There's no doubt about it. Vancouver's real estate market is once again red hot! Strong demand fuelled by record low interest rates, strong local economy, and immigration has put upward pressure on house prices once again.

In the past few years I have seen homeowners sell their homes thinking we were at the top of the market. Their intention was to step out of the market and wait for the looming correction so they could step back in. It’s not so easy to time markets, and many of these former property owners have watched their buying power diminish as home prices have increased.

I've spoken to many first time home buyers who are totally discouraged with the buying process. Many have been involved in multiple bidding wars and have so far been unsuccessful in securing a home. At the same time, many of these home owners make the decision to step aside and wait for the market to cool. We have clients that have been trying to buy a home for over a year. They would wait for that looming correction only to watch home prices climb another 10% to 15%.

As you can see, it's truly impossible to time markets! If you want to own a home in Vancouver and in one of the sought after East or West Side neighbourhoods, you simply have to step up and go for it. All our clients who have taken on this attitude have never looked back!

This is truly a tough market to get into. You really have to pay what feels like top dollar. If you are looking for the silver lining, it's the cost of money. Interest rates are rock bottom and will most likely never go lower!  If you want to own a home, step in and stay invested. It's a great way to build your nest egg.

If you have questions, we'd be happy to help you. Just give us a call at 604-657-7936!

To accompany the REBGV Report for 2014, REBGV President Ray Harris returns this month with a look at the housing market in 2014 in a detailed year-end review video.

Statistically speaking, it was a typical year for home buyer and seller activity in Metro Vancouver. Home sales and listings for the year both ranked 5th highest in the region over the last decade. There were 33,116 homes sold in our MLS listings for 2014. That’s up 16% from 2013 and 32% from 2012! This total, however, remains below the record breaking years seen in the middle part of the last decade.

On the supply side, there were 54,066 homes listed for sale on the MLS in 2014. That’s 2.4% above 2013 and 4% below 2012. This total also ranks 5th highest in the last 10 years of activity in the region.

While this largely created a balanced market conditions, we did experience some upper pressure on home prices over the course of the year. The benchmark pricing for all residential properties for Greater Vancouver rose 5.8% over the last 12 months to $638,500. Detached homes continued to be the most sought after property type in our market. The benchmark price for a single detached home rose 8% in the last 12 months, while townhomes and condos rose 4.5% and 3.5% respectively. Some of the largest home price increases in 2014 occurred in the detached home market of Vancouver, Tsawwassen, and North Vancouver.