Resales activity for Downtown Vancouver condos (including the West End, Coal Harbour and Yaletown) have remained steady in recent months, with an overall average since 2010 of 220 sales per month. June 2012 is on pace to be one of the slower months in recent memory, and at a projected 142 sales based on MLS statistics, is anticipated to be one of the slowest Junes since 2000.

Source: MLS Stats (June 2012 estimated based on sales to June 19, 2012)

It appears that a slowdown is forthcoming, but unlike some areas, Downtown Vancouver is not a submarket with a glut of inventory coming on the market. This should bode relatively well for pricing for both new and resale product moving forward despite any correction in the market.

Often considered a bellwether of the overall residential market in Metro Vancouver, resales of Westside homes are definitively showing a slowdown. According to MLS statistics, with just 47 homes sold as of June 20, it is expected that June 2012 will conclude with below 100 sales. If it happens, it will be one of the slowest months in the past few years and the first June since 2000 to finish below 100 sales.

The Richmond South / Steveston area is a mature and stable residential area. New housing supply is mostly through new townhouse and lowrise woodframe condos. The Steveston Area Plan, adopted in 2009, identifies some properties for redesignation to residential.

• New townhouse product is averaging approx. $460 per sq ft, or around $525,000 per unit.
• Absorption in this area is steady; driven largely by end users looking for an affordable and quieter alternative to Richmond’s more central areas.
• Two of the largest projects in the area include Townline Home’s ‘The Gardens‘ project on the former Fantasy Gardens site, where the first phases are over half pre-sold at prices in the mid-400’s per sq ft; and Onni’s Imperial Landing project on the Steveston waterfront, which is currently undergoing planning for future phases.
• Single family house pricing is being reinforced by a lack of available land. Average pricing for single family detached homes in this sub-market is now approaching $1,000,000, and newer homes easily eclipse the $1M mark at current market values.
• Some increased densification will be possible under the Steveston Area Plan; this will create development opportunities moving forward.

East Richmond could swell four times.

The east Richmond community of Hamilton could grow by up to four times, depending on what locals want to see happen.

Home to almost 5,000 people, Hamilton has long considered itself to be the forgotten child in terms of the services it receives from the City of Richmond.

Is a slowdown finally on the horizon? A review of sales prices (as indicated by the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board’s Housing Price Index) shows that benchmark pricing for single-family homes have increased steadily over the past two years.

According to the GVREB, May 2012 sales were at a 10-year low, which certainly does not bode well for prices moving forward. Sales volumes were down for all property types as follows: