I hope you are having a great start to your working week and looking forward to enjoying all the great winter activities here in BC. I am so excited about some snow shoeing in the mountains with friends on a moonlight walk and a little brandy tucked away to warm us all up as we trek through the magnificent wilderness here on our doorstep.
If you are a prospective buyer still waiting out there, you may want to take note of some recent data I have received about sales in the Vancouver city market. So here it is for November 2011 with two previous year comparables:
Vancouver East
- November 2009 - Apartments 135, Detached 168, Attached 38
- November 2010 - Apartments 92 Detached 133, Attached 39
- November 2011 - Apartments 78 Detached 97, Attached 24
Vancouver West
- November 2009 - Apartments 483, Detached 141, Attached 67
- November 2010 - Apartments 352 Detached 161, Attached 56
- November 2011 - Apartments 310 Detached 104, Attached 42
As you can see there has definitely been a slow down across most of the market this year. We are also still in a buyers market, although listings have been dropping off due to some sales activity coupled with expired and suspended listings.
The central bank has been keeping a careful eye on the national and international economy and is aware of the disappointing growth figures Canada has experienced generally due to falling demand on Canadian products. It has been announced that they will be keeping interest rates at very low levels for the foreseeable future, all the way into 2013 to keep the economy stimulated while trying to avoid over inflation. So what does this mean for all you potential buyers out there?
It is a great time to buy here in Vancouver as things are definitely in your favour right now. As long as you don't overstretch yourself and borrow up to the max, you will be able to get yourself onto the market with favourable interest rates with room to manoeuvre should interest rates rise in the future. In the meantime, you will be paying into your own savings account and watching your investment grow throughout the years. So why wait?
Take advantage of it while you can . Vancouver won't always be this way as we begin to see a return to a sellers market here, which most people know is inevitable.
Have a great week!
