Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[JDMDreams]

Even getting around the mainland is a bitch, just getting from Pne to Edmonds it's easily 40 min+ one way.

[6thGear.]

Originally Posted by Eff-1

The last 7 solds in our building range from $1075 to $1189 psf.

Ours is a top floor corner unit with a downtown view, so we're expecting to be at the higher end of that range, before factoring in the market has softened a bit.

The offer of $950k was only $1032 psf. Even my realtor was like wtf is this haha.

When were those comps sold? Anything over 90 days becomes irrelevant due to market conditions. The main thing these days for listings to be sold is attractiveness. Price and property. Is the price attractive enough and is the property attractive in the sense of location/direction facing/conditions/etc. Has all deficiencies been addressed before listing? Has these been factored into your list price? What about the recent sold, how do they compare (pro vs con)? Price per SF is not the end all, in fact it's a misrepresentation of property value. If anything, it's more of a bragging right.

You say your listing is approaching 20 days, I would assume your agent will meet with you again and go over what's happened and price correct in order to get more interest/potential offer(s). Also, contrary to what people think, this is the slow time for the real estate market, which could also lessen your chances for sold ATM.

You will need to start looking at your listing through the eyes of a potential buyer. If you were to buy your unit, what would you expect etc?

[Eff-1]

Originally Posted by jcmaz

But food for thought, $/sqft doesn't take into consideration wasted corridor space.

I hear you and I think it's fair for people to question how we are defining a lowball, but I can confidently say $950k was a lowball haha.

Here's a floorplan from our building. No wasted space from corridors, one of the reasons why we love this place and are sad to sell it.

https://www.dpmmanagement.ca/wp-cont...or-Plan-2H.jpg

The lower floors have larger patios, higher floors (like ours) come with smaller balconies but downtown views, and top floor means no noise from above.

Our unit comes has enough premium features that easily justifies it selling at the higher end of the comps, and so we felt more than okay telling that guy to buzz off and look for units in the $950k to $975k range if that's all he can afford in lower lonsdale/moodyfille. At that price point, he'll get either an older building, no a/c, no view, or less sq ft etc.

[Eff-1]

Originally Posted by 6thGear.

When were those comps sold? Anything over 90 days becomes irrelevant due to market conditions. The main thing these days for listings to be sold is attractiveness. Price and property. Is the price attractive enough and is the property attractive in the sense of location/direction facing/conditions/etc. Has all deficiencies been addressed before listing? Has these been factored into your list price? What about the recent sold, how do they compare (pro vs con)? Price per SF is not the end all, in fact it's a misrepresentation of property value. If anything, it's more of a bragging right.

You say your listing is approaching 20 days, I would assume your agent will meet with you again and go over what's happened and price correct in order to get more interest/potential offer(s). Also, contrary to what people think, this is the slow time for the real estate market, which could also lessen your chances for sold ATM.

You will need to start looking at your listing through the eyes of a potential buyer. If you were to buy your unit, what would you expect etc?

7 comps over 180 days, just in our building. Plus the neighbourhood comps etc.

Price PSF isn't the end all be all, but's it's a good measure for us to know if we're pricing competitively since it's something buyers often look at as well.

Of all buildings in the neighbourhood, ours is considered the most premium, and our unit is considered one of the better units in terms of location and what it comes with.

What's working against us is 2 other very simliar units for sale at the same time, however we have priced ours aggressively relative to theirs.

It's a softening market no question and that's what is hurting us right now, along with everyone else.

[Eff-1]

Originally Posted by whitev70r

For those who live in North Van, is your work in North Van ... cuz I cannot imagine living in North Van and being at the mercy of those 2 bridges. Gawd, the wasted time would definitely be worth a smaller sq ft unit in Van (if a majority of your life is in Vancouver that is).

I grew up in North Van and so that's why I probably am ok with the traffic more than others. But yes, the traffic is brutal and makes getting around during peak hours painful.

I work remotely from home. On the days I commute downtown I take the seabus. My commuting time is 50 mins by transit, vs 30-40 mins by car. Uber from downtown to home is $20 - $25.

Outside of rush hours, you can be downtown in 25 mins by car.

Burnaby is also super close and that's where we go for Costco or Metrotown/Brentwood if we need a mall, if not Park Royal. IKEA in Coquitlam is also a quick trip on the freeway.

We visit Whistler frequently and coming home from Whistler without having to cross a budget into Vancouver is a big deal for us.

We love North Van so much that we're paying more money for a tiny old house, vs somewhere like Tsawassen where we could have got a larger house for less money.

