Real Estate Talks

Darn it, where's my old pal Taipan when we need him? He's a real estate expert who dines with Federal Ministers, advises Mark Carney and "walks with kings". He'd know exactly what to do, and he still be here to help us if certain sarcastic ingrates hadn't shattered his frail ego.

Taipan has long gone....he is teaching Martians to buy low & sell high, and don't love Earth anymore.

Darn it, where's my old pal Taipan when we need him? He's a real estate expert who dines with Federal Ministers, advises Mark Carney and "walks with kings". He'd know exactly what to do, and he still be here to help us if certain sarcastic ingrates hadn't shattered his frail ego.

Taipan has long gone....he is teaching Martians to buy low & sell high, and don't love Earth anymore.

Rofina wrote

Poor Taipan, literally.

Gold is at $1195 right now. That hurts if you plunked down a million bucks at $1600.

Steve Francis

Just look at the latest MLS Benchmark SFH price of $1,002,200 and compare it to their original April 2012 Benchmark SFH price which was $1,064,800. The indication that overall Greater Vancouver Benchmark SFH prices are lower today than they were in April 2012 should be encouraging, even if some neighbourhoods have seen increases since then.

April 2012
In This Section
Greater Vancouver housing market maintains a steady spring pace

Home sale and listing activity has maintained a consistent pace on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Greater Vancouver in recent months, which has helped create balanced conditions for the region’s housing market.
       
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 2,799 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in April 2012. This represents a 13.2 per cent decline compared to the 3,225 sales recorded in April 2011 and a decline of 2.6 per cent compared to the 2,874 sales in March 2012.

April sales were the lowest total for the month in the region since 2001 and 16.9 per cent below the 10-year April sales average of 3,369.

“Although April sales were below what’s typical for the month, we continue to see, with a sales-to-active listing ratio of nearly 17 per cent, a balanced relationship between buyer demand and seller supply in our marketplace,” Eugen Klein, REBGV president said.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 6,056 in April 2012. This represents a 3.6 per cent increase compared to both March 2012 when 5,843 homes were listed and April 2011 when 5,847 homes were listed for sale on the region’s MLS®.

Last month’s new listing total was 6.7 per cent above the 10-year average for listings in Greater Vancouver for April.

At 16,538, the total number of homes listed for sale on the region’s MLS® increased 8.5 per cent in April compared to last month and increased 16 per cent from this time last year.

“Recent activity has had a stabilizing effect on home prices at the regional level, although pricing can vary depending on area and property type,” Klein said “To best understand conditions within your area of interest, it’s important to do your homework and consult a local REALTOR®.”

The MLS® HPI benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver currently sits at $683,800, up 3.7 per cent compared to April 2011 and an increase of 2.8 per cent over the last three months. The benchmark price for all residential properties in the Lower Mainland is $612,000, which is a 3.4 per cent increase compared to April 2011 and a 2.6 per cent increase compared to three months ago.

Sales of detached properties on the MLS® in April 2012 reached 1,126, a decline of 19.7 per cent from the 1,402 detached sales recorded in April 2011, and a 17.8 per cent decrease from the 1,370 units sold in April 2010. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 6.3 per cent from April 2011 to $1,064,800.

http://www.rebgv.org/monthly-reports/april-2012

The benchmark price for detached properties increased 8.1 per cent from December 2013 to $1,002,200. 

http://www.rebgv.org/news-statistics/ho ... norms-2014

Yup, there is definitely something wrong. Either somebody is changing the numbers or there is something wrong with their model.

Terrible. Just terrible. I guess they just aren't a credible source of information.

Editor’s Notes:
1. Areas covered by Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver include: Whistler, Sunshine Coast, Squamish, West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Richmond, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam, New Westminster, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, and South Delta.
2. The national MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) operations group underwent an annual review of the model in January.  This led to the following changes:
  • Neighbourhoods where home sales over the past three years totaled 12 or less have been removed from the model. Neighbourhoods where sales have increased to 20 or more over the past three years have been added. Historical MLS® HPI data has been recalculated to reflect these changes.
  • The benchmark property descriptions have been updated to reflect current buying trends.

Background: MLS® HPI benchmark prices represent the value of a ‘typical’ property within a market. When the HPI was developed in 2011, a composite description was created for every neighbourhood and property type based on MLS® sales data for that specific area. What people typically purchase can change over time due to changes in affordability and buyer preferences. Therefore, it’s necessary for these descriptions to be occasionally updated.

- See more at: http://www.rebgv.org/news-statistics/ho ... CRiHJ.dpuf

Can you believe that? They "review" (and presumably massage) the model every year! So when they compare earlier year's numbers they are effectively meaningless because they are comparing apples and oranges.