STATS ON BOWEN - December 2019

The MLS® HPI was down only slightly at -2.3 per cent, while the Average Sale Price and Average Price per Square Foot were down -11.3 and -23.1 per cent respectively. Market forces like the mortgage stress test eroded the buying power of those looking for a home and gave the advantage to homes listed at lower prices. Of the 45 homes sold in 2019, 25 or 56 per cent sold under $1 million and one-third of those sold under $800,000. Another 31 per cent sold at prices between $1 million and $1.4 million and 13 per cent of homes sold for between $1.4 and $1.5 million. The highest sale in 2019 was for $1,499,500 and the lowest was $620,000. One in four homes contained a suite.

A look at the last 5 years YoY at 31 December compared to 2019 shows 2018 with the highest MLS®HPI (down -2.3 per cent in 2019), the highest Average Sale Price (down -11.3 per cent in 2019), and the highest Average Price per Square Foot (down -23.1 per cent in 2019). The numbers show how slow the market was in 2019 with Number of Sales the lowest in 5 years, down -51.6 per cent from the high in 2015 and -22.4 per cent from 2018. Volume of Sales were also at a 5-year low: -40.1 per cent from the 5-year high in 2017 and down -29.9 per cent in 2018. Sale Price compared to List Price was more stable at 93.3 per cent in 2019, down -4.6 per cent from the 5-year high in 2016 and down -2.8 per cent from 2018.

The 2020 forecasts for the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver region (Lower Mainland/Southwest) from the BCREA (BC Real Estate Association) are for sales of detached homes to increase +14.5 per cent and the MLS® Average Price to increase +1.9 per cent.* The Central Credit Union predicts increases of +19.2 per cent and +3.6 respectively for the Vancouver CMA.**

Bowen Island lags several months behind Metro Vancouver trends; however, with mortgage rates predicted to remain favourable,*** the market is likely see  similar increases in 2020.