Hello Everyone!

First I wanted to say a massive THANK YOU, to all of you, for confidence, support and business over this past year. As a result, I received a Sales Achievement Award from Macdonald Realty for 2016, and am second overall at my office. I am excited to continue serving you in 2017.


I hope you have all managed to stay safe, warm and dry during 'snow-meggedon'! Now I know what it's like to be in other parts of Canada during the winter.

Our snowy weather has contributed, no doubt, to a slower start to the real estate market this year. Home sales and listings trends are below long-term averages in the Metro Vancouver housing market. This is due largely to reduced activity in the detached home market.

Residential property sales in the region were down 39.5% compared to January 2016 and an 11.1% fewer compared to December 2016. While January is traditionally the slowest month for real estate sales, last month’s sales were 10.3% below our 10-year January sales average.

“From a real estate perspective, it’s a lukewarm start to the year compared to 2016,” Dan Morrison, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) president said. “While we saw near record-breaking sales at this time last year, home buyers and sellers are more reluctant to engage so far in 2017.”

“Conditions within the market vary depending on property type. The townhome and condominium markets are more active than the detached market at the moment,” Morrison said. “As a result, detached home prices declined about 7 per cent since peaking in July while townhome and condominium prices held steady over this period.”

This past month has seen further changes introduced by our premier, Kristy Clark. After announcing the 15% foreign buyer's tax last August, in a bid to cool the overheating market, the provincial liberal party has now lifted the tax for those with work permits. The announcement was made on the 30th of January, so we will see what affect this has on the market in the coming months.

You can read more about that here: http://business.financialpost.com/personal-finance/mortgages-real-estate/b-c-lifts-foreign-buyers-tax-for-people-with-work-permits

Looking specifically at Vancouver, detached homes finished January firmly in a Buyer's market, with more properties listed, but less sales occurring than previous months. Townhomes, which are a relatively small market segment, have moved to a more balanced market...but condos are still a seller's market on both the east and west sides of the city.


Here is the snapshot. Please get in touch if you'd like more information on Vancouver, or other areas in the GVRD: