Sunshine Coast Real Estate Continues Positive Trend for August 2014

August was a great month for real estate sales on the Sunshine Coast!  Detached homes, condos and town homes did exceptionally well and are inline with the overall positive trend of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) while land only sales plummeted.  Here’s how it breaks down:

Detached Home Sales

Total detached sales dollar volume reached an amazing $23,678,000 this past month.  Compare this to last year’s dollar volume of $18,778,000 and it translates to 26% increase!

Unit sales are mimicking that percentage increase.  We sold 54 units this past month compared to last year’s 42 for a 28% increase.

Year to date shows we are still ahead of last year.  With total sales dollar volume for this year at $163,518,000 we are 14% ahead of last year’s volume at this time of $143,355,000!  Again, unit sales fall in line with this percentage increase.  We have 374 sales so far this year.  Last year we were at 324 by this time.  This translates to a 16% increase! Total available inventory is 755 detached homes and the sales success ratio is 7.1% meaning it is still very much a buyers market.

The average detached home price is down 1.75% to $434,000 from $442,000.

Attached Home Sales

Total attached sales (condos and town homes) reached $5,279,000 this past month.  This is a whopping 139% increase over last year’s dollar volume of 2,062,000!!!

Unit sales followed suit with 16 sales last month over last year’s 7 sales.

Year to date is also a very rosy picture with dollar volume reaching a total of $23,772,000 for a 27% increase over last year’s $18,717,000.  Year to date unit sales are 81 compared to 61 last year for a 25% increase.  Total available inventory is 198 attached homes and the sales success ratio is 8%.  Attached homes are still enjoying buyer’s market conditions.

The average attached home price is $289,000 which is down 4% from last year.

Land Only Sales

Land only sales are suffering some tough times.  This past month the total dollar volume was $1,989,000 compared to last year’s $3,353,000 for a decrease of 40%. Much of the dollar volume is made up from two waterfront sales – one for $960,000 and the other for $650,000.

Unit sales are commensurate with 6 this past month and 8 unit sales in August of last year.

Year to date is not quite so bad…..dollar volume so far this year has reached $9,505,000 which is down 16% from $11.386,000 last year.  Year to date unit sales are close with 40 this year and 42 last year.  Total available inventory sits at 477 lots which is virtually unchanged from last year.

The average sale price for land only is down 20% from $284,000 to $226,000.

Overall this is great news!  More homes are selling because buyer confidence is high and prices are more in line with what people are willing to pay for a coastal property.

Advice for Home Sellers

Detached and attached home sellers – when that offer comes make sure you take any feeling of personality out of the equation and, if the offer moves your situation forward, take it! Although the market is doing much better you have to ask yourself: “Do I want to risk being on market for another 3 or 4 months (with all the associated costs) to maybe make an extra $5000 or $6000?”.

Advice for Home Buyers

Buyers – this continues to be a great time to buy with very low interest rates and lots of available inventory to choose from.  When you find the right home, configure your offer with as few conditions as possible and, if you’re in a position to do so, offer preferable closing dates to your seller.  A little bit of goodwill in an offer can go a long way toward negotiating a great deal.

Land Only Sellers

Land only sellers need to hang tight.  There are buyers out there but they are slow to put pen to paper.  Buyers – there are some great deals available especially with larger lots in the 5+ acre size.  If you’re thinking about a farming lifestyle, building your own home and even mitigating purchase costs with timber value there are lots out there for you.  Call us and we’ll help you find the right one.

Until next month, enjoy the last days of summer!