Big Drop In Local House Sales means It’s A Real Buyers' Market
VANCOUVER - Residential property sales in Metro Vancouver dropped a whopping 55 per cent while prices fell 3.9 per cent in October compared to the same period last year, according to new figures released Monday.
Buyers seem to be uncertain about the economic future, prompting a steep decline in home sales, the Real Estate Board of Great Vancouver said.
"The confidence issue, in our opinion, is a factor that has never been in the mix before, which is this global credit crisis," board president Dave Watt said.
Local real estate agents said more people are selling than buying, creating a buyers' market with lowered prices.
Holly Wood, a Vancouver realtor, said Monday that buyers can "go in low" after choosing the properties they like best among similarly priced units.
"The worst thing they sellers can do is counter back, but, who knows, in this market, they may take it," she said.
The drop in home sales also means fewer people are listing their homes for sale, a University of British Columbia real estate expert said.
"People are responding. They're saying, 'You know what, this isn't a good time to sell, or if I sell, I don't know if I'll be able to buy another unit.' So there's that reaction, which is part of how a market adjusts," said Tsur Somerville, an associate professor at the faculty of commerce and business administration.
Somerville said Metro Vancouver's real estate market is still "very much in this steep decline."
"When is this real estate market or the housing market going to stabilize and sort of stop declining? That's going to have to wait until economic conditions improve," he said.
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Meanwhile in the U.K.
From The Times: House rents fall as unsold properties flood market
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/property_and_mortgages/article5176440.ece
Rents fell for the first time in five years between July and October as home-movers flooded the rental market with properties that they could not sell.
It is the first time since 2003 that the gauge of rental yields has turned negative. James Scott-Lee, of RICS, said: “Many vendors have been forced to become amateur landlords, creating an inevitable downward pressure on rents.”
Usually in a recession some people double up with friends or family - and that puts downward pressure on rents. This time there is also a huge number of "amateur landlords" renting out their unsold properties, and that is additional downward pressure on rents.
This is also happening in the U.S., see: Apartment Market Weakens
(http://www.nmhc.org/Content/ServeContent.cfm?ContentItemID=4918)
Nine straight months of job losses have begun to cut into the demand for apartment residences,” said Mark Obrinsky, NMHC’s Vice President of Research and Chief Economist. “While favorable demographics and a lower homeownership rate will benefit the apartment industry over time, owners and managers will first have to work their way through the current economic downturn before the benefits of that increased demand are likely to show up. Until then, economic worry will cause some people to “double up” by moving in with a friend or returning to their parents’ house.”
VANCOUVER - Residential property sales in Metro Vancouver dropped a whopping 55 per cent while prices fell 3.9 per cent in October compared to the same period last year, according to new figures released Monday.
Buyers seem to be uncertain about the economic future, prompting a steep decline in home sales, the Real Estate Board of Great Vancouver said.
"The confidence issue, in our opinion, is a factor that has never been in the mix before, which is this global credit crisis," board president Dave Watt said.
Local real estate agents said more people are selling than buying, creating a buyers' market with lowered prices.
Holly Wood, a Vancouver realtor, said Monday that buyers can "go in low" after choosing the properties they like best among similarly priced units.
"The worst thing they sellers can do is counter back, but, who knows, in this market, they may take it," she said.
The drop in home sales also means fewer people are listing their homes for sale, a University of British Columbia real estate expert said.
"People are responding. They're saying, 'You know what, this isn't a good time to sell, or if I sell, I don't know if I'll be able to buy another unit.' So there's that reaction, which is part of how a market adjusts," said Tsur Somerville, an associate professor at the faculty of commerce and business administration.
Somerville said Metro Vancouver's real estate market is still "very much in this steep decline."
"When is this real estate market or the housing market going to stabilize and sort of stop declining? That's going to have to wait until economic conditions improve," he said.
===============================
Meanwhile in the U.K.
From The Times: House rents fall as unsold properties flood market
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/property_and_mortgages/article5176440.ece
Rents fell for the first time in five years between July and October as home-movers flooded the rental market with properties that they could not sell.
It is the first time since 2003 that the gauge of rental yields has turned negative. James Scott-Lee, of RICS, said: “Many vendors have been forced to become amateur landlords, creating an inevitable downward pressure on rents.”
Usually in a recession some people double up with friends or family - and that puts downward pressure on rents. This time there is also a huge number of "amateur landlords" renting out their unsold properties, and that is additional downward pressure on rents.
This is also happening in the U.S., see: Apartment Market Weakens
(http://www.nmhc.org/Content/ServeContent.cfm?ContentItemID=4918)
Nine straight months of job losses have begun to cut into the demand for apartment residences,” said Mark Obrinsky, NMHC’s Vice President of Research and Chief Economist. “While favorable demographics and a lower homeownership rate will benefit the apartment industry over time, owners and managers will first have to work their way through the current economic downturn before the benefits of that increased demand are likely to show up. Until then, economic worry will cause some people to “double up” by moving in with a friend or returning to their parents’ house.”
