February Monthly Update

Interest Rates:

The Bank of Canada did not have a policy rate announcement in February, but we are getting very close to their next announcement which is next Wednesday, March 12th. The policy interest rate currently sits at 3% and as of today the expectation is we will see another 0.25% drop next week. Another rate drop will help variable rate mortgages and predictions from experts this week are that we will see at least a 0.25% rate drop each of the next 4 announcements if the threat of tariffs remain.

Canadian bond yields are also down this week and again will continue to go down according to experts if tariffs remain. These bond yields directly affect fixed rate mortgages and could ultimately result in banks lowering them significantly over the next few months. So while the tariffs obviously have very large negative effects on the Canadian economy, they could help those that are currently on variable interest rates, those that are needing to renew their mortgage soon and those who are getting a mortgage for the first time. It could create a great opportunity for first time buyers to get into the market with lower rates!

February Market Update:

February saw a more modest increase than many expected with regards to new listings and sales. This has positioned the market conditions to be more balanced after January favored buyers. A more balanced market for looks to be what to expect in the coming months and is what I'm starting to experience myself out in the market. It seems that nice places that are priced correctly are still selling very quickly and anything overpriced or that needs a lot of work, are currently sitting on the market longer than usual. It's always best to act quickly when you see a property come onto the market that you really like and I'm expecting that will be even more paramount throughout the Spring.

On a personal note my partner Meaghan and I bought a property in the Lynnmour area in February. The lowering interest rates made it possible for us to get into the market and get a place a little bigger than we would have been able to the past couple of years. As rates continue to drop further it will just make it easier and easier for first time buyers to get a property that really fits their needs. It will also make it easier for current homeowners to look for a bigger spot to grow into for the future! For anyone that has questions about interest rates or making a move this year, I'd love to chat!

Market Stats:

A lot of the graphs looked very similar to what we saw in January. With that being said the two that had the biggest changes were Days and Market and Sales. Days on Market went from an average of 34 days in the Greater Vancouver Area in Jan to 16 days in Feb, while it changed more slightly from 15 days in North Vancouver in Jan to 13 days in Feb. This just shows that the market is getting more balanced as properties start to sell more quickly.

The below graph shows the Sales which increased in the GVR from 1,555 in Jan to 1,814 in Feb and much more slightly in North Van from 148 in Jan to 153 in Feb. Again just helps further emphasize that the market is becoming more balanced as more properties start to sell each month. March and the Spring in general should be a busy one!

January Monthly Update

Interest Rates:

The Bank of Canada dropped their policy interest rate on January 29th by 0.25% and that now brings the current rate to an even 3%. The threat of tariffs from the U.S. put another rate drop in question, but at the end of the day the interest rate was lowered for a 6th straight time. With a 30 day pause on tariffs we hopefully will know more at the end of the month and that will give us a better idea on what to expect at the next announcement on March 12th. The Bank of Canada is still holding strong that they will continue to drop rates no matter what happens with the potential tariffs. We will have to just wait and see how everything unfolds but as of now it is expected we should see another 0.25% drop in March.

January Market Update:

After a slow December (as expected) January saw a huge uptick of new listings. This was to be expected with interest rates dropping and home owners waiting until after the holidays to list their property. In January newly listed homes in Metro Vancouver rose 46% when compared to January of 2024. The number of sales also increased 8.8% in January compared to this time last year. It's a good sign for both buyers and sellers as we begin 2025. With inventory bouncing back to pre-inflation levels, buyers will have a lot more options when searching for their dream property. While the increased activity shown by buyers in January will also provide seller's with confidence that they should be able to sell their property relatively quickly once listed.

The amount of listings and potential buyers should only continue to increase as we move into February, March and April as these tend to be some of the busiest months of the year. I am already seeing that first hand as on Monday this week over 500 new listings were added to MLS in the Greater Vancouver area. That is a lot of new properties to hit the market in one day and we should continue to see that kind of volume in the coming weeks/months. I am very excited for the current buyer clients I have looking as it seems like just a matter of time until the right property for them pops up!

Market Stats:

I've included the below graph to back up the information I provided above. It shows the sharp increase of new properties that were listed in the Greater Vancouver Region and North Vancouver as well. In the GVR we saw new listings increase from 1,676 in December to 5,546 in January and in North Van we saw those same numbers go from 101 to 414. February should see another solid jump in new listing numbers and is already pacing to shatter the amount of new listings that we saw last February.

December Monthly Update

Interest Rates:

The Bank of Canada dropped their policy interest rate on December 11th by 0.5% and that means we ended the year with a rate of 3.25%. This was a larger rate drop than expected and really should help a lot of prospective buyers and current owners. It was the 5th consecutive rate drop and the second in a row of 0.5%. The real estate market already saw a big resurgence to end the year with the lowering rates and we should expect to see the same as 2025 begins. I can't wait to help many more of you get into the market or upsize in 2025 and the lower rates should really help! The next announcement is planned for January 29th where another drop is possible.

