real estate

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) has, again, revised downwards its predictions for Vancouver House prices in 2009. BCREA now sees Greater Vancouver home prices falling 14% and BC house prices falling 13% in 2009.

The British Columbia Real Estate Association came out with stats for the BC housing market in 2008 last week showing that the downward momentum continues to build.

Throughout the global credit crunch the Canadian banks have been praised for their financial conservatism compared to their counterparts South of the border. The Canadian financial system is apparently one of the safest in the world. A Globe and Mail piece today shows the dangers of getting too complacent about how "things are different here".

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reported yesterday that property sales slumped from 2,883 in November 2007 to 874 sales last month, a year-on-year decline of 69.7 per cent.

The spectre of negative equity for a greater number of recent home buyers is rising as prices continue to fall: almost 13 per cent has been wiped off the REBGV's benchmark residential property between May and November 2008. In price terms that's a fall from $568,411 to $495,704 in November 2008.

Vancouver taxpayers are on the hook for an additional $100 million to help cover the costs of completing the Olympic village now that Millennium Development Corp., the U.S. company that (over)bid to build the 1,100 unit village was hit by the credit crunch.

The BC Real Estate Association has released its Fall 2008 forecast for the Greater Vancouver and British Columbia residential real estate market. BCREA is predicting Vancouver house prices will drop 10 per cent in 2009 and BC house prices will drop 9 per cent.

Central 1 Credit Union is forecasting more drops for BC's housing market. It says that the provincial median sales price will drop 13 per cent to $310,000 in 2009 and by a further five per cent in 2010 when it expect prices to turn.

A report looking at house prices in Canada's nine major cities has found that property markets are overpriced. Using data from the second quarter 2008, researchers at the UBC Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate predicts Vancouver house prices are likely to fall by 11%.

This article, published four years ago yesterday in the Vancouver Courier, was a forewarning of the economic meltdown that is taking place right now. However, not all of it has come to pass as far as we in Vancouver are concerned... at least, not yet.