GET WEEKLY UPDATES >>>

"Risk comes from not knowing
what you are doing."
 – Warren Buffet

​

Cooler weather has arrived and the fall market has begun with the new listing count on the rise.With this, home purchasers who were waiting for further interest rate drops and new inventory have become more active. Of note:

​

•  Vancouver's current benchmark price has increased by 35% over the past five years, compared with a CPI inflation of 18% over the same time span.
   

• It's worth noting that "72% of aspiring home purchasers" were waiting for rate cuts to happen before buying according to this BMO article. We've now see three drops with more anticipated this year, so we can expect this to play into demand.
   

• The total number of homes available for purchase in August was 21% above the 10 year average which, combined with sluggish sales, resulted in slightly reduced benchmark pricing. The composite benchmark price for all residential properties declined 1% in comparison with August 2023.
   

• It's anticipated that we will soon see the lowest rates in 2 years with the  best posted 5-year fixed rates now sitting at around 4.14%
   

•  New tenancy regulations - again. The B.C. Housing Ministry announced that they are again changing the timeframe required when a landlord issues a notice to end tenancy on behalf of a purchaser. The new time period will be three months, down from the four months they decided on earlier this year. They are also reducing the dispute period from 30 days to 21 days. These new changes are being made in response to preapproval and CMHC program qualification difficulties resulting from the 4-month period.
   

• We are now about 15 weeks out from when the new "Flipping Tax" will come into effect. This tax applies to profits on homes being sold before two years of ownership has passed and is a sliding scale up to 20%.  
   

• As for interest rate forecasts, the next BoC meeting is October 23. Canada's top banker and CIBC economist Benjamin Tal correctly predicted this last rate cut and anticipates a combined drop of at least 50 basis points before the end of the year.

 

If you have questions about this information and how it may impact you or offer opportunities, I'm here to discuss or assist in whatever way I can. 

You can see the full real estate market report and press release from GRV here.

For those of you who would like to stay ahead of market shifts, we have weekly statistics available which provide insight into recent sales numbers, supply vs demand grafts and new listing counts.  Just reach out if you would like these or any other information about specific communities of interest.