections will impact the market, but that’s a topic for a different day!
Assuming (yes, yes we know what happens when you assume) the market trends remains true, it’s actually going to be a mixture of savvy sellers AND buyers that are going to be required to secure success in this market. To date, there is still a disconnect between seller and buyer expectations, even still. This is evident with the amount of sales vs. listings available. A savvy seller will need to be aware of the market and what is to come over the next few months. In this case, a further decrease in their opportunity to sell, inevitably leading to a value reduction across the market in our opinion. A savvy buyer will need to be aware of the latest statistics in order to put something across which is a WIN-WIN situation for both. You can play the waiting game, however as well as sales, listings decrease over the summer so you run the risk of the unit not even being available in the months to come.

Thank you for joining us on this week’s blog! Don’t forget to sign up to our Monthly Newsletter update to be the first to get the latest statistics and updates with what is happening across the market!

Until next week,


Jay Mcinnes
T: 604.771.4606
jay@mcinnesmarketing.com

Ben Robinson
T: 604.353.8523
ben@mcinnesmarketing.com




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