Saturday, 12 April 2014

Whistler Spring 2014 News


April 12, 2014

Spring Greetings from Whistler!

It’s April and on the calendar Spring is here! Two signs of Spring in Whistler…the snow rapidly disappearing from the Valley and the Whistler Spring Flower starting to appear… “The Skunk Cabbage”. Soon the first bears will follow!

Up in the alpine there’s still the odd winter storm rolling through. And with the current healthy snowpack Blackcomb Mountain has extended the season until May 26th. Whistler Mountain is set to end operations as of April 21, which coincides with the end of the World Ski and Snow Festival. For a full schedule of events visit Tourism Whistler’s website: www.whistler.com and Whistler Blackcomb’s website: www.WhistlerBlackcomb.com

On the real estate side the first quarter of 2014 had a total of 166 sales with a dollar volume of $113,208,750. Broken down per month: January 46 sales =  $26,635,700 / February 70 sales = $52,276,450 / March 50 sales = $34,296,600.  Compared to 2013 with 140 sales and  a dollar volume of $114,499, 808. Per month: January 48 sales = $33,701,850 / February 50 sales =  $55,190,220 / March 42 sales = $25,607,738. Although total dollar volume for 2014 was down by approximately $1.3 million the total number of the sales increased by 26. The increase in sales was in part due to the increased number of lower priced condos and shared-ownership properties. Also interesting to note there were fewer single family sales this year (26) compared to last year (36) which had an impact on the overall dollar volume.


Overall listing inventory continues to decline. A trend that we have seen over the past year. At the end of the first quarter the Whistler Listing System (WLS) reported 508 Active Listings compared to 618 for the same time last year. With fewer properties listed for sale the market (for most Property-Types) is experiencing balanced conditions, which signals no particular advantage to either buyers or sellers. However exceptions can exist with certain Property-Types. For example Property-Types like Shared-Ownership and Phase 2 Condo-Hotels may differ from Residential Homes, Townhomes and Phase 1 Condos.

To sum up, with the positive snowy end to the winter season, a steady stream of resort visitors, a weaker Canadian dollar and continued low interest rates, I expect 2014 will continue to build on the trends we have seen over the past three years. 

For a more detailed report on specific property type of interest please contact me.
                                        
Enjoy the Spring Season!

Ron Mitchell
Direct Line / Cell: 604.938.3815