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Average is the new up! Vancouver prices have gone up and will rise even more. What seemed like a very exuberant real estate market in Greater Vancouver in February produced an average volume of sales. With multiple offers a consistent theme, less so with detached homes, one would think it was a record month for total number of sales – especially with 42 offers on a house in Kitsilano. But truly, that supply and demand equation still rings true, when there isn’t enough supply to meet the demand, prices shift up and competition occurs.
 
British Columbia’s finance minister said that she is cautiously optimistic that real estate will become affordable for the average citizen over the next year, even though demand is expected to keep eclipsing supply. Think about that? The number of buyers is increasing more than the number of sellers. What happens when there is scarcity of something? People compete for that item. Greater Vancouver’s real estate market is seeing the number of homes available dwindle to a level not seen in over two years in all property types and a spring market is emerging that has buyers wanting what there isn’t enough of – housing. And these are very much local buyers. This is most evident in the apartment and townhome segment of the market under $1,000,000. Since January 1st, in Downtown Vancouver there have been 89 MLS® sales reported – 43 of which sold at list price or above. There have been 18 townhouse sales on Vancouver’s Westside since January 1st and 9 of those sold at list or above. What happens when apartment buyers can’t find townhomes to buy? They don’t sell and there are less apartments in lower price ranges available. But what’s really telling in this market is that while the number of home sales are just below the 10-year average; prices are rising… incidents of 18 offers, 25 offers, 68 offers on listed properties are occurring. 
 
There were 2,185 homes sold of all types in Greater Vancouver in February this year compared with 1,602 homes sold last month, 1,512 sales in February last year and 2,241 homes sold in February 2018. Sales in February were 17% below the 10-year average for the month of February but only 7% below the 10-year average if the 4,254 sales from February 2016 were excluded – an all-time record amount of sales for that month. The number of sales in February were 45% higher compared to February 2019, continuing the trend for the eighth straight month where year-over-year sales were up. Yes, home sales are up but they are still reaching for the average. Imagine what could happen to prices once buyers engage even more, and the number of homes for sale continues to decline.
 
Some highlights from February:
  • The number of detached homes currently listed in Vancouver continues to decline – with 517 Westside houses available at the end of February – which is lower than the end of January and 27% fewer than February 2019; on the East Side there are 36% less houses available compared to February 2019 with sales of detached houses up 59% year over year
  • Average prices for townhouses and condos in the majority of areas in Greater Vancouver increased significantly in February as buyers competed much more for these types of properties (Average prices are a calculation based on the total dollar volume of sales and the number of homes sold)
  • Detached homes showed higher year over year gains in the number of homes sold compared to townhouses and apartments in most areas as buyers continue to take advantage of the closer gap between the price of detached homes and attached properties
  • There have been 47 sales of homes under $3,000,000 on Vancouver’s Westside since January 1st and 16 of them have sold at list price or above.
What is new?
 
7838 Angus Drive | $3,998,000

 

  WHY WE ❤️ THIS HOME
1. 7 Bedrooms + 5 Bathrooms
2. 85' x 157.5' lot / 12,091 SQFT
3. West Facing Private Yard 
4. Garden is stunning
5. Private 
6. Nestled to the new Arbutus Greenway - ride anywhere
7. If you missed 6370 McCleery ...this home has a similar feel!

Big family? Here we are - 5 beds up & 2 on the main floor! All situated on a huge 85'x 142.25' lot, this home will exceed your expectations. Picture a beautiful foyer opening into a living room, dining room, eating area, family room & a cook's kitchen (5-star range, slate counters, big island w/ seating). Also on the main floor - a mudroom, bedroom, office/bedroom that share a full bath. Up provides 5 beds plus a playroom or office/den area, a huge walk-in closet for the MB & a deluxe renovated master ensuite. There are 2 areas below that provide rec space, room for a gym, art room, music space & more. The outdoor space is also stunning. There is an expansive front garden with french doors that open from the Family room and a private deck for entertaining in the back.


De-stressing the Mortgage Stress Test
 
 
Realtors and economists agree that the recently announced tweaks to Canada's Mortgage Stress Test will bring a positive change to the housing industry. The new changes take effect on April 6, 2020 and will apply to insured mortgages. How does that affect you? Read more.


Choir!Choir!Choir!
  
Sold Out - it was a very fun night on February 23rd. The room was packed with over 400 guests and we laughed, sang and of course ate! To hear us pull together Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, click here.

