According to Jeremy Nuttall of 24 hours Vancouver:
Vancouver real estate numbers can deceive
“Real estate sales in Vancouver are reported to be on the upswing since last year — numbers now being questioned by advocates for buyers.
The association also released a report in August predicting residential sales to increase another 3.9% by the end of the year.
“The market is generally strengthening,” said Ogmundson. “When we look at year-to-year numbers are a little skewed because sales were so weak last year, but generally sales in the Vancouver region are improving and have been since about May.”
But John Grasty, a real estate agent who works on behalf of buyers, said there isn’t much point to such analysis of the market.
“The only thing that counts is what happened most recently in sales to determine market value,” said Grasty. “If there’s a ton of product on the market, then chances are we’re in a buyers’ market.”
He said a major problem with the view of large markets is certain areas may not be reflected accurately. Just because homes in some areas are selling doesn’t mean the entire market is selling, he said.
“What’s happening when you average it all out is meaningless information,” said Grasty, adding that because some people take the predictions too seriously he has to burst their bubble when they list their home for too high a price.
Ogmundson said it’s always a good time either for buyers or for sellers.”