We knew that whichever house we ended up buying, it was very important we had a feeling of living in a forest on the mountainside, vs say an east Van house surrounded by other houses backing on to a lane.

North Van isn't for everyone but we love it.

[unit]

your old floorplan was actually pretty sweet. WIC for the 2nd bedroom? what in the world.

[snowball]

Originally Posted by whitev70r

For those who live in North Van, is your work in North Van ... cuz I cannot imagine living in North Van and being at the mercy of those 2 bridges. Gawd, the wasted time would definitely be worth a smaller sq ft unit in Van (if a majority of your life is in Vancouver that is).

Traffic in north van is very consistent... consistently bad that is. But it is predictable unless there's a major accident or a stalled truck. I would not recommend living in North Van unless you have some commitments over here such as at least one partner working on this side.

That being said, it is easier commuting out of north van in the morning and coming back in the afternoon than vice versa. It's mostly people working here and don't live here who are sitting in traffic.

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by snowball

Traffic in north van is very consistent... consistently bad that is. But it is predictable unless there's a major accident or a stalled truck. I would not recommend living in North Van unless you have some commitments over here such as at least one partner working on this side.

That being said, it is easier commuting out of north van in the morning and coming back in the afternoon than vice versa. It's mostly people working here and don't live here who are sitting in traffic.

What's gonna happen to all the ICBC staff that moved to North Van now that ICBC is moving locations to where VCC-Clark is (apparently a lot of staff are WFH though)?

Trying to get out of North Van in the afternoon is such a nightmare - I've been stuck for 90+ mins easily on more than a couple occasions.

[winson604]

Originally Posted by snowball

Traffic in north van is very consistent... consistently bad that is. But it is predictable unless there's a major accident or a stalled truck. I would not recommend living in North Van unless you have some commitments over here such as at least one partner working on this side.

That being said, it is easier commuting out of north van in the morning and coming back in the afternoon than vice versa. It's mostly people working here and don't live here who are sitting in traffic.

Came back last Thursday from camping in Squamish we purposely stayed later to avoid the after work traffic and arrived in the North Van area at approx 730pm or so. Nope it doesn't matter what day or time shit was backed the fuck up. Luckily after waiting about 10 mins we finally got close enough to the Mountain Highway exit which is practically a secret. Took the exit scooted down to Main st and too that exit, no traffic whatsoever shaved 20 mins right there. It did remind me how much I hate going to and from the area though.

[Hakkaboy]

Originally Posted by Eff-1

I hear you and I think it's fair for people to question how we are defining a lowball, but I can confidently say $950k was a lowball haha.

Here's a floorplan from our building. No wasted space from corridors, one of the reasons why we love this place and are sad to sell it.

https://www.dpmmanagement.ca/wp-cont...or-Plan-2H.jpg

The lower floors have larger patios, higher floors (like ours) come with smaller balconies but downtown views, and top floor means no noise from above.

Our unit comes has enough premium features that easily justifies it selling at the higher end of the comps, and so we felt more than okay telling that guy to buzz off and look for units in the $950k to $975k range if that's all he can afford in lower lonsdale/moodyfille. At that price point, he'll get either an older building, no a/c, no view, or less sq ft etc.

Your unit looks pretty nice, but I can't lie, the patio on #207 makes it more desirable to me.

GLWS.

[Harvey Specter]

I was talking to a realtor friend of mine today, and he was telling me the market is really slow, with nothing really selling. He deals with South Surrey/White Rock and told me a lot of builders are trying to unload houses they were holding for future builds. Higher rates, permit delays, and high building costs are making it too risky to start a new build. A bunch of houses are getting shopped around without even getting listed, and still no offers—not even lowball offers.

[68style]

Even Calgary's scorching hot market is slow-er right now... I still get all my realtor's emails with my search scheme in it and there's not a lot of new listings... and all the notifications are for minor price reductions.

Anything decent at a half decent price still sells immediately though. Stuff over $800k is having a tougher time.

$800k so hard right?

[Hondaracer]

Originally Posted by Harvey Specter

I was talking to a realtor friend of mine today, and he was telling me the market is really slow, with nothing really selling. He deals with South Surrey/White Rock and told me a lot of builders are trying to unload houses they were holding for future builds. Higher rates, permit delays, and high building costs are making it too risky to start a new build. A bunch of houses are getting shopped around without even getting listed, and still no offers—not even lowball offers.

The province and COV’s wonderful new multi plex plan is turning into an abysmal failure and the stress on the market currently is only going to make it worse.

