MARKET UPDATE BY NEW WESTMINSTER REALTOR JAMES GARBUTT
May is here and it’s time for a condo market update for New Westminster.
It’s been a bit of a crazy year; we’ve had some insane weather and condos have been smoking hot. That’s your update—they’re hot!
Overall, the sales for the year are down a little bit from last year, but not significantly. We’ve had 357 sales to date, compared to the same period last year which was 418, and in 330 in 2015.
So even though there’ s been a little bit of a decrease, we’re up from 2015. The sales ratio for these condos, however, is up considerably. The sales ratio is the sales-to-active listings ratio or the number of sales that take place in a given month divided by the number of active listings. A seller’s market is considered to have a sales ratio of 21% or higher. Across the board, the New Westminster condo sales ratio is 76%–a smoking hot seller’s market. That means that out of 10 active listings, 7.6 of them will sell in a given month.
If we isolate the sales ratio to the hottest product right now–entry level one bedroom condos built after 2000–the sales ratio is 183%! Which is ridiculous. It basically means that is you have a newer one bedroom condo to sell, it will sell immediately. And we’ve been experiencing that. Keep in mind that that’s 183% sales ratio when a seller’s market is considered anything north of 21%.
What are prices doing? Well, prices are up. The REBGV says that prices are up 20% compared to this time last year. We’ve had cases where the prices have been up 30%+. We recently listed four New Westminster condos that received 20 offers combined averaging $43,000 above their list prices. So, if you’re a condo owner and you’re looking to sell, it’s a great time to do so; but figure out where you’re going, because if you’re buying another condo, it may be frustrating.
https://youtu.be/78axjT3Q_ho
Essentially, everything in the strata seems to be quite active right now in New Westminster. The market is as good and as strong as we’ve ever seen.
On the buy side, expect frustration, expect competing offers and expect to pay more than the last sale. Things may slow down in the fall, but there’s nothing telling us that right now. At the moment, it is a seller’s market and New Westminster condos are hot.
Full Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver Stat Package for April 2017
If you’re thinking of buying, selling or just curious about the value of a property, contact us today!
James Garbutt
Local New Westminster Realtor