Sales for 2007 ranked as the second highest on record
February 22, 2008
Lisa Bjornson Black Tusk Realty
The Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board has reported that housing sales for 2007 ranked as the second highest on record and Squamish was no exception. In fact, when you take into account sales of property not listed through the MLS service, this is the highest level of sales for Squamish ever. One should keep in mind when comparing the Squamish real estate market to the Lower Mainland that the total sales of units reached 679 and 38,050 respectively. So when we talk about sales in comparison, the volume of sales for Squamish is still a small number.
Like 2006, the biggest area of growth for units sold was in apartments. There was a 41% increase in 2007 with 224 sales compared to 132 sales in 2006. Apartment sales now account for 1/3 of all sales for the Squamish market. This number is expected to climb as affordability remains a factor along with the ease to maintain, allowing the owner more time to do other things. Over the past year we have seen prices for apartments stabilize. The median selling price rose by 15%: the median price for 2006 was $251,750 and rose to $295,000 in 2007. This is the smallest gain in the past three years. The largest gain in median price was 2003 to 2004 when there was a 31% increase in the selling prices. Several new developments coming to the market over the next 5 years have large numbers of apartments so this will remain a growing market segment. However, with inventory levels rising for apartments, the overall effect should see prices remain moderate.
Sales of town homes saw a 10% increase in volume with sales of 190 units in 2007 versus 170 units in 2006. Prices rose by 21% over last year with the median price for 2006 at $308,500 whereas in 2007 it reached $389,900. Like apartments, many of the new developments planned for Squamish over the next five years have a large town house component. Many of the design elements have features you would find in a house and with the ease and affordability factor, demand should remain strong in this area for both new and resale. Presently, town homes account for 28% of all product sold and this figure will rise over the coming years as prices for residential single family homes continue to reach new heights.
Single family homes made a surprising comeback after the slow down in both sales volume and price increase between 2005 and 2006. There were 265 reported trades by MLS for 2007, up just slightly from 2006’s total of 257. The most significant change was a price increase of 18% year over year. The median price increase from 2005 to 2006 was only 1%, while the increases in median price in 2007 to $470,500 was up from $386,500 in 2006. Unlike town homes and apartments, this is one area where development of new subdivisions is slow. With the cost of construction and the shortage of trades, this market segment will remain challenging. In 2003, 62% of all sales that occurred in Squamish were single family residential; in 2007 that number declined to 39%. The number of homes sold is expected to remain unchanged and BCREA and Royal LePage predict that the increase in prices will be more moderate for 2008, not going into double digits as was the case last year.
The general outlook in all areas, National, Provincial and locally, is for steady sales volume and prices to move upward slightly in the year ahead.