Daveed Goldman and Nobu Adilman (AKA “DaBu”) started Choir! Choir! Choir! as a weekly drop-in singing event in February 2011.
Equal parts singing, comedy, and community-building, the night unfolds like a dream: you get a lyric sheet at the door, DaBu teach you the vocal arrangement, and a video is recorded. Everyone has a ball and goes home feeling great!


If you hear they are coming back to Vancouver, they are a must see.

 


Wake Up City of Vancouver
 
Our job is to keep you informed on new policies that the City of Vancouver is rolling out that could impact the residential housing market. This month the City is hosting a series of open houses: March 3, 5, 9, 10,11, 12 and 17 to discuss the details behind a potential City-wide rezoning under the “Secured Rental Policy”.

The map below is being shared around and highlights areas that the City deems to be eligible for this Secured Rental Policy and Implementation. 

Don’t get excited – it doesn’t mean that if your home is in the zones that your valuation has shot up 3x. You need buyers to buy properties for this purpose.
The reality is that the value is dependent on other factors that what you CAN build.
  1. Delays in getting permits from the city – carrying costs are huge and 2-5 year waits before you can actually break ground affect the viability of doing any of these types of projects
  2. Rising building costs – projects all across the city in the last 2-3 years have had the profitability in these projects eaten up. 10-15% increases in costs means that no one wants to take on the risk of these projects
  3. Due to the significant regulation of the rental market – means that the long term incentives to own these types of projects has been killed. No one wants to invest in these type of projects unless they already own the land.
This is the City of Vancouver’s efforts to “try” to show that they are coming up with ways to create policies that support densification but they really need to focus on:
  1. Speeding up the Permit Processing time
  2. Eliminating the inefficiencies from the permit approval process. 
Interested in attending these sessions?
 

 

Spicy! This newsletter can't handle the spice level of this year's Pillow Talk. Lets just say you should click on these speakers and vendors. You should follow them, connect with them, engage them as you will not be disappointed. If you are interested in coming to next year's Pillow Talk, please send us a message.
 

  
    
  
  

 
Bank Of Canada Interest Rate Cut:

Here Are The Winners And Losers

The Bank of Canada’s decision on Wednesday to follow the U.S. and cut its key lending rate is a clear sign households will see lower borrowing costs ahead, but that’s not good news for the many millions of Canadians who are actually lenders ― even if they don’t think of themselves as such.

Within hours of the Bank of Canada’s announcement Wednesday that it’s dropping its lending rate half a percentage point to to 1.25 per cent, most of Canada’s major banks followed suit, dropping their prime rates by the same amount. Read more.


 
Dina Goldstein - love this artist
 
  
I have a piece from her series Fallen Princesses and I love it. This newest series is amazing, !0 Commandments.

With The 10 Commandments, Dina once again hones in on the subtleties of a greater cultural pretence, recreating the sense of disillusionment inherent to her oeuvre and voice as an artist.

Unlike Goldstein's other series, The 10 Commandments reads more immediate, more overtly activist. The artist is, more than ever, wearing her disillusionment on her sleeve, compelled to offer commentary as someone whose life and work have also been shadowed by the now fractured American ideal. As such, the series demonstrates a new facet of Dina Goldstein's artistic repertoire, one of political criticism. Read more


  

  
6309 Macdonald St.
 
$4,550,000 60'x133'
 
       7838 Angus Drive
     Perfect Family Home
7 bedrooms & 5 baths
 


     
 
3175 Point Grey Rd 
The views are mesmerizing

PH5 238 W.Broadway 
3 beds, 3 baths and
Views for days
 
3280 S.W. Marine Dr
Beautiful Home &
Extra Deep Lot
 
#1002 183 Keefer Pl
Tinseltown Living
2 beds & den
#406 298 East 11th 
Mount Pleasant
Close to everything!
3501 West 22nd Ave
Lord Byng Catchment
Dunbar 
3 bed & 3 bath
Kerrisdale Living
Half Duplex
Commercial Dr Area 
Kitsilano Home
North of Fourth!
Stunning Views
Amazing Condo
New Westminster

More Coming Soon
 









A director of romantic comedies 
finds herself attending 
weddings with her ex-husband. 
Who wrote this script?

An Oldie but
a Good One


ruthie@ruthieshugarman.com

604.879.2941

604.263.1144

604.263.6699

Dexter Realty

South Granville

#560 - 2608 Granville St.

Vancouver, BC.   V6H 3V3







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Ruthie Shugarman · 2094 West 43rd Ave · Vancouver, BC V6M 2C9 · Canada

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