Vancouver housing market
By ebizniz on October 14, 2007 - 11:12am
A posting by James Wong at RE/MAX Westcoast.
According to the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board's August 2007 report on house prices and sale activities, the demand for housing continue to be positive. The average sale prices for apartments, townhouses and detached homes are:
Apartments: $367,944
Townhouses: $446,577
Detach homes: $726,067
With the average Greater Vancouver household income at $63,300, home buyers are squeezed out of the home ownership market. Or, they are forced to buy the most affordable apartments as shelters for their families.
While Vancouver house prices are consistent with pricing trends for the above types of dwelling, there is a market disconnect with "affordability" and "average prices" in other major Canadian Cities. If you take a look at the various charts as presented by Brian Ripley here, you'll find that Vancouver home owners are bearing a much heavier cost in home ownership.
Our average detached home prices are twice as much as that in Calgary and Edmonton and Toronto detached home prices are only around 40% of that in Vancouver. Ottawa and Montreal prices are at about one-third the price in Vancouver, have the most affordable detached homes in the country.
By ebizniz on August 3, 2007 - 2:54pm
As I see it by Vancouver home mortgage:
In yesterday's Financial Post,
Reuters
Published: Thursday, August 02, 2007 reported
"Canadian, U.S. banks face limited subprime shocks"
So, it looks like the banks in the U.S. and Canada are well covered and can withstand the sub-prime mortgages meltdown.
But, Canadian home owners who bought into their homes recently will not be so lucky. The reason being that these home owners paid a lot more for their homes than those that bought a few years earlier.
In Canada, we will not be immuned to the price correction when the housing market turn south. It's not unreasonable to expect prices to correct 15% to 20% considering house prices have gone up almost 100% over the past 6 years.
In the hot housing markets in Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary and Edmonton. there are not much up-side potential in house prices continuing to increase without a correction. The down-side risk could be devastating for many home buyers who only bought their homes in the recent months.
By ebizniz on June 20, 2007 - 9:54pm
A recent Financial Post article Resale housing market on fire in May reported Canada's major markets was up 11.6% year-over-year to 42,039 units, and MLS residential average price rose 10.2% year-over-year to set a new monthly record of $333,524 in May.
In another article by Edmonton Journal Housing market still sizzling in May, Vancouver was reported to hit an all-time high top of $591,722. The steepest housing price increase was in Edmonton, up 47.3%, followed by Saskatoon, up 44.1% year-over-year.
The Canadian housing market appears to be insulated from the current housing slump in the U.S.A. Most Canadian economists are optimistic that the bullish Canadian housing market will be sustained through 2008. According to CREA economist Klump, "price increases will slip below 10 per cent this year to an average of 9.7 per cent, and then ease further to 5.5 per cent in 2008".
By ebizniz on June 16, 2007 - 5:00pm
On the housing market front, higher house prices are reported across Canada. In today's Financial Post article,
"INCOMES LAG BEHIND RISING HOUSE PRICES" investors are reported to be cashing on the hot housing market in places like Saskatoon.
You can follow and track the housing market for 6 Canadian cities by following
Brian Ripley's housing price charts.
The chart showed that Edmonton house prices have increased significantly since early 2006. The charts showed that Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton are way ahead of the other Canadian cities in housing price increase for the past 18 months.
There are signs of pricing gains in Toronto and Montreal lately. Ottawa will likely attract buying interest as house prices are still low compared with other major Canadian centers. The housing markets in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa could experience some catching up on real estate prices.
In addition to the above major cities, real estate investors will have to search out other Canadian towns that have good attributes for real estate value appreciation.
By ebizniz on June 2, 2007 - 8:49pm
CMHC spring housing market outlook report is bullish on Vancouver's housing market, inspite of the housing slump in the U.S., recent strong run up in the Canadian dollar approaching parity with the US dollar.
The report said, "As a result of strong demand and escalating construction costs, the average price for new single detached homes climbed 16 per cent in 2006. Look for new single family home prices to grow at about half that rate over the next two years". The full CMHC spring housing market outlook report can be viewed here.
This is a tough call to made and expect Vancouver's housing market to remain strong into 2008. No where was it mentioned that Vancouver's house prices is already the "highest" in Canada. Take a look at how Vancouver's prices compared with other cities in Canada as per Brain Ripley's Housing Price Charts.
Based on April's average price for detached home, townhome and condo in Vancouver at $695,000, $430,000 and $360,000, and borrowers applying for 75% financing will have to earn $130,000, $80,000 and $68,000 respectively to qualify for the loans. With the average Greater Vancouver's family income under $70,000, home buyers cannot be approved for 75% financing for townhomes and detached houses.
