Market Update! Downtown Vancouver's property market is stabilising

Hi All,

People have been asking me my thoughts on the Downtown Vancouver property market, many of whom are concerned about the bad news coming from South of the Border.

I would like to start by saying the downtown market is not falling! Prices are NOT going down! I have spoken to many people who have seen price reductions and have assumed the market is falling and prices are going down. This is not the case.

Alot of people listed their properties at unrealistically high prices this Summer and Fall on the assumption the large price increases up to late Spring, early Summer were continuing.

The market has stabilised since Summer. Those who listed their properties at unrealistically high prices since then have had to reduce their prices in order to sell (but not below the sale prices of those properties listed during the run up) and those who did not reduce their prices had listings that went stale.

Prices have not fallen. The sale prices of the properties with price reductions were not below the sale prices of comparable units sold during the price run up.

Implications for the Downtown Vancouver Market

Disclaimer - I don't have a crystal ball, so all you read here is conjecture and if you make decisions based on what you read here you do so at your own risk.

Buying a property downtown is a solid safe bet for the long term. I think the market will accelerate again before the Olympics and I think it will coincie with the coming rate cuts the Bank of Canada has been hinting at for next year in light of economic weakness in Central Canada.

Assignments

If you are holding an assignment or pre-sale that you purchased recently, I would hold. If you bought something way back and you would like to use the capital for something else, selling now would be fine.

Everything Else

The market is still good and you should be able to sell your property at prices in line with comparables sold in the last quarter. Some unique waterview units may sell for more. Working with a professional full service realtor and realistic pricing is the key to selling in a stable market (more on that below)