We recently have been noticing lower numbers of buyers coming out and pose the question, where are the buyers?
We're interested in answering the question with some background information.
Vancouver's real estate market has been hot on the seller's side from February 2021 and peaking in March 2021. Why do we say the market peaked? Considering a peak is when market prices reach a high level and start to level off, we can review market conditions as either a seller's market, buyer's market or balanced.
Sellers market is generally indicative of upward pressure on pricing.
A seller's market is considered when Sales to Actives ratios are 20% or higher, here is a live interactive Sales to Active ratios graph showing the trend since January 2021 - hover over the graph to view each month and data.
Buyers market conditions are considered as below 12% with Balanced market conditions between 12% and 20%. As market pressure on pricing pushes upwards, a threshold on top price levels is created on buyers willing to make offers. As this occurs, inventory levels begin to rise as sellers list high or setup bid situations in anticipation of buyers pushing price limits higher but buyers not willing to push further and avoiding bid situations.
Here are inventory levels since January 2021 with a live interactive graph since January 2021:
Inventory levels at current date have not shown to rise yet while sales numbers are trending to be flat. Live interactive number of Sales graph since January 2021:
Expectation is inventory levels will rise while sales numbers will remain the same or decrease pushing downwards on sales to actives ratios heading into a balanced market and eventually downward pressure on sale pricing.
Each area and subarea are different and it's important to review overall market and hyper-local conditions to base decisions from.
Sales numbers are lowering slightly while inventory levels are slowly showing to increase. Have the buyers been scared off of the latest peak with bid situations? We are noticing buyers asking if prices will go over list price, overall not at this time but very important to check specific areas and how the listing agent priced the listing with the seller.
Buyers are out there, and we're noticing the wait and see approach. We are frequently asked, where is the pricing going? Is it a good time to buy now? Excellent questions that we answer through information as opposed to guessing where the market is headed.
If you are looking to buy and have specific market questions and would like the advantage of a proactive informed approach, we want to hear from you!
Is it time to buy, sit and wait or what is your situation? Upgrade, downgrade, what's the opportunity for you? Let's start with a conversation Contact Us! 604.505.6810 or 604.767.8904
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