Vancouver real estate ‘could very well be at the bottom of the market’, expert says

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Has the Greater Vancouver housing market turned a corner? At least one expert believes buyers are ready to rekindle real estate in our region.

“We feel that the low unemployment rate is supporting the housing demand and I think we have a lot of pent up buyers who are starting to spill into the market, creating market activity,” says Don Kottick, President and CEO of Sotheby’s International Realty Canada.

“We are starting to see more buyers — new buyers– heading into the market. I think the other thing that has happened is that because prices have adjusted somewhat, people with
million-dollar-plus budgets are now finding the types of homes that are available to them were not available a couple of years ago.”

Related article: Metro Vancouver home sales edge higher in July, prices still falling

Kottick suggests the signs are pointing to a balanced market for Vancouver.

“There are a lot of people who feel that — based on these indicators, based on what’s happening in September — that Vancouver could very well be at the bottom of the market. Now time will tell on how this plays out, but this is the first time in a long time that we have actually been able to say we may be at the bottom of the market, and a number of different people are feeling that right now.”

Sotheby’s 2019 Top Tier Fall Forecast Real Estate Report predicts the Vancouver market is set for a “gradual renewal” this fall.

Related article: Metro Vancouver’s red-hot housing market gets official alarm downgrade, but affordability still an issue

“Activity across the city’s $1 million-plus condominium, attached and single family home markets rebounded 5%, 44% and 32% year-over-year over the summer months, culminating in an overall 25% increase in residential sales over $1 million in July and August,” reads the report.

“However, a 27% year-over-year pullback in sales over $1 million in the first fifteen days of September indicates that the road to recovery may be uneven, and that the luxury $4 million market remains soft.”

However, Sotheby’s says prospective home buyers and investors who have remained on the sidelines now seem “primed to act in advance of an inevitable, though unpredictable market rebound” with Vancouver housing expected to steadily regain momentum through the fall.

-With files from Richard Dettman

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