December Market Update:

This section is going to be short and sweet as December is always one of the slowest months in the real estate industry. Not many new listings hit the market as people enjoy the holidays with their family or travel abroad for some sun! The beginning of January is also typically slow, but as we get closer to the end of the month we will start to see an uptick of new properties hitting the market. It's never too early to get a search set up and start looking at what is currently on the market. If you have any plans of buying or selling in 2025 please reach out and we can start discussions on how to make that happen!

November Monthly Update

Interest Rates:

The Bank of Canada dropped their policy interest rate in October by 0.5% and with no rate announcement in November the rate still sits at 3.75%. Rates have dropped each of the last four announcements and that trend is looking to continue when the Bank of Canada makes their last announcement of the year on December 11th. Expectation is we should see the rate drop at least another 0.25% and bring it down to 3.5% to end the year. Stay tuned next week for the announcement and if we do get good news it will only continue to kickstart the market heading into 2025!

November Market Update:

The busy end of the Fall Market continued with personally the busiest month I've had since becoming a realtor two years ago. I've had four deals get completed in the last six weeks. One sale as I highlighted in my last market update that sold after 7 days on the market, as well as three purchases for clients (2 re-sale and 1 pre-sale). Many other realtors also saw a very busy month and the lowering interest rates finally seem to be making a big difference for potential buyers. While there is still room for the Bank of Canada rates to drop we are getting close to the projected bottom when it comes to 5 year fixed rates mortgage brokers can offer. Those rates are sitting around 4.5%-5% currently and we had an economist do a presentation on Wednesday where he didn't think we would see much lower than that in 2025. Those rates are still much more favorable from where we have been the last two years and are much more the norm than the extremely low rates people got accustom to during Covid.

While the market has heated up significantly we shouldn't expect the same numbers in December. There is still some action happening at the moment, but as we get closer and closer to the holidays things will really start to shut down. I made a video this week (on Instagram @Robtherealtor604) on some ways to get ready for the New year and get ahead of the rest of the market if you are thinking of buying/selling in early 2025. Two of those suggestions in short are to reach out to myself (I will have more and more free time to chat as December goes on) and also get connected with a mortgage broker. To get pre-approved with a mortgage broker or at your bank it can take a few weeks usually, as you will need to get quite a few documents in order. By doing so you will be ready to start looking quickly in the New Year and beat some other potential buyers who aren't as prepared.

Stats:

November's highlight below is focused on the amount of sales that happened in the Lower Mainland over the last month. While the momentum in October wasn't maintained we still saw a busier November in terms of sales than usual. We saw a total of 2,178 sales this year compared to just 1,692 the same month last year. It's another good sign that the market is starting to get back to a healthy balance for both buyers and sellers. The peaks of that graph is always April/May so the next few months will be spent getting clients prepared to buy/sell in that busy timeframe.

Interest Rates:

Well the big news that we were expecting came on October 23rd when the Bank of Canada announced their policy interest rate would drop 0.5%. With that announcement the new policy rate sits at 3.75%, the lowest rate since December 2022. It is great news for the real estate market as a whole, with current owners and potential buyers both benefiting from lower rates. The rate drop trend is looking to continue when the Bank of Canada makes their last announcement of the year on December 11th. We should see the rate drop at least another 0.25% and bring it down to 3.5% to end the year. All in all it has been a great 6 months with regards to rates and expectation is we will continue to get good news over the next couple of announcements.

October Market Update:

My September market update if you remember highlighted that September really didn't have the jolt many expected it would have with lowering rates. A usually very busy month of sales was really not that this year, as we saw a ton of places come onto the market, but buyers were still waiting on the sidelines. This meant homes were sitting on the market longer than usual and majority were selling for under asking if they were able to get any offers at all. Overall, September was 20% below the ten year seasonal average in sales. These results created a real worry that the market was not going to bounce back like many anticipated even with the rate drops. Well October quelled a lot of those concerns with home sales surging to 30% YOY. The stats below will highlight the real jump we saw in the market in October and I can tell you first hand I have felt it as well. Buyers have growing confidence that rates will continue to drop, and in my opinion, this is just the beginning for what is going to turn into a increasingly busy market. It was only a matter of time, but October has definitely provided sellers with a lot of confidence if they are thinking of listing their property sometime soon.

I have felt this market change personally with my listing at 1088 14th Ave in Vancouver that we listed on October 28th. We had 15 groups of potential buyers come through in the first week of being on the market and received two offers after our first weekend of open houses. The interest level again just shows that buyers are much more active than the previous few months. In the end we accepted an offer exactly one week after being on the market for a really great price and I couldn't be more happy for my sellers. The buyer's market we have been since June is not over, but it is getting more balnaced by the day with the amount of buyers finally coming back to market. As I've warned before the main cause of higher prices is competition and it is slowly looking like that added competition is coming back.

