Speculators, once a flipping force in the Metro Vancouver condominium market, have virtually disappeared, according to Robyn Adamache, a senior analyst at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).  Based on Landcor Data statistics on home buyers who had held their property for less than a year before selling, Adamache said that less than 4 per cent of condo sales in the past year would qualify as a speculative flip.

Speculators could have made serious money if they had picked the right market, Adamache noted. For instance, the average detached house price on the West Side of Vancouver shot up 26 per cent in the past year.  The average condominium price in the same area, however, increased in price by only 1 per cent, she noted.

There is still time for speculators to gamble on next year, though. CMHC forecasts the average price of a detached house in Metro Vancouver will increase 2.2 per cent in 2012 to $1.1 million. Total sales through the Multiple Listing Service are forecast to rise 9.1 per cent to 36,000 next year.

 See the December issue of Western Investor for an outlook on the residential market into 2012.