VANCOUVER – Home prices in the over-heated Metro Vancouver are expected to fall 8.5 percent n 2017, according to a new report.
The report released by Royal LePage indicates the market decline would likely be worse if not for the “remarkably resilient” condo sector, which offers more affordable prices, and the region’s nation-leading economy.
“It is expected that Greater Vancouver will experience a near double-digit correction in the new year, as sanity returns to the marketplace, causing the region to give back much of the appreciation witnessed in the first half of 2016,” said Randy Ryalls, general manager of Royal LePage Sterling Realty.
“However inventory will continue to be the story in the new year, as any movement within the market will be exaggerated at their current, extremely low levels, meaning that if sentiment remains unchanged, conditions could worsen and prices may fall even further.”
The report also predicts foreign investment in Metro Vancouver will wane further due to the foreign buyers’ tax and China’s imposition of new, stricter requirements on currency conversions.
It says the region’s biggest price gains of 2016 came in West Vancouver, where aggregate home prices soared 32.8 per cent during the year to $3.57 million.
“Severe affordability issues, brought on by rapid appreciation through the year has caused sales activity to slow, particularly in the region’s near million-dollar condominium market, where prices depreciated by 7.6 per cent on a quarter-over-quarter basis.”
In Surrey, aggregate home prices (blending different home types) climbed 22 per cent year-over-year to $765,000.
