It's February already!? Let's look at what happened in January

Posted on Feb 14, 2019

Whistler 


January 2019 sales activities were a lot slower than January 2018 and although  it’s still a buyer’s market in Whistler, real estate activity has definitely picked up following the typical December/Christmas/NY slump.  REBGV reports that residential home sales for January in Whistler totalled 31 (19 in December 2018), a 67.74 per cent decrease from the 52 sales recorded in January 2018. 

The total number of homes listed for sale on the MLS® system in Whistler in January was 250. This is 50 more properties than in December 2018, indicating that property owners have entered the new year with a goal to list and sell their property. This also represents a substantial 93.8 per cent increase compared to the 129 homes listed a year ago in January 2018.     


The three types of markets shown in the graphs below are measured by a sales-to-active-listings ratio which essentially is the rate at which properties are selling.  Expressed as a percentage, you can calculate the ratio by taking the total number of sold homes in any month and dividing it by the total number of active listings at the end of the same month.   A buyer's market is a situation in which supply exceeds demand, giving purchasers an advantage over sellers in price negotiations. The opposite of a buyer's market is a seller's market, a situation in which demand exceeds supply and owners have an advantage over buyers in price negotiations.  

The sales-to-active-listings ratio for:
  • a seller's market, which means there are more buyers than properties available, is represented by a ratio of 20 % or higher
  • a buyer's market, which means there are properties available than buyers, is represented by a ratio of 14 % or lower
  • a balanced market, where supply and demand are pretty much the same, rests between 14-19 %.
For all property types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for January 2019 is 12.1 per cent. By property type, the ratio is 7 per cent for detached homes, 12.3 per cent for townhomes, and 17.2 per cent for apartments. Benchmark Prices across all three property types continue to level out from their all time high in June 2018. Price per square foot averages for condos take a dive down to $817 with townhomes and detached properties jumping back above the $1,000+ mark to $1,039 and $1,160 respectively.


 

Squamish



While the sales are not what we were seeing between 2015 through to 2017, there are still buyers out there looking to purchase. Sellers simply will need to be prepared to have their properties sit on the market longer and they will need to be more price sensitive.

REBGV reports that residential home sales in Squamish totaled 23 In January 2019, 10 more properties than the 13 sold in December 2018, and a 9.52 per cent incerease from the 21 sales recorded in January 2018. The total number of homes listed for sale on the MLS® system in Squamish in December is 195, two more listings than the 193 properties listed in December 2018.   



For all property types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for January 2019 is 13.4, a ratio that has doubled from the 6.6 per cent ratio we saw before Christmas . By property type, the ratio is 7.8 per cent for detached homes, 17.5 per cent for townhomes, and 15.1 per cent for apartments: the real estate activity being sparked from sales of condos and townhomes, while the more expensive detached properties remained stagnant in Squamish for January.

Benchmark prices have flattened similar to Whistler with detached properties still hovering under $1M at $982,700. Condos are benchmarked below $500K at $468,200 and townhomes have come down to $661,600. Unlike Whistler, the average price per square foot for Squamish condos, townhomes and detached properties are comparable at $478, $498, $498 respectively.


 
If you are wondering what your home is worth, or would like to be kept updated on market trends, contact me as I would be pleased to discuss the current market, your real estate goals or conduct a free appraisal of your home, with no obligation.

    
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