Vancouver's housing market is stabilizing after a policy-driven slump



Lately in Vancouver, there have been signs that the most expensive home market in Canada, (Vancouver) May be coming back as its home sales has raised 46 per cent in September.

This is third consecutive month now, that the number of properties sold is raised from the same period last year. However the prices are still dropping, the benchmark home price fell 7.3 per cent in September, compared with the same month last year according to the REBGV.

Vancouver used to be one of the world's let alone Canada's hottest real estate markets, is no reeling under many government policies introduced since 2016 in order to take over the relentless growth that has made the city the most unaffordable on the continent.

Both the Liberal and Conservative parties have similar views on home prices, they both are promising to make home buying more affordable currently in their federal election campaign. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pledging to boost the cap on homes eligible for a 10 per cent government-equity stake to almost $800,000 in costly markets like Vancouver and Toronto while the Conservatives plan to extend mortgage amortizations and ease qualifications.

The IMF (International Monetary Fund) said in a blog post Wednesday, that policies designed to help buyers enter the housing market by allowing them to borrow more tend to ultimately boost property prices and fail to improve affordability.

“Well-meaning policies that aim to improve housing affordability by increasing households’ capacity to borrow may unintentionally raise house prices—ultimately resulting in homebuyers having to borrow more and leading to higher household debt,” it said. “Why? Because housing supply is fixed in the short term.”

To address housing affordability, Canadian policy makers need a more comprehensive policy that addresses supply, such as making the approval process speedier and more transparent and constructing more rental-only housing, the IMF said.

If you would like to learn more about how the Vancouver market is starting to get back together, or if you are thinking about buying or selling your properties, please contact Matt Gul, who is a top luxury real estate agent situated in West Vancouver, who can help you with all of your needs. To contact Matt Gul please call him at 778.888.8888 or email him at matt@mattgul.com

Summarized by: Onur Gul on instagram at @onurguldrone

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