The golden rule in real estate has always been location, location, location, and this is as true in the Canadian home market as it is anywhere else across the world. For Canadian homeowners, Vancouver is the place to be, and they are willing to spend a pretty penny to find the home of their dreams in this bustling marketplace.

Vancouver Housing Market Stands Strong

According to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), 2014 is off to a slower start than normal, but that does not mean that the real estate market in popular locations like Vancouver is anywhere near crashing. In fact, the opposite is true; home prices in Vancouver continue to rise with the average cost of a house in Vancouver edging above $400,000.

In May of 2014, The CREA stated that housing prices in Vancouver were up 5.9 percent compared to April. This substantial increase is the largest seen in over four years. This is due in part to modest growths in jobs in the area, and it is also helped by the low interest rates that home buyers continue to find. Demand also typically rises in the spring and summer months since homebuyers are more likely to look at houses and consider moving when the harsher months of winter have passed.

Warmer Months Lead to Increase in New Home Construction

 

Another factor that is helping with Vancouver’s increase in the housing market is the number of homes currently on the market. In past months, supply has been low, but homeowners are now anxious to sell with the number of newly listen homes increasing 3.8 percent. Homeowners in this area of the country faced a particularly brutal winter in 2013/2014, and this led to less activity in the housing market in general. Now that the warmer season has arrived, homes are being built, current homeowners are anxious to sell and potential homeowners are looking to buy.

While Vancouver home sales are expected to continue to boost the closely watched housing market, analysts expect growth to slow somewhat in the second half of the year due to marginally higher interest rates bringing a bit of balance to the marketplace. Still, the CREA expects the prices and number of houses sold in this popular area to exceed 2013 numbers and provide healthy growth for Vancouver’s real estate market.