Vancouver Real Estate Forecast 2010 - Prediction about Greater Vancouver House Prices, Home Pricing w/ 12% HST, Interest Rates, Olympics, Fundamentals

Vancouver Real Estate Forecast 2010 – A Prediction About House Prices, Home Values and Housing Sales Volume

Being an enthusiast about this subject for over a decade, there are some thoughts about a 2010 Vancouver real estate forecast. With sales volume and prices increasing through 2009, many homebuyers are wondering if average selling prices and property values will continue to increase in the latter stages of 2009 into and through 2010. Here is a prediction about the 2010 Vancouver real estate resale market as well as presale condo developments in the area.

7 Major Factors Will Affect 2010 Vancouver Housing Prices

There are many factors that affect Vancouver housing prices, but in late 2009 and into 2010, there are several very unique circumstances that will influence sales volume of all housing types in addition to property values and sales prices throughout the region. It is often hard to predict 2010 Vancouver housing prices simply because a lot can change. Some important factors the affect 2010 Vancouver housing prices now may end up not influencing the resale or presale markets, while other new factors may creep up to affect homebuyers. Here are the seven factors that will likely affect the 2010 Vancouver Housing Prices in no particular order:

1. mortgage rates (financing)
2. BC Harmonized Sales Tax (12% HST on new property)
3. supply and demand in 2010 Vancouver presale real estate market
4. supply and demand in 2010 Vancouver resale real estate market
5. consumer confidence and emotions
6. Vancouver population growth and projections
7. Vancouver economic fundamentals in 2010 and beyond

A Quick Summary of Our 2010 Vancouver Real Estate Forecast Based on These Factors

A 2010 Vancouver real estate forecast based on the above factors will determine where the property market will likely head in the future. As part of our prediction for the 2010 Vancouver real estate forecast, we have put together a quick summary explaining each of the 7 factors and if they will positively of negatively influence the Vancouver real estate forecast 2010. Firstly, mortgage rates have been at all time lows for over a year. The Bank of Canada lending rate has been at 0.25% and they have promised to keep it there until at least the third quarter of 2010 barring upward pressure from inflation. Therefore, after June 2010, it is likely that the BoC lending rate will increase, thereafter the banks will also increase their prime rates, increasing the mortgage variable rates across the board. The fixed rates, which are based on the US bond market, will also likely see a spike too. As inflation starts to creep in, more investors will head towards buying US bonds, and therefore, demand will increase, increasing the borrowing fixed mortgage rates in Canada. With both fixed and variable rates in Vancouver increasing in the future, this will have a negative impact on the 2010 Vancouver real estate forecast, as cashflow and affordability will again become a bigger issue. A big effect on the 2010 Vancouver new real estate market including presales condos and pre-construction homes will be the BC Harmonized Sales Tax. A new 12% BC HST will be applied to any new construction property, which will have a huge influence on the presale 2010 Vancouver real estate forecast. With less demand for presales and pre-constuction Vancouver real estate, developers and builders of new property will feel the hit come 2010 and into 2011, as less Vancouver homebuyers and condo purchasers will pay the extra 12% hit on a new home. Demand for presale Vancouver real estate in 2010 will go down, putting upwards pressure on resales property. What this means is that many homebuyers will opt for resale listings. With more demand, the resale 2010 Vancouver real estate forecast is brighter, and will likely see a bigger price increase as demand grows for these non HST taxable homes. As the global economic crisis is becoming better managed and the end is in sight, consumer confidence in the 2010 Vancouver real estate forecast and predictions is gaining. As many Vancouver homebuyers purchase homes based on emotion, this boost in confidence will also boost the local Vancouver real estate forecast in 2010. As fall and winter 2008 was a brutal year for not only Vancouver real estate sales volume but also housing prices, 2009 will see a huge increase in both areas. As numbers are published in late 2009 and early 2010, we will likely see the above 100% increase sales volume and increase of 1 – 3% per month in Vancouver housing prices until next summer. This will have a positive impact on consumer confidence in the 2010 Vancouver real estate forecast and predictions. In addition, the Greater Vancouver population continues to grow at one of the fastest rates in Canada. This will continue and put pressure on the Vancouver property market as inventory has stalled during the past 2 years due to the global economic crisis. With many new condo projects delayed or cancelled, this has pushed back a lot of housing inventory, thereby reducing the Vancouver real estate inventory during this hot market time. Lastly, the Vancouver economic fundamentals remain strong. With new transportation routes completed, better accessibility and an influx in business and retail, the Vancouver real estate forecast 2010 is likely headed upwards. Notice that we didn’t even mention the 2010 Olympics, which we believe is a non-factor in the 2010 Vancouver real estate forecast.

