It’s no secret that property values have decreased across the North Shore recently. Inventories are up and sales volumes are down. It may take several months and multiple price reductions to sell. Very different from the days of selling immediately with multiple offers in hand. There are several reasons for the price drop and reduced activity but it’s worthwhile to look at North Shore prices over the past 4 years to gain some perspective.
West Vancouver
The MLS Benchmark detached home price in January, 2015 was $2,004,000. It peaked in July, 2016 at $ $3,365,000. An increase of 68% in 19 months or an average of $80,000/month. Obviously that was an unsustainable rate and could not continue. Since then, prices have moderated with the January, 2019 detached Benchmark price approximately $2,600,000. This is still an increase of 30% over 4 years and more consistent with long-term cycles.
North Vancouver
The MLS Benchmark detached home price in January, 2015 was $1,047,000. It also reached a high point in July, 2016 of $1,700,000. An increase of 62% in 19 months or an average of $34,400/month. North Vancouver prices declined from that point but recovered and reached their all-time highs of $1,723,00 in March, 2018. They have since dropped to approximately $1,525,000 as of January, 2019. An over-all increase of 46% in 4 years.
Human nature is such that we believe our asset (property, stock portfolio etc) is always worth what it was at its peak. It’s important to remember that real estate is cyclical and short-term price variations are normal. If you have owned property on the North Shore for the past 4 years or more you’ve enjoyed a very good rate of return despite recent price adjustments. And, of course, you’ve had the additional benefit of living in one of the greatest places on earth!