Values dipped in new towers
Speculators who bought new high-rise condominium apartments in the Tri-Cities area of the Lower Mainland in the past year lost an average of more than $4,000 on their purchase when they resold, according to a survey by market analyst Strategics of Vancouver.
Listings of condominiums in the Tri-Cities, composed of the suburban communities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, have soared this year, rising from 680 in January to 2,180 by September, Strategics reports.
"Almost all of the new [condominium] listings are probably speculative listings and most of these are in high-rise projects," Strategics said.
The average list price for a new high-rise condo being resold in September was $440,855, down an average of $4,100 from the original selling price.
Low-rise, often wood frame, condominium properties performed slightly better, selling for an average of $323,000, down an average of $1,100 from the original list price.
Across all of Metro Vancouver, there were 8,600 condominiums listed for sale in September, and Strategics estimates that 2,100 of these were speculative units that had never been occupied by an owner. This compares to 1,300 investor-owned condominiums on the market in January during Strategics last survey.