Conclusion about 2010 Vancouver Home Prices

So a quick conclusion on where the Vancouver home prices are headed in late 2009 into 2010: sales volumes and home prices will see huge jumps compared to last year as 2008 was a bad year. Mortgage rates are likely headed upwards and even spiking by mid-2010. The addition of the 12% BC HST on new homes will adversely affect the presales and new Vancouver home market, causing presales 2010 Vancouver home prices to dip as demand drops. With less homebuyers in the market to purchase new homes, the resales 2010 Vancouver home prices will likely go up a lot, as more homebuyers look for completed homes. The worst of the economic crisis in Canada is over, and with job creation looming and stricter lending practises from the bank, consumer confidence in the Vancouver real estate market place will go up. Based on emotions felt from the headline news proclaiming a global recovery and above 100% gaines in sales volumes and staggering increase in housing prices, the 2010 Vancouver home prices will likely be buffered by homebuyers purchasing based on emotion. With the economic fundamentals stronger than ever and with population growth and migration into the city increasing, 2010 Vancouver home prices will go up as demand will grow. With new housing inventory stalled and increased demand, the re-balancing of the Vancouver real estate market (especially resales homes) will likely tip in the favour of homeowners by mid to late 2010.

The Other Intagibles Affecting The Vancouver House Prices 2010

There are a few other intangible factors that may or may not affect the 2010 Vancouver House Prices beginning with the 2010 Vancouver Whistler Winter Olympics. The hot market in 2009 started back in April and has continued through into October, but none of the price increases or staggering jump in sales volume had to do with the 2010 Olympics. On the contrary, the fundamentals behind the 2009 Vancouve house prices include 2 factors: record low mortgage rates and affordability which go hand in hand. These 2 factors will likely drive the 2010 Vancouver house prices upwards in the first half of the year. Therefore, the 2010 Olympics are a mute point. Most of the amateur investors who had flipped property or renovated homes and flipped them afterwards no longer are in the Vancouver real estate market. The Vancouver house prices 2010 will be much more stable the the boom years between 2005 – 2007. A second intangible factors that will affect 2010 Vancouver house prices are transportation nodes. With the completion of the Canada Line SkyTrain from Richmond to YVR to downtown Vancouver, this creates many new neighbourhoods in which we will see huge growth and demand in real estate. These areas will likely see the best increases in 2010 Vancouver house prices and demand will increase with limited new supply coming onto the market.

The Future of Vancouver Real Estate In a Nutshell

So our prediction for the next year is that the Vancouver real estate forecast for 2010 continues to be bright buoyed by low interest rates and the outlook of the dreaded HST on new homes. So the combination of the two factors will likely increase Vancouver property prices in 2010 (even if the interest rates remain low, as there are always forecastings saying a mortgage rate spike is in order in 2010 through 2010) and the HST which have negatively impact the new presale Vancouver housing market. Therefore, the presale Vancouver home prices will stabilize and possibly decrease as a result of the 12% HST added on to the purchase price, which will make resale Vancouver real estate more attractive, and therefore bumping and increasing the price of the resale Vancouver home prices 2010. With that in mind, overall, the Vancouver 2010 real estate forecast is good, as property values, home prices and housing prices should increase. Housing inventory for 2010 will remain steady as many projects will again start, but will not be completed until 2011 or beyond. The 2010 Vancouver real estate forecast will see Vancouver home prices increase through the first half of 2010, and then become more steady from the presale housing market value standpoint through the latter half of 2010. For the resale Vancouver home prices in 2010, they will increase throughout the year due to pent up demand as well as the forecast of increased interest rates.