Hi Everyone,

Hope you're all managing to stay cool during these beautiful warm summer days?

As is fairly common during the warm summer months, the real estate market cools.  However we are seeing lower than average sales volumes in many areas of the city, with a couple notable exceptions:

For the Vancouver Eastside attached property market:
-the Fraser area has seen a 41.2% increase in sales volume, year to date (Jan-July) in 2012 over 2011
-the Knight area has seen a 29.9% increase in 2012 vs 2011
-Grandview is up 20.8% in 2012 over 2011

Overall, we are seeing a softening across the market segments in both of Vancouver's West and East sides.  The West sits in a buyer's market across the three property types, while the East has moved into balanced territory, from the previous months seller's market.  Here's a snapshot of the info:

VANCOUVER WEST SIDE
Detached
	Mar-12	Apr-12	May-12	Jun-12	Jul-12
Units Listed	336	395	456	325	265
Units Sold	152	130	122	102	83
Active Listings	854	949	1067	1078	1038
Months Supply*	5.6	7.3	8.7	10.6	12.5
Attached (townhouses)
	Mar-12	Apr-12	May-12	Jun-12	Jul-12
Units Listed	128	132	159	128	94
Units Sold	68	60	49	46	46
Active Listings	302	333	358	362	340
Months Supply*	4.4	5.6	7.3	7.9	7.4
Apartments
	Mar-12	Apr-12	May-12	Jun-12	Jul-12
Units Listed	750	839	988	756	650
Units Sold	394	360	402	331	276
Active Listings	1892	2090	2276	2344	2260
Months Supply*	4.8	5.8	5.7	7.1	8.2

VANCOUVER EAST SIDE
Detached
	Mar-12	Apr-12	May-12	Jun-12	Jul-12
Units Listed	271	270	340	288	246
Units Sold	155	135	152	107	109
Active Listings	503	549	607	694	729
Months Supply*	3.2	4.1	4.0	6.5	6.7
Attached (townhouses)
	Mar-12	Apr-12	May-12	Jun-12	Jul-12
Units Listed	88	101	77	65	57
Units Sold	41	52	50	35	24
Active Listings	142	169	163	151	154
Months Supply*	3.5	3.25	3.3	4.3	6.4
Apartments
	Mar-12	Apr-12	May-12	Jun-12	Jul-12
Units Listed	279	219	277	231	157
Units Sold	138	152	110	136	104
Active Listings	560	565	613	603	544
Months Supply*	4.1	3.7	5.6	4.4	5.2

*Month's Supply Key: Seller's Market = 1-5 months; Balanced Market = 5-7 months; Buyer's Market = Over 7 months
Source of data: Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver


The number of new listings coming onto the market is down from previous months across all market segments on both the East and West sides, compared to the preceding months from March, and are also down compared to this same time last year.

Comparing July 2012 to July 2011:
-Despite fewer listings coming onto the market, overall active listings has increased in both the East and West
-Sales volume is down in both the East and West with one exception: apartment properties on the Eastside (up 17.8%)
-Median sales prices are up for: Westside detached properties (2%); Eastside detached (.5%) and townhouse (5.3%) properties
-Median sales prices are down for: Westside townhouse (-.7%) and apartment (-8%) properties; Eastside apartment (-4.2%) properties
-All properties are taking, on average, longer to sell, bar Eastside apartments

Despite all of the doom and gloom the figures are showing, multiple offers are still quite prevalent for well priced, good homes on the market.  I just helped some clients buy a detached property on the eastside, after writing six previous offers that all went to multiples - and I don't mean just two.  One home had 15 offers and went for $93,000 over the asking price.  The average was roughly four offers, and all went for well over asking.

Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you would like more information, are thinking about jumping into the market or have questions about the current value of your own home or investment property.  And I'm never too busy for your referrals :)

Email: kim@kimmcalpine.com
Cell: 778 317 9909

Kind regards,
Kim