Looks like 2 million is the new 1 million. Sales of homes over 2 million dollars surged in the first three quarters of this year, although they fell off slightly in October.
From January 1 to the end of September of this year, 953 homes sold in Greater Vancouver for $2.5 million or more each, according to Eugene Klein, president of the commercial division of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. "That is almost as many as the three previous years combined," Klein said.
The eye-popping sale prices spurred considerable international interest, with the Board interviewed by major news outlets from the US, Europe and Asia, Klein said.
The demand for luxury homes was not seen just in the traditional high-end markets, such as West Vancouver or Vancouver's West Side, but also in the new home market from the Fraser Valley to Greater Vancouver, according to studies.
The Teranet-National Bank composite new home index shows that the typical price for a new home in Metro Vancouver increased 9.9 per cent as of August, compared to a year earlier. This was the highest increase for new home values in Canada. Teranet's September index showed Metro Vancouver house prices levelling off, but not plummeting the way some had predicted.
"The strength of the upper-end segment continues to defy expectations," said Elton Ash, regional executive vice-president, Re/Max of Western Canada, which profiled the luxury market in a study earlier this year.
According to the report, the improved financial standing among high-net-worth households is the major factor driving strong sales activity at the top end of Canada's housing markets. The report notes, though, that foreign buyers also account for a number of luxury home sales in BC.
Canadian Real Estate Association figures show that one in five resale homes in Metro Vancouver sold for over $1 million, with the average price at $767,225. And the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver pegged the benchmark price of a detached home on the West Side of Vancouver at $2,008,702 in October.
New home buyers should not be deterred by all the action in the high-end market. A tour of new home projects shows that there are many new condominiums, townhouses and even detached houses priced well below the seven-figure range.
