People looking to relocate to Vancouver, B.C., could surely use a bit of good news regarding the pricing of condos in the city. As of this year, the price of condos for sale in Vancouver went essentially unchanged or even lower in certain locations. An article by Frances Bula for The Globe and Mail reports on how Vancouver’s condo market has stayed flat:
Statistics gathered from across the world has revealed that more and more buyers are getting into the luxury real estate industry this year. According to OPP Connect editor Adrian Bishop, this is partly because luxury properties, or properties valued more than 1 million USD, are seen worldwide as safe and lucrative investments, wherein the luxury residential market is not expected to crash or change drastically given the intrinsic value of the properties. For this reason, luxury markets, including Vancouver’s, are attracting a new breed of buyers, particularly younger millennial investors.
“Fickle” is perhaps one word that best describes the Vancouver real estate market for 2014. According to the Globe and Mail, real estate agents in the city have announced that current market conditions seem to favor sellers, rather than buyers, thanks to data they’ve gathered last month. The numbers say that the sales-to-active-listings ratio in Greater Vancouver is currently at 19.7 percent, about 4 percent higher than last year’s figures, leading to the following developments:
A March article in The Globe and Mail reports thus: “The million-dollar club isn’t so exclusive in Greater Vancouver, where the average price for single-family detached houses sold has soared to a record high of more than $1.36-million. Prices surged as total residential sales climbed to 2,530 last month for detached homes, condos and townhouses, up 40.8 per cent from volume of 1,797 properties changing hands in February, 2013, according to data released Tuesday by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.”
Vancouver has been named the “best place to live in North America”, as well as the “5th best place to live in the world” by the 2014 Mercer Quality of Living survey. As such, it should surprise no one that real estate sales in the city have increased by 44 percent from January to February this 2014. An article from the World Property Channel provides more details:
The housing industry in Canada, especially in areas like Vancouver, has seen its ups and downs in recent years. This year, though, things have started to look up—so far—as data points to an increase in the number of units sold and average cost of homes and condos. The surge is attributed by experts to the growing number of overseas investors, particularly Asians, who are buying houses and condos for sale in Vancouver, as well as in other key cities in the country:
According to the latest Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) liveability survey, Vancouver is still one of the best cities to live in for North Americans. British Columbia’s largest city got perfect or near-perfect marks on important factors such as education, healthcare, environment and even culture. Naturally, the high standard of living comes with hefty home prices, though this hasn’t stopped people from buying houses—especially luxury real estate in Vancouver. As this article from Yahoo.com reports:
Home sales in the Vancouver area for January were up 30 percent compared to the same month a year ago. An article from World Property Channel provides more details on this highly favorable development:
Striking while the iron is hot may prove beneficial when it comes to buying Vancouver condos for sale. Brent Jang of the Globe and Mail reports:
For those searching for their dream home, the luxury properties in Point Grey Road, Belmont Avenue, West Vancouver and other rich Vancouver neighbourhoods may just be what you’re looking for. As seen in various news sources, such as The Huffington Post where the excerpt below was taken, the Vancouver luxury real estate market is in its prime and is predicted to continue its streak. Since the real estate prices will most probably prevail in its rise, investing on your dream home in the lovely city is just practical at the moment.