TTUL shared this graph of whats happening lately in the listing vs sales ratio. This is a sharp difference from the last few years, but it’s only been a short trend:
TTUL also shares a link to his data, which is based on numbers shared regularly on this site by realtor Paul Boenisch.
VMD pointed out this interesting zoomable map of assessed property value changes over the last year in Vancouver.
Anthony Smith at HealthyCityMaps created this map using BC assessment data.
At his site you can click and zoom in to see whats happened to values in different neighbourhoods.
Interesting to see how tax assessments vary from micro area to micro area.
Dark purple represents a large increase, yellow is neutral and dark orange is a large decrease from 2013 to 2014.
View the full map here.
It used to be that Vancouverites were concerned about leaky condos.
There was a time when local newscasters and politicians would wring their hands and referred to condo repairs blossoming across town as a ‘crisis’.
Then we discovered that tarps can be worn with flair!
Here’s just a few different styles that you can currently find on the Fairview slopes, look around town and see if you can spot these or other trend setting styles!
What special style has your strata chosen?
1. Drapery:
just throw it up there! This bohemian style says you have more important things to do than tidy up the tarps.
2. Tidy blue:
a ‘just so’ cap of shiny white tarp tops custom fit to your building is offset by a beautiful blue mesh, making even a grey sky look sunny!
3. Showercaps:
just a little on the top please! Leaves the balconies, doors and windows unblocked, but keeps the rain off the roof!
4. Stormtrooper:
for the serious mysterious type. Cover everything in a tight white shell. These are not the droids you’re looking for.
5. Cascading green:
for extra excitement in a downpour, this style will only work with a multilayered building but creates a beautiful waterfall effect in a heavy rain. The green mesh says ‘i care’ about the environment.
Have we missed any quintessential Vancouver tarp styles?
Wow.
Dyugle pointed out this graph on historical mortgage application volume at canequity.
There are some great stats at that site, but the historical chart is remarkable.
It goes back to 2003 and so far 2013 is scrapping along historical lows for that full time period.
I guess homebuyers these days are just using suitcases of cash?
I don’t know how else you would explain this big shift in mortgage applications unless the data is still being updated.
*Anon points out this is percentage of preapproval applications done online. So why are we seeing a smaller percentage of preapproval applied for online than we did for the last ten years? Any mortgage brokers care to comment?
Its even more remarkable when you look at this graph and notice how normally this would be the time of year with the highest volume of mortgage applications.
Check out the full site here for more interesting stats.
As prices have gotten silly in Vancouver they are often compared to what you can get in other cities around the world, many of them in the post-correction US.
But you don’t have to go far for an alternative to Vancouver, you can even stay in the province.
Our nearest comparable would be the smaller city of Victoria.
To that end Interest Only has put together this chart showing the variation in home prices between Vancouver and Victoria based on Teranet data. After dipping in 2005 the deviation has become rather pronounced recently. Here’s what they say about it:
What this tells us is that Average home prices in Vancouver relative to Victoria are stretched. Victoria prices are rolling over and as a result, Vancouver looks like a new 23 year high versus Victoria prices. The ratio is outside of two standard deviations relative to the 23 year average (The shaded area).
