According to Eugene Klein, the president of Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, Home sale activity has remained below historical averages for about seven months now. Home sellers either reduce their asking price or remove their property from the market altogether if they are not getting the price they want.
The MLS Home Price Index composite benchmark price has reached a peak in May 2012 to $625,100 and has declined about 6% to $599,100 in January 2013. Last month has the second lowest residential property sales since 2001.
The sales-to-active-listings ratio is currently at 10.2% which indicate a buyer’s market.
Take Richmond for example, in the past two weeks, 176 detached homes became available and only 30 detached homes were sold.
For attached homes, there were 219 new listings which do not include homes already on the market and only 55 were sold. This represents more than 4 months supplies of homes currently available on the market.
If the sellers have not taken their homes off the market, it may be an indication that the sellers have to sell their homes. This presents a great opportunity for buyers to get in the market and have more flexibility to negotiate price and terms.
If you are looking to buy, it is a great time to take your picks of home from a large pool of listings on the market and very little competition from other buyers.
Please feel free to contact Jenny at 604-818-7317 or jenny@ultimatehomeguide.ca to discuss your needs.