May 2014 Greater Vancouver Housing Market

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) Reported “Home buyer demand increases across Greater Vancouver Housing Market.”  According to Ray Harris, the REBGV president, the sales-to-active-listing ratio exceeding 20%, the most active marketplace since spring 2011. This indicates more home buyer demand today than at any point over the last three years.
Recently, the mortgage rate hit a new low with Investors Group’s 3-year variable rate at 1.99% followed by Scotiabank’s 5-year variable rate at 2.47%. A real estate expert with Queen’s University, John Andrew said it was likely that the other big banks would follow suit in today’s competitive market.

Condo King Bob Rennie’s Key-Note Address at Urban Development Institute

  • Baby Boomers and super seniors 75+ years old are sitting on $163.4 billion real estate equity
  • 1/3 of Greater Vancouver’s housing stock has more bedrooms than people (an 26% increase over the past 10 years)
  • The money is going to be freed up over the next 10 to 15 years, as these empty nesters downsize
  • Some of the money is used to help out children and grandchildren with their mortgage down payments
  • These wealthy boomers are looking for convenient locations with walking distance to coffee, groceries, pharmacies

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