Spoke with a builder a few weeks ago and now CoV is apparently charging development fees and Utility hookup fees PER unit built. He said a regular single family home used to be around 35k all in for the infrastructure hookups (outside of hydro)

Now a 4 plex is costing around 75k for utility fees which are, of course, passed onto the buyer

[snowball]

Originally Posted by winson604

Came back last Thursday from camping in Squamish we purposely stayed later to avoid the after work traffic and arrived in the North Van area at approx 730pm or so. Nope it doesn't matter what day or time shit was backed the fuck up. Luckily after waiting about 10 mins we finally got close enough to the Mountain Highway exit which is practically a secret. Took the exit scooted down to Main st and too that exit, no traffic whatsoever shaved 20 mins right there. It did remind me how much I hate going to and from the area though.

I drive the cut almost every day. The best thing you can do is sit there on the highway, get comfy, and accept your fate. It's guaranteed 20min +/- 5 minutes from Lonsdale to the bridge consistently.

[Harvey Specter]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

The province and COV’s wonderful new multi plex plan is turning into an abysmal failure and the stress on the market currently is only going to make it worse.

Spoke with a builder a few weeks ago and now CoV is apparently charging development fees and Utility hookup fees PER unit built. He said a regular single family home used to be around 35k all in for the infrastructure hookups (outside of hydro)

Now a 4 plex is costing around 75k for utility fees which are, of course, passed onto the buyer

It was for optics to gain votes, nothing else.

Not only are the fees ridiculous, but there's no way the province or the municipalities are going to find enough developers and builders who are willing to fork over millions just for land and spend millions more to build, then wait around to sell $1.5 million+ shoebox units.

The winners are homeowners who've seen their land value go up since the announcement. Your average middle class buyer is still screwed, and nothing will change.

[Manic!]

I know a builder in Nanaimo that has bought some old houses near the university and is planning on replacing them with 4 plexes.

[jcmaz]

Originally Posted by Eff-1

I hear you and I think it's fair for people to question how we are defining a lowball, but I can confidently say $950k was a lowball haha.

Here's a floorplan from our building. No wasted space from corridors, one of the reasons why we love this place and are sad to sell it.

https://www.dpmmanagement.ca/wp-cont...or-Plan-2H.jpg

The lower floors have larger patios, higher floors (like ours) come with smaller balconies but downtown views, and top floor means no noise from above.

Our unit comes has enough premium features that easily justifies it selling at the higher end of the comps, and so we felt more than okay telling that guy to buzz off and look for units in the $950k to $975k range if that's all he can afford in lower lonsdale/moodyfille. At that price point, he'll get either an older building, no a/c, no view, or less sq ft etc.

I also think it depends on how the photos look on the listing. I'm assuming you still live there but you might want to stage the unit to your ideal buyer.

When I sold my 1b1b 450sqft unit (tiny I know...), I went to purchase some new furniture and decorations (night stand, bedsheets, etc...) to mimic the ideal user of my unit - studio/bachelor pad.

[blkgsr]

with selling the house in the last couple weeks, the hunt for the new house is going slow. not alot coming on the market in the area with the key items we're looking for.

I'm hoping there was a slow down from the long weekend and that more will get posted here shortly.

[6thGear.]

Originally Posted by Eff-1

7 comps over 180 days, just in our building. Plus the neighbourhood comps etc.

Price PSF isn't the end all be all, but's it's a good measure for us to know if we're pricing competitively since it's something buyers often look at as well.

Of all buildings in the neighbourhood, ours is considered the most premium, and our unit is considered one of the better units in terms of location and what it comes with.

What's working against us is 2 other very simliar units for sale at the same time, however we have priced ours aggressively relative to theirs.

It's a softening market no question and that's what is hurting us right now, along with everyone else.

A few things that's working against you...

Summer time is generally slow time for real estate.
$1mil threshold requires minimum 20% downpayment
On average 1 sold per month according to your comps. (Too much activity from a buyers prospective) not to mentioned 2 other competitor units as well.

Anything can sell in any market. The X factor comes down to the individual seller.

[SSM_DC5]

Some realtors will advise to not list because it's slow in the summer.

[underscore]

I thought it was winter that was slower?

[Eff-1]

Accepted an offer last night. Totally fair offer. $10k below asking but we're getting the exact dates we need for closing.

Now pray for the subjects to clear and we're home free.

[68style]

AWESOME... another RS success story

[Badhobz]

just watch out if youre buying a new build. they are all trash.

[bcrdukes]

Originally Posted by Badhobz

just watch out if youre buying a new build. they are all trash.

Trash
Garbage
you got ripped off

The whole nine yards.