Metro Vancouver real estate hot, not yet overheating: Conference Board
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Sales of existing homes reached a record high for the month of December, according the Canadian Real Estate Association, with annual sales coming in above 2008 levels. Photograph by: Glenn Baglo, Vancouver Sun
VANCOUVER - Metro Vancouver’s real estate market warmed up considerably at the end of 2009, but likely won’t overheat as 2010 progresses, new data released Friday by the Conference Board of Canada suggests.
While Metro Vancouver home sales in December tracked a pace that was nearly three times higher than sales last January, board senior economist Robin Wiebe said new listings also rose keeping the overall market in balance.
“Though [the market] is closing on the top of the balanced range, buyers are provided with a reasonable choice as the go out searching for homes,” Wiebe said in an interview.
However, Wiebe added that “it wouldn’t take much to tip [the market] over into seller’s territory.”
That is one factor that has the Conference Board putting Metro Vancouver on the list of cities it expects will see property prices rise between five and just under seven per cent along with Victoria, the Fraser Valley, Calgary, Regina, Ottawa and Halifax.