Richmond real estate: spring activities
Sales of detached, attached and apartments in Richmond continued to improve, from 199 and 337 in February and March to 429 in April 2009. With more buyers and fewer homes for sale in recent months, the Greater Vancouver housing market has entered a more moderate and balanced state.
Declining supply
For the past 6 months, new listings for detached, attached and apartment properties declined in Greater Vancouver. Total listings for April 2009 was down 33.7 per cent compared to April 2008, when 7,010 new units were listed.
The total number of property listings on the Multiple Listing Service, while slightly down compared to last month, remains unchanged compared to the same period in 2008.
Market over-supply and poor economic conditions
The spring surge in market activities could be attributed to anemic sales during the winter months, and aggressive interest rates cuts by the Bank of Canada in recent weeks. The market is now left with homes that were passed over by home buyers. These homes may be over-priced or not as appealing to home buyers.
There are motivated buyers looking for good homes fairly priced showing up on the market. This may not happen as home sellers are holding off listing their homes at today's prices. The lack of good qualify listings coming onto the market will result in lower sales activities in the coming weeks.
The supply of homes is still high in relation to the demand. The next few quarters outlook for the Richmond housing market is likely to remain moderate, and home prices under pressure to decline more gradually due to market oversupply and deteriorating economic conditions.
Affordability is still a problem
Home buyers, including many first-time buyers were attracted to enter the market due to low interest rates, good supply of housing and a considerably lower cost mortgage compared to recent years. However, housing affordability is still a problem for many home buyers.
You can follow the monthly Greater Vancouver and Richmond housing market up-dates here. A list of Richmond homes for sale on the MLS system can be viewed here.
