Know Market Trends before Buying Real Estate

The Vancouver real estate market isn’t exactly moving at a predictable pace. For one, the latest surveys seem to suggest a new trend favoring a seller’s market for the rest of 2014.

Real estate agents in the city have announced that current market conditions seem to favor sellers, rather than buyers, thanks to data they’ve gathered last month. The numbers say that the sales-to-active-listings ratio in Greater Vancouver is currently at 19.7 percent, about 4 percent higher than last year’s figures.

Finding a Place to Live in Vancouver

ust as with any city, the Vancouver real estate market is a pretty busy one. All over the city, property is changing hands as people come and go. This, of course, means there’s plenty of places a newcomer to the city can choose to stay. However, before making a beeline toward some random For Sale sign, be sure to consider the neighbourhood it’s planted in first.

Downtown

Most residential properties in the Downtown area are high-rise residential units. Downtown offers easy access to the city’s centres of business, shopping, and entertainment, however, this can come at a price. The cost of living in Downtown is generally quite high if you’re not keen on settling for a smallish duplex in the West End section of town.

Kitsilano

If you’re a beach bum, Kitsilano is probably where you want to be. The neighbourhood is lined by the city’s two famous beaches, Kits Beach and Jericho Beach. Expect prices by the coastline to be sky high, but these generally become more reasonable as you move west towards UBC.

East Vancouver

Outside of East Hastings and Downtown Eastside, affordable housing can be had in what are the city’s more eclectic neighbourhoods. Life in East Van is generally more down-to-earth, and provides a welcome contrast to the Downtown’s slick and modern character.