Metro Vancouver housing market to remain stable in 2014

Local economists are predicting stable conditions in the Lower Mainland's real estate markets for 2014. The wild swings of past years and 2013's rebound in sales is expected to settle for 2014.

Vancouver Sun - “Home sales quietly improved last year compared to 2012,” said Sandra Wyant, president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, “although the volume of activity didn’t compare to some of the record-breaking years” of the past decade.”

“After a really poor start to (2013), as we go into this year I expect to see a little more stability,” said Bryan Yu, an economist for Central 1 Credit Union. “You’re not going to see the volatility we saw last year, though there will be a slight drop off in momentum into the first quarter (of 2014).”
Central 1’s forecast is for Metro Vancouver’s property sales to increase by six per cent in 2014, mortgage rates to increase but remain relatively low and employment growth to continue in pace with a stronger economy that will be influenced by improving conditions in the United States.
“There’s no real catalyst in terms of (spurring) a big pickup in activity,” Yu said, “I expect to see a relatively stable real estate market — but again, a balanced market.”
Yu doesn’t expect big moves in property prices for 2014, either up or down.
Vancouver’s benchmark prices — average prices for typical homes sold — held relatively steady over 2013 with the benchmark for detached homes reaching $927,000 in December, a 2.5-per-cent increase from 2012; the townhouse benchmark hitting $456,100, up 1.2 per cent from a year ago; and the condominium benchmark hitting $367,800, a two-per-cent increase from a year ago.
For 2014, Central 1 Credit Union’s forecast is for prices to edge up about 1.5 per cent.
Shifts in 2014 real estate prices will also be influenced by the types of properties people are buying, with lower-priced townhouses and condominiums expected to make up a bigger share of the market, according to Lance Jakubec, a senior market analyst for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

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