2016 Vancouver Real Estate Market Forecast

I had the opportunity of attending the Urban Development Institute's 2016 Forecast for the Vancouver Real Estate Market. The panel was compiled of leading developers; John Horton of Shape Properties, Peeter Wesik of Wesgroup and Jon Stovell with Reliance Properties. Here are some takeaways and forecasts for the 2016 Greater Vancouver Real Estate Market:

·      Vancouver is a brand. It is a safe, stable and secure city. We will continue to see global presence immigrating and putting money into our real estate market. 

·      The low Canadian dollar is good for Vancouver. It creates jobs in tourism, real estate, and other sectors in our city. It will influence the real estate market through foreign investment.

·      A shift in focus to rental building development. The increase is attributed to ownership rates decreasing as a result of income to home price ratio dropping.

·      Pricing increase to return to 2-3% in the Vancouver core and outlying areas. Sales volume to be consistent.

This prediction underestimates the current climate of the market. Unless there is a catalyst, such as a rise in interest rates or government intervention, the build up of demand with very limited inventory will continue to drive prices upwards.

·      Innovation is required to take on low supply which is behind the affordability debate. A call for cooperation with city officials, the community and the development industry to create more homes.

·      Know your sub-markets! "Relying on the statistics of the Greater Vancouver Real Estate market as a whole will result in mistakes." Ensure you are analyzing the product and area that you are purchasing in.

Understanding submarkets is essential in when buying or selling real estate. Comparing North Vancouver to the West Side is like comparing apples to oranges.  Neighbourhoods are comprised of their own markets within the general Greater Vancouver real estate market. The neighbourhood statistics provided by my monthly newsletter are a great tool to understand submarkets that applies to you.

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