This edition of the G|B Real Estate Newsletter focuses on your equity and how gaining access to it can lead to many different investment opportunities.

As always, we have included a snapshot of Metro Vancouver’s real estate market for February 2022 which saw steady home sales activity, modest increases in home listings and continued upward trends in pricing.

We have seen a slight drop in demand amongst buyers, most noticeable in multiple offer situations where we were seeing 5-8 competing offers we are now seeing 2-4. However, it’s always important to keep in mind, that in some cases properties are still being listed at a much lower value, with the purpose of creating a multiple offer situation resulting in a large price increase.

To find out more about February’s Metro Vancouver real estate market, scroll down to the Market snapshot section of our newsletter.

If you have any questions regarding the information in this edition of the G|B Real Estate Newsletter or want to chat all things real estate please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Your Equity

Have you considered refinancing? More than ever before we are hearing people talk about the equity in their home and how to use it. This idea or approach has been around forever but it seems to be getting a lot of attention given the increase in housing prices the last few years.

Having access to your equity can enable you to purchase another property while keeping your existing residence. Whether a rental property or a rec property. This will help you build wealth using your real estate.

Calculating your equity is simple, take the current market value of your home (we can help with this) and subtract any loans you have on the property. As with any loan you’ll still need to go through qualifying steps. Another option is to refinance and get a home equity line of credit (HELOC). Most people may already have this. Often mortgage brokers will make this recommendation at the time of choosing your mortgage product. This money can be used for home renovations or to simply have as a rainy day fund.

Usually when we are speaking with people about this, they aren’t sure where or what to buy in terms of a rental property. Long term, short term, furnished, unfurnished, Airbnb, etc. That’s where we come in. We can make recommendations locally, in other Provinces and even in the US. We’re going to shine some more light on that in the coming weeks. 

If any of the above is something you’d like to explore please reach out and we can set up a call or a Zoom. You can also reach out to your mortgage broker to get the ball rolling and gather some information. If you don’t have a mortgage broker we can recommend a few.

February Market Snapshot

Attached Properties

Vancouver Downtown – Attached

• Sellers market at 42% sales ratio average (4.2 in 10 homes selling rate).
• Sale to List Price Ratio: homes are selling on average 1% above list price.
• Inventory: up by 8% over last month.
• Most Active Price Band: $600,000 to $800,000 with average 87% sales ratio (Sellers market).
• Buyers Best Bet: homes between $3.5 mil to $4 mil, Coal Harbour and 3 bedroom properties.
• Sellers Best Bet: selling homes in downtown and up to 1 bedroom properties.

• Sellers market at 44% sales ratio average (4.4 in 10 homes selling rate).
• Sale to List Price Ratio: homes are selling on average 1% above list price.
• Inventory: up by 11% over last month.
• Most Active Price Band: $600,000 to $700,000 with average 100% sales ratio (sellers market).
• Buyers Best Bet: homes between $2.75 mil to $3 mil, Kerrisdale, South Granville and minimum 4 bedroom properties.
• Sellers Best Bet: selling homes in Kitsilano, Mount Pleasant, Quilchena and up to 1 bedroom properties.

• Sellers market at 61% sales ratio average (6.1 in 10 homes selling rate).
• Sales to List Price Ratio: homes are selling on average 8% above list price.
• Inventory: up by 15% over last month.
• Most Active Price Band: $1,50,000 to $1,750,000 with average >100% sales ratio (sellers market).
• Buyers Best Bet: home between $1.75 mil to $2 mil, South Vancouver, Strathcona and 3 bedroom properties.
• Sellers Best Bet: selling homes in Downtown, Grandview Woodland and up to 1 bedroom properties.

Detached Properties

Vancouver Westside – Detached

• Balanced market at 19% sales ratio average (1.9 in 10 homes selling rate).
• Sales to List Price Ratio: homes are selling on average 2% below list price.
• Inventory: up by 7% over last month.
• Most Active Price Band: $2.5 mil to $2.75 mil with average 58% sales ratio (sellers market).
• Buyers Best Bet: homes minimum $7.5 mil, Oakridge, Shaughnessy and up to 2 bedroom properties.
• Sellers Best Bet: selling homes in Kitsilano, and 3 to 4 properties.

• Sellers market at 29% sales ratio average (2.9 in 10 homes selling rate).
• Sales to List Price Ratio: homes are selling on average at 14% above list price.
• Inventory: up 20% over last month.
• Most Active Price Band: $2 mil to $2.25 mil with average 58% sales ratio (sellers market).
• Buyers Best Bet: homes between $2.75 mil to $3 mil, Collingwood, Renfrew Heights and up to 2 bedroom properties.
• Sellers Best Bet: selling homes in Hastings Sunrise, and 3 to 4 bedroom properties.

North Vancouver – Detached