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Vancouver Home Sales Fall To Lowest In April Since 2001, Real Estate Board Says

Financial Post  |  Posted: 05/ 2/2012 4:48 pm Updated: 05/ 2/2012 4:48 pm

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Financial Post:

Existing home sales in Canada’s most expensive city dropped last month, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. The board described home sale and listing activity as maintaining a “consistent pace” leading to balanced market conditions but its April statistic shows total sales across the Multiple Listing Service in April were 2,799, a 12.3% decline from a year ago. It also represented a 2.6% decline from March 2012.

Read the whole story at Financial Post

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Filed by Daniel Tencer  | 
 
 
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savman
82 Fans
11:33 AM on 05/03/2012
Just relax. Vancouver real estate bubble fears are overblown, and the numbers don’t bear them out.

Two top economists told REW.ca the same thing about where the Lower Mainland and Vancouver real estate market is going, and neither of them foresees the kind of sudden, extreme correction many people are worried about (or hoping for).

Read more: http://www.vancourier.com/Economists+discuss+Vancouver+housing+bubble/6449123/story.html#ixzz1toyOdqaY
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
stopgeorge
Paper Ballots WORK. Unverifiable e-voting doesn't
488 Fans
11:50 AM on 05/03/2012
Nowhere does it mention in that article that the debt to income ratio is astronomically high for Canadians -- especially in Vancouver.

The bubble will burst when interest rates climb. Guaranteed. It may be next year. It may be in 10 years. But the market will correct significantly.
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savman
82 Fans
12:19 PM on 05/03/2012
Meh. There are loads of wealthy people with no debt on my side of the tracks. It is the best city in Canada if not one of the most livable in the world. There is a reason prices are high. Who wants to live in Toronto? Yuk!

I bought in 01' for $790K and today my home is in the best part of Point Grey and would easily sell for $4mm. If the shine comes off and prices fall 10% so what. But it won't crash. The doom sayers have been saying the same thing for years. Besides, if there is a crash it's going to be in paper money so all those people selling into cash are going to see their profits evaporate anyway. Real Estate has always and will always be an excellent way to store wealth.

For those on the edge, if rates do rise 1 or 2 points, sure get out, but those who do will find it increasingly hard to get back in.
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PG13
63 Fans
01:36 AM on 05/03/2012
prices in Vanoucer area are insane, drop drop drop please! drop some more
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savman
82 Fans
12:21 PM on 05/03/2012
Try Saskatchewan
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SamEasy
You really don`t want to know.
458 Fans
01:14 AM on 05/03/2012
It will be interesting to see what happens when the Vancouver Bubble bursts, as it should. Imagine how many homeowners are unprepared for a 2% hike in interest rates when it happens.

Let's see, a $700,000 mortgage jumps by 2%.......I don't think annual salary raises will be able to keep up to those numbers, and when the selloff starts, LOOK OUT!

Should be interesting to say the least. IMO
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stopgeorge
Paper Ballots WORK. Unverifiable e-voting doesn't
488 Fans
01:33 AM on 05/03/2012
I can't wait!!!

I'm ready to buy when it happens!
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Mike Keohane
134 Fans
09:02 PM on 05/02/2012
$900,000 for a detached house is only about RMB 5,400,000. That's chickenfeed.
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Rantibus
Cogito, Ergo Rant
1167 Fans
05:32 PM on 05/02/2012
Of course, because the prices are utterly ridiculous. Even the smallest of condos - things I would describe charitably as a cellar in the sky - are in mid-six-figure ranges. My grandfather is buried in a space larger than a friend of mine's bathroom.
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