The real estate market in Metro Vancouver has cooled over the last six months, but sales activity is New Westminster is slightly above average for the period.
New West's sales ratio is 15 per cent (meaning about 15 of every 100 homes sell). Sales in the city are about four per cent higher than the average for Metro Vancouver, which is at 11 per cent, according to Eugen Klein, president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. A sellers' market is when about 25 homes out of every 100 are selling, he explained.
"You're probably on the threshold of a balanced market, rather than a buyer's market . I would say sales are stronger than it is in the aggregate, and your low was in August at nine per cent. You dipped to a buyers' market there," Klein said, describing New Westminster.
Ten to 15 per cent of sales is considered a buyers' market, while 15 to 20 per cent is a sellers' market, he said. New West homes, on average, are on the market for about 60 days, he said.
"So it's still taking an average time (to sell)," Klein said. "Apartments are leading the way in terms of sales."
In November, there were 80 sales in New West, 54 of those were apartments, 15 were townhomes and 11 were detached, he explained.
Part of the appeal of condo living in New West is the infrastructure, amenities, price point and accessibility, he said.
The building of those amenities down-town, including Westminster Pier Park, is also likely having an impact on condo sales, he added. However, condo prices haven't increased significantly in New West in the last five years.
"Condo and townhouse prices have been relatively stable over the last five years, but detached homes have increased 15 per cent in the same period," Klein said.
Many sellers aren't putting their properties on the market because of slipping sales.
"What's happening is a lot of sellers are saying if we can't achieve price, and also we are going into December, then we are not going to put our home on the market," he said.
Prices across the region are down between three and five per cent over the last month, Klein said,
The biggest six-month declines have been in Richmond, West Vancouver and the west side of Vancouver.
"They also experienced the greatest increases," Klein said. "They were setting records."
While the numbers are in decline, there's no question those who have owned over the last few years have experienced jaw-dropping gains. Klein said those who have owned their home in the Greater Vancouver area, including New West, since 2005 and kept it would have seen about a 65 per cent increase in equity in their home.
"That includes a dip of 15 per cent in a recovery, and including this market," he said. "If you are looking at a month scope, then yes, the small fluctuations make a difference, but the average home owners stays in their home at least five to seven years, so that's a time-frame that's more critical to us."