I've already been quite busy at the start of November with more people reaching out with questions and wanting to start looking into the market. If you are starting to think of buying or selling anytime soon I'd love to chat on when I think the timing might be best for you and how I can help!

Stats:

October's highlight below is focused on the amount of sales that happened in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver. The increase from September to October saw a big jump for both areas. GVR jumped from 1,837 sales in September to 2,624 sales in October and North Vancouver jumped from 143 sales to 225 in October. Both significant signs that the market is starting to pick up and buyers are coming back to the market with the new lower rates.

Interest Rates:

The policy interest rate is currently sitting at a 4.25%, with the next announcement being on October 23rd. There is great optimism we will see another rate drop form the Bank of Canada on the 23rd and there is even some talk that we could see a 0.50% drop which would be a great sign of things to come. Stay tuned to see if it is a 0.25% or 0.50% drop coming up and either way it should continue to ignite the market. After the 23rd there will be one more rate announcement in December before the end of the year and we should see some excitement heading into 2025.

September Market Update:

Crazy that we are already in the final few months of 2024. This year has been a bit of a roller coaster with regards to the market, but we are definitely heading to a increasingly exciting time to be a buyer or seller with rate drops and a growing economy. In September we did see things pick up compared to August, but honestly it hasn't been to the extent many predicted. New listings have increased in Greater Vancouver and North Vancouver, however they are still lower than what we were seeing just before Summer in April/May. Days on market has decreased a bit as well, but similar to new listings they haven't gone down to previous levels.

What that means is that September was still more of a buyer's market with just not the level of competition we are used to seeing in the first month post Summer. It seems people are looking and actively going to open houses, but not quite ready to make the jump and go for it. The Fall market is typically one of the busiest times of year and so far in October I have been having a lot more conversations with potential buyers and sellers so I think we are just around the corner from increased activity, with that being said it may be a bit slower than a lot of realtors have predicted. Another rate drop at the end of this month could change things quickly, and will be interesting to see if the buyer's still waiting on the sidelines will decide to jump into the market.

Stats:

As mentioned above we did see an increase in New listings and a drop for Days on Market in September compared to August. That was to be expected even if it wasn't as drastic as many thought it would be. I've decided to highlight the Days on Market below, as you can see they slowly increased throughout Summer and hit there peak in August before a slight dip in September. This is very typical in the Summer months and it will continue to drop until we reach December as the Fall market picks up.

After the Bank of Canada lowered the key interest rates by 0.25% on June 5th, inflation data has picked back up a bit and was higher than projected in June. That has caused experts to predict only a 40% chance we will see another 0.25% drop at the next announcement July 24th. With saying that there is still wide optimism that we will see the policy interest rate decrease to around 4% by the end of the year.

I've had some questions on why the interest rates you get offered from a bank or mortgage broker doesn't match the current 4.75% Bank of Canada rate and why it is always a little higher. Think of a mortgage as a product you buy. Any business that sells you something tries to make a profit. To do that, the price they charge for the product has to be higher than the cost to make it. A lender profits on your mortgage because you pay more in interest (the price it charges) than what they paid to borrow the money themselves (their funding cost).

Well June was the busiest month of RobtheRealtors career with two sales on the buyer side and one sale on the listing side. I couldn't be happier for my clients, the two on the buyers sides both got awesome places in North Van that fit their needs (funny enough both were looking for two bedroom ground floor condos). Both were able to find places that they really liked and neither had to go to the very top of their budget, which is great to leave some room for any upgrades or changes they might want to make to their new homes! 

I really think all three of my sales are indicative of where the market is right now. The current market allowed one of my buyer's to get their place for under asking (only 7 days on the market) and my other buyer in a multiple-offer situation was still able to secure their home for under what another similar unit sold for in the same building last year (only 5 days on market). For the deal I had on the selling side, I was able to work up a little bit of a bidding war between two potential buyers. Both really liked the place and after back and forth negotiations with both potential buyers, I was able to secure my seller a no subject offer that was $75,000 over our asking price.

So what do those three deals and others I've been seeing show is happening in the market? Well I still truly believe it is a buyer's market just from the influx of new places hitting the market compared to the amount of current buyers. A less competitive landscape just gives buyers more flexibility on the price the ultimately want to offer and even in a multiple offer situation the sale price was still extremely reasonable. On the seller's side there is still obviously a chance to drive up the price in a multiple offer situation especially if you have a move-in ready home like the one I sold. 
I can't see this type of buyer's market lasting too much longer as supply always drives up more demand. Will be interesting to see where the market goes in the new couple months but I think there is still time to get a great spot at a discount.

I am waiting to hear from you! As always any questions about the market or rates and just send me a message, I love chatting about anything Real Estate so feel free to send me questions anytime.