April 2016 - Market News
Organized Small Space Living
From condos to coach houses, efficiently utilizing the space you call home is important. With organization and storage solutions aplenty, here are a few key strategies to make the most of what your home has to offer.
- Keep things elegant and bright with light color schemes and good use of lighting. Start by allowing in as much natural light as possible to create a sense of openness. Keep heavy window treatments to a minimum and use a neutral color palette or crisp bright paint color.
- Think vertical. Open shelving, cabinets and even simple, inexpensive (and endlessly customizable) wall mounted racks can get your belongings organized while keeping them from taking up limited floor or counter space.
- Open plan layouts can make smaller spaces appear much larger. Strategically place furniture (and mirrors) and think about storage in every room. Consider adding built-in bookcases, cupboards or cabinets for a cohesive look, and using furniture with built-in storage (coffee table or under bed) can help tremendously with items that are not used daily.
- Decluttering has turned into a bit of an art form and there is no shortage of books or companies that can help the clutter-challenged. In small spaces having a clutter free environment makes a huge difference in making the space appear larger.Bins, baskets and organizational accessories can tame those stacks of loose papers and numerous chachkas loitering throughout your home. Professional closet organizers can perform miracles as well as clever organizing systems.
- Tight on space but have guests from time to time? Think sofa beds. A multi-functional sofa bed offers fold out options for guests and works great in living rooms and home offices. Comfortable sectionals with a chaise also provide an easy solution when visitors arrive and murphy beds have come a long way and now come in an array of various sizes and options.
MARKET OVERVIEW: Residential Detached
Source: Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver
March Madness-Homes Sales Remain High
In real estate, there is never a shortage of hot topics. March was busy with an array of various real estate news items and homes were selling at a remarkable pace. North Vancouver had some interesting numbers emerge for March as we saw a bit of a cool down on Gross Sales. Although we did see an 18% increase in Gross Sales (From $260,012,517 to $307,488,046) if we take a look at the numbers from March 2014 to March 2015 we see that there was an extraordinary 71% increase (vs. 18%) in Gross Sales. Even though sales are increasing, we did not see some of the dramatic percentage increases that we have seen in previous months. Units Listed in North Vancouver were down 16% from 237 to 197 and the Average Price per Unit rose 24% from $1,375,727 to $1,708,266.
The overall Gross Sales in West Vancouver went up an astonishing 97% in one year. Gross sales recorded for March, 2015 were $285,791,190 and increased to $564,943,118 for March of this year. The Average Price per Unit was also up 36% from one year ago coming in at $3,869,473 from $2,829,615. Contributing to this rising swing in price was a 32% decline in Active Listings from the previous year. March, 2015 listed 488 Active Listings and 327 were noted for March of this year. The demand remains high for properties in West Vancouver and it is clearly showing in sales.
As Active Listings decreased 26% in Vancouver West, from 739 to 541 in one year, Gross Sales were up 39% from $639,425,617 to $889,172,141. Units Sold for March 2016 was up slightly with a 4% increase from the previous year, from 209 to 219. The Average Price per Unit did climb 32% from $3,059,452 to reach a new milestone of $4,060,146. Demand continues to remain high for Vancouver West and the current trend of a “sellers’ market” remains firmly intact.
Benchmark Price Percentage Increase
Benchmark Pricing and HPI Index numbers are both up from the previous year. Interestingly the percentages of increase have almost doubled from one year prior.
Benchmark Price: Estimated sale price of a typical property, based on a set of common qualities of homes within each market.
Price Index (HPI): Index numbers estimate the percentage change in price on typical and constant quality properties over time. All figures are based on past sales.
Please see the market overview chart below for more detailed figures. If you are thinking of buying or selling a home please give me a call, I’d love to help.
March Madness-Homes Sales Remain High
In real estate, there is never a shortage of hot topics. March was busy with an array of various real estate news items and homes were selling at a remarkable pace. North Vancouver had some interesting numbers emerge for March as we saw a bit of a cool down on Gross Sales. Although we did see an 18% increase in Gross Sales (From $260,012,517 to $307,488,046) if we take a look at the numbers from March 2014 to March 2015 we see that there was an extraordinary 71% increase (vs. 18%) in Gross Sales. Even though sales are increasing, we did not see some of the dramatic percentage increases that we have seen in previous months. Units Listed in North Vancouver were down 16% from 237 to 197 and the Average Price per Unit rose 24% from $1,375,727 to $1,708,266.
The overall Gross Sales in West Vancouver went up an astonishing 97% in one year. Gross sales recorded for March, 2015 were $285,791,190 and increased to $564,943,118 for March of this year. The Average Price per Unit was also up 36% from one year ago coming in at $3,869,473 from $2,829,615. Contributing to this rising swing in price was a 32% decline in Active Listings from the previous year. March, 2015 listed 488 Active Listings and 327 were noted for March of this year. The demand remains high for properties in West Vancouver and it is clearly showing in sales.
As Active Listings decreased 26% in Vancouver West, from 739 to 541 in one year, Gross Sales were up 39% from $639,425,617 to $889,172,141. Units Sold for March 2016 was up slightly with a 4% increase from the previous year, from 209 to 219. The Average Price per Unit did climb 32% from $3,059,452 to reach a new milestone of $4,060,146. Demand continues to remain high for Vancouver West and the current trend of a “sellers’ market” remains firmly intact.
Benchmark Price Percentage Increase
Benchmark Pricing and HPI Index numbers are both up from the previous year. Interestingly the percentages of increase have almost doubled from one year prior.
| March 2014-March 2015 | March 2015-March 2016 | |
| North Vancouver | 14.8% | 28% |
| West Vancouver | 12.5% | 28.7% |
| Vancouver West | 12.3% | 25.5% |
Benchmark Price: Estimated sale price of a typical property, based on a set of common qualities of homes within each market.
Price Index (HPI): Index numbers estimate the percentage change in price on typical and constant quality properties over time. All figures are based on past sales.
Please see the market overview chart below for more detailed figures. If you are thinking of buying or selling a home please give me a call, I’d love to help.
Ann Hickey
604 220-6249
604 220-6249
