Vancouver/Chilliwack (Roomvu) – To no one’s surprise, Vancouver Apartments Took Twice As Long to Sell During Covid and the demand is shifting to detached homes in the Chilliwack area.
This according to Roomvu and a new UBC Study.
Summary
- Attached homes, particularly in the non-luxury segment, are taking more than twice as long to sell post Covid-19
- Properties in Chilliwack seem to be taking significantly shorter to sell. The time required to sell detached homes decreased from 18 days pre-pandemic, to 12 days post-pandemic.
- The average times on market for attached homes within Greater Vancouver increased by 114% in the non-luxury and 72% for the luxury segment.
Anyone who has bought or sold a home knows just how complex the process can seem. Between finding the right property, finding the right people to buy or sell a property, and perhaps hardest of all closing the deal, buying or selling a home can seem like a never-ending endeavour. Covid-19 has presented even more challenges in this pursuit. Physical distancing requirements and daily increases in confirmed infections have led homeowners and prospective home buyers to be more hesitant when it comes to in-person showings. What’s more, open houses, which can often generate multiple leads, are no longer a frequent option — leaving realtors with fewer levers to pull on.
A study by data scientists at Roomvu and UBC Sauder School of business indicates that properties in Chilliwack seem to be taking significantly shorter to sell during the pandemic. The time required to sell 15% of total listings of detached homes decreased from 18 days pre-pandemic to only 12 days post-pandemic whereas the time needed to sell luxury and on-luxury apartment homes increased significantly.
“it appears that vancouverites are choosing detached homes in more remote communities, over apartments in busy areas, now that there is more remote work available people are fleeing the big city, for the hope of more work / life balance, we are seeing the same trend in San Francisco Bay area sales where residents are moving away from the core of San Francisco to Marin county area ”explains Sam Mehrbod, a local Vancouver-based realtor and CEO at Roomvu.“These are interesting observations when comparing pre- and post-COVID-19 average BC Assessed Value of sold homes in various areas” he added.
Similar reversal in preference is observed by Thomas Davidoff, economist and professor from the UBC Sauder School of Business. “The big loser is non-luxury apartments. All sectors have been stronger than you may have seen in the recession, but that is not the only thing surprising. COVID impacted the apartment sector the most, which makes sense given that people’s preferences are shifting to the detached home.
So, how has Metro Vancouver’s real estate market been affected by the pandemic? With the help of UBC’s Sauder School of Business, the data science team at ROOMVU has attempted to better understand the full extent of Covid-related impacts on Vancouver’s real estate market. Previous reports have shown a worrisome trend of decreasing median property prices, coupled with an overall slow-down in market activities.
The full article can be found here: https://www.roomvu.com/blog/covid-19-is-making-vancouverites-choose-chilliwack-detached-homes-over-vancouver-apartments/
