Demand for Metro Vancouver luxury homes waning, but it’ll still cost $5M to get one: report

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – There’s more evidence moves by the provincial government to put a damper on speculation in the real estate market may be working. But you’ll still have to have a ton of money if you want to get in.

A new report suggests the demand for high-end homes and condominiums is waning.

Royal LePage‘s Phil Soper admits these homes are about three times the value of the average place in Metro Vancouver.

“These are the homes that last year, on detached homes were $5.5 million and they climbed to $5.8 million. In the condominium sector, we’d be looking at $2.3 million, climbing to $2.5 million.”

But Soper says thanks to several taxes, we aren’t seeing the same demand and sky-high prices that we have in the not so distant past. He says the issue of people willing to pay well over the asking price may be disappearing.

“Provincial taxes on land transfer, specific school taxes, vacant property taxes… it has resulted as a disproportionate impact on the detached section, versus the more affordable condominium section.”

Soper says that adds up to less demand.

“We think, for the spring, prices will be down about three per cent [for luxury detached homes]. However, in the luxury condominium space, we believe during the same period, they’ll just move up ever so slightly.”

Still, getting into the high-end housing market will set you back at least $5 million for a house and about half of that for a condo.