Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[Ch28]

Originally Posted by donk.

So im looking to buy a condo, i have contacted 3 realtors at this point. Each said they are interested in being my realtor

Two stopped replying after i sent them a follow up email
The last one said he would get back to me the following day and nothing.
Im in trades, and you would be laid off for that kind of customer service, if we cant take the work, we simply say so.
not sure what the deal is

Edit: thanks to those who sent me a mssg, will go up the list

Looking to buy in terminal/main area give 10km, 400k
Dont care if you are in vancouver, langley, poco, as long as you can submit the offers thats all i need.

Edit: theres about 20 listings under 400k within 10km of that area, make it 40 if you go under 450k. Never said i want a 5 year old 900sqft condo on the 40th floor

You’re lucky the 3rd guy even bothered to respond 😂

[underscore]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

Call me a Bob but if you’re my Neighbor and you’ve got a car in pieces in your driveway and 3 others in the street I might have an issue with it.

Every vehicle I've owned has been on my property, the parts car didn't have parts laying around, was tarped over and I had it stripped and gone within a couple months. The one complaint about an ugly car was a Gambler 500 type thing so granted it was ugly but I had it tarped up as best I could and it was gone within a couple months too (would've been faster but forest fires were bad that year).

[soymilk]

It appears that there is still appetite in the East Van detached market, especially if it is priced right. I was going to put an offer on a listing in the Killarney area but was told by the listing agent that it was sold for $139K over ask and only 7 days on the MLS to boot. For context, it was priced at slightly above the 2019 assessed value (I understand this doesn't reflect market prices).

[SSM_DC5]

Originally Posted by soymilk

It appears that there is still appetite in the East Van detached market, especially if it is priced right. I was going to put an offer on a listing in the Killarney area but was told by the listing agent that it was sold for $139K over ask and only 7 days on the MLS to boot. For context, it was priced at slightly above the 2019 assessed value (I understand this doesn't reflect market prices).

Was the place reno'd? Some realtors still try to price low so they can say they're capable of selling over asking. Was the final sale price in the 1-1.6million range?

[fliptuner]

Make no mistake, the money is there, for the right properties.

A unit in my complex, just sold over asking, as soon as it was listed (9% more than we paid last year) - and this is the burbs.

[Fafine]

yup, put an offer for a townhouse 8k below asking,
got sold to someone 25k above asking and NO SUBJECT!
Older townhouse too, think it was less than 7 DOM

[eclipseman]

I too put an offer in on a townhome near Cambie. Sold, all cash to the higher bidder, very close to asking. 10 DOM.

[BIC_BAWS]

Not just Vancouver either tho, I was looking at a detached in Queen Mary Park in Surrey. Listed for 4 days. 60+ Offers, sold for 195K over asking.

LP: $799K
SP: $994K

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

[Tapioca]

A strata duplex in my neighbourhood set a new benchmark for the neighbourhood at 1.1 million, which was 15K over asking. Less than 2 weeks on the market. Sure, it was a very unique property, but that's still a lot of money for what it is.

[JDMDreams]

Things are selling as Chinese people still have cash lying around. They are more interested in buying now as they think there's deals to be had and getting 0% return on their savings and gics adds fuel to the fire. On the other hand I think markets might be pushed up even more with the HK China law thing and the US protests, so more people might be looking to move over to Canada.

[PiuYi]

^this, and not just Chinese people, but everyone. Equities are volatile af and you're practically losing money on fixed income, there's just nowhere to park money.

Although things will probably look less rosy by the end of the year when delinquencies start piling up from the pandemic fallout

[JDMDreams]

I also think Coronas might play a role as people might want more space now and not live with their older family members. As I know quite a few people in the medical field not going home as they have older high risk people at home. You just can't jam 20 people in an East Van special like they used to anymore.

[Ducdesmo]

As more and more people work from home, I am wondering if town homes and detached with 4+ bedrooms will look more appealing rather than highrise condos in Van. This allows them to buy further out where prices are more affordable and not having to commute.

[birddog3k]

^^I'm wondering the same thing.

We have a supply issue here in the lower mainland because of the ocean to the west, mountains to the north, and the US to the south. Demand is high because of the nature and weather.

We're already seeing a shift from going to work to working from home. This will likely increase over time, especially in sectors like software development which is a big industry in Van.

Surrey is already one of the fastest growing cities in the country, if not the fastest, and with all the improvement in the Surrey Central area, which includes extending the skytrain, I don't see any way prices are going to fall. Maybe prices won't rise as fast as the past 15 years or so but I can see a lot of people move to Surrey and Coquitlam.

