Where are the Ultra-Rich Buying Luxury Homes?
This past weekend was an amazing time of celebration as we celebrated Canada’s 150th birthday! As I reminisce about the weekend, I am reminded about the diversity, beauty, and awesomeness of our great country; but more importantly, I was reminded how fortunate I am to be Canadian as I had many wonderful Canadian moments and experiences.
On Saturday morning, I helped a number of Eximus investors and clients complete and possess their new properties, and by early afternoon, myself, my wife, and two of our friends were skimming across the Strait of Juan de Fuca on an incredible boat ride to Saturna Island complete with a picnic lunch on a quiet beach. To finish off the jam-packed and exciting day, we headed to Whiterock to watch the fireworks on the beach.
On Sunday, my wife and I were up early for breakfast in Squamish so that we could watch the coveted Kiteclash, an event that brings world-class kitesurfers to compete in an exhilarating competition—a thrilling act of power, grace, and athleticism. By 7:00 PM, we were back in Vancouver having a delicious tapa dinner on the Vancouver Seawall under the Granville Street bridge. The menu for the evening included people watching, boat watching, and of course, calorie watching.
This past weekend with all the Canada Day celebrations reminded me of how great our country is. As my wife and I spent time throughout the Fraser Valley and Vancouver, the richness of diversity was everywhere; in fact, friends of ours even became Canadian citizens on Canada Day. Now that is definitely worth celebrating! The beauty of Saturna Island, Squamish, and Vancouver was on full display for us through not only the physical make-up of each place, but also through the people we encountered along the way. I have included a few photos from the past weekend.
I subscribe to a media website that creates and curates visual content on investing and business called Visual Capitalist. When perusing the site, I came across founder and editor Jeff Desjardins’ masterful description of where the ultra-rich are buying luxury homes. Enjoy Jeff’s work by clicking here. Just to give you a little taste as to what you might read, I was shocked at Monaco’s per sqft price of $5420 for luxury homes.
The month of June proved to be another very active sellers’ market in the Fraser Valley. Once again, the only single-family market that was not in a sellers’ market was the luxury market of Whiterock with an STR 14%. Cloverdale and Langley had a strong STR of 39%, while the balance of the Valley market was in the lower 30% range. The Mid Valley (Langley, Cloverdale, Maple Ridge) continues to be the jewel of the market. Last month the townhomes and condominium market was absolutely over the top with STR number in the high 40% and 50% range. However, June was even stronger with Maple Ridge recording a 62% STR for townhomes.
Vancouver single-family market is certainly cooling down with only a few of the areas recording a strong sellers’ market. Many areas were in a balanced or buyers’ market. For instance, West Van had a STR of only 10%. However, as the Valley turns so does the Vancouver townhome and condominium market. Condominiums proved to be very strong with many areas recording high 40% and low 50% STR numbers. Vancouver East and Port Moody both at 53% on the STR chart.
With summer fully engaged, I am sensing the market is taking a breather. I believe we will see days on the market (DOM) increase, reduced pricing, lower sales volume, and definitely less competing offers as we move through the July and August. As an investor, this may be the time to find the perfect investment property.
If you would like to receive a copy of the statistical market report contact us here or if you would like to be on our next Investment Bus Tour contact us here.
Randy Dyck
Personal Real Estate Corporation
604-807-4366 or randy@eximus.com
STR (Sell Through Rate) Formula = Sales ÷ Active Listings + Failed Listings + Sales