For the same price you get a 2000 sqft house in Van vs a 4000 sqft house in Surrey. If you're working from home and have a big family with young kids, it;s kind of a no-brainer.

[Ch28]

Originally Posted by Ducdesmo

As more and more people work from home, I am wondering if town homes and detached with 4+ bedrooms will look more appealing rather than highrise condos in Van. This allows them to buy further out where prices are more affordable and not having to commute.

Problem with buying a place further out because of the current WFH protocols is that you’re putting all your eggs in one basket. Yeah, most of us are working from home for now, but it’s not permanent. Wouldn’t be too smart to do that for a few months of WFH only to have to suffer the extended commute going forward.

[quasi]

I went back this week after working at home last 3 months, most of my office did.

Honestly other than having to get up a bit earlier I'm really glad to be back. What is kind of amazing is I only went through one tank of gas in 3 months staying home most the time.

The one thing I'll say about more bang for buck in the burbs, I'm glad I bought the house I did having a big yard has been a real benefit during my time at home.

[twitchyzero]

3-4+ kids if 2000sqft isn't adequate?

[Sw0op]

Originally Posted by birddog3k

^^I'm wondering the same thing.

We have a supply issue here in the lower mainland because of the ocean to the west, mountains to the north, and the US to the south. Demand is high because of the nature and weather.

We're already seeing a shift from going to work to working from home. This will likely increase over time, especially in sectors like software development which is a big industry in Van.

Surrey is already one of the fastest growing cities in the country, if not the fastest, and with all the improvement in the Surrey Central area, which includes extending the skytrain, I don't see any way prices are going to fall. Maybe prices won't rise as fast as the past 15 years or so but I can see a lot of people move to Surrey and Coquitlam.

For the same price you get a 2000 sqft house in Van vs a 4000 sqft house in Surrey. If you're working from home and have a big family with young kids, it;s kind of a no-brainer.

except i hope you dont get shot in that 4000 sq ft house

[Hondaracer]

Meh, there are nicer neighborhoods in Surrey than a lot of Vancouver ones.

Not to say I’d go back, but there’s plenty of nice areas

[unit]

living in vancouver is just a lot more interesting. suburban life is what you make of it, but there isn't much going on outside in your neighborhood. i'd vote for smaller and closer to the city.

[Hondaracer]

Originally Posted by unit

living in vancouver is just a lot more interesting. suburban life is what you make of it, but there isn't much going on outside in your neighborhood. i'd vote for smaller and closer to the city.

Oh for sure, being able to walk to everything and restaurants etc is invaluable to me

[Alpine]

East van entry level detached is hot. Been trying to buy in east van and bby for the last 8 months trying to find a deal but there were none. Gave up and bought in west/central Coquitlam instead. You need about 1.3 to 1.4 minimum to play in east van, plus a healthy Reno budget.

[DA9ve]

Originally Posted by Alpine

East van entry level detached is hot. Been trying to buy in east van and bby for the last 8 months trying to find a deal but there were none. Have up and bought in west/central Coquitlam instead. You need about 1.3 to 1.4 minimum to play in east van, plus a healthy Reno budget.

Very on point. Hard to find ones with mortgage helper and good layout now.

[Alpine]

Originally Posted by DA9ve

Very on point. Hard to find ones with mortgage helper and good layout now.

Totally. There are still some options in the 1.1-1.25 range if you aren't too picky about the neighborhood/street/curb appeal, don't mind 1500-1800sqft (2 beds up and 2 beds down max), and are okay dealing with a massive reno. However, you will still face a lot of competition from builders in this range. I've seen a lot of homes that sold last year back on the market after a quick & dirty reno, asking 300k+ more.

We spent 8 months looking for the ideal situation: 3 beds up + a 1-2 bed suite down, without "overpaying" and going subject free on a 40-50 year old house in a bidding war (in hindsight, maybe we should have... ). Now, that type of configuration in a decent neighborhood is easily going for 1.4 before reno.

Hence why we bought a house in a very nice neighborhood in West/Central Coquitlam. We are now able to reno the entire house for the same price as a non-reno'd house in Vancouver and we were also able to pick which neighborhood we wanted to live in.

[Eff-1]

For what it's worth:

A couple weeks ago I met with our Notary. When we asked how her business has been during the pandemic, she said real estate transactions have been "surprisingly" busy, keeping her business going.