Newsletter

The weather in Whistler has been stunning, and the summer has officially kicked off with our first free concert in Celebration Plaza, with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.  Whistler’s Summer Concert Series features an outstanding line-up of musical performances through July and August with even more concerts than last year.

The bike park is going strong, and the gondolas and Peak to Peak are open for sightseeing, including the Cloudraking Skyridge off Peak Chair, as well as some beautiful alpine hiking.  With the high temperatures we’ve been experiencing, heading up the mountain is a great way to keep cool!                           

WHISTLER MARKET REPORT MAY 2023         

Sales declined in June with only 30 sales compared to 52 in May.  We saw 93 new listings come on market bringing us to a total of 216 active listings, up 20% from May. 

Chalets led the way this time, with 8 sales ranging from $1,900,000 to a whopping $19,000,000 sale in Stonebridge. 

Phase 1 and Shared Ownership properties tied at 7 sales each, followed by 5 Residential townhouse/condo sales and 3 Phase 2 hotel sales.  All Buyers were from Canada.

In spite of interest rate hikes, the Vancouver market has recently strengthened, which often bodes well for the Whistler market.

Disclosure: Data from the Whistler Listing System (WLS) is believed reliable but should not be relied upon without verification. While the Information is considered to be true and correct at the date of publication, changes in circumstances after the time of publication may impact on the accuracy of the Information. The Information may change without notice and Engel & Volkers Whistler is not in any way liable for the accuracy of any information printed and stored or in any way interpreted or relied upon by a user. The WLS and Engel & Volkers Whistler assume no responsibility for its accuracy.

It’s a sure sign of spring when black bears re-appear and start chowing down on grass and Skunk Cabbage.  But recently this 300 lb grizzly made an rare appearance in Rainbow neighbourhood then over a period of days, made her way through Rainbow Park and eventually to the Chateau Fairmont golf course, where she was captured and re-located.  Needless to say, it caused quite a stir in town and even resulted in re-routing the Whistler Half Marathon to avoid her path.  

The mountain is now closed and the bike park is in full swing.  The Fitzsimmons chair has been dismantled and will be replaced with our first 8-pack chair lift – the increased capacity is mainly to support the summer biking, but I’m sure will be welcome in the winter as well.

WHISTLER MARKET REPORT MAY 2023

Apologies that my last newsletter went out without the market report.  Following is the report as of May 31.

The median sale price in May was $1,385,413 which is 13% lower than the same time last year, and total sales are down 32% year over year.

Looking at Month over Month, the inventory of properties for sale in Whistler continues to be low compared to long term averages. In May there were 181 active listings – down 6% from the previous month. There were 52 property sales in May, down slightly from April, but properties took less time to sell with an average 57 ‘Days on Market’ (DOM), compared to 87 DOM in April. 

Sales by Property Type

Leading the way as usual were the Phase 1 nightly rental properties, with 23 sales.  In second place are the Residential condo/townhouse properties with 10 sales, half of which are Resident Restricted ie. anyone can own the property, but only a “Whistler local/employee” can live in it.  Hotel Phase 2 units had 9 sales, and there were 4 Shared Ownership properties, all “At Nature’s Door” units which are large mountainside chalets with 1/10^th ownership.   There were only 6 chalet sales in May, priced from $1,760,000 – $4,100,000.    All were Canadian Buyers except for 3 from the US.

The Spring market often brings more Buyer and Seller activity so we usually see a higher volume of transactions taking place in the coming months.  The Bank of Canada, however, recently raised interest rates another .25%, bringing the key interest rate to 4.75%.  This is the highest since 2001, and may have a negative impact on sales.

Disclosure: Data from the Whistler Listing System (WLS) is believed reliable but should not be relied upon without verification. While the Information is considered to be true and correct at the date of publication, changes in circumstances after the time of publication may impact on the accuracy of the Information. The Information may change without notice and Engel & Volkers Whistler is not in any way liable for the accuracy of any information printed and stored or in any way interpreted or relied upon by a user. The WLS and Engel & Volkers Whistler assume no responsibility for its accuracy. 

By the time you read this, I will be enjoying the sights and heat of Thailand!  Having not travelled anywhere since before Covid, I’ll be feeling a bit like the country bumpkin, but looking forward to something new & different!

With March break coming up, the resort should be in full swing.  Recent snow falls and sunny skies have created great ski conditions!

After several slow months, the market made an abrupt upturn in February, going from 15 sales in January to 43 in February.  

Sales were comprised of the following:

There were only 3 foreign Buyers, 1 from USA and 2 from the Philippines.

Listings are increasing slightly and are 60% higher than same time last year, offering Buyers great opportunities to get into the Whistler market.

Disclosure: Data from the Whistler Listing System (WLS) is believed reliable but should not be relied upon without verification. While the Information is considered to be true and correct at the date of publication, changes in circumstances after the time of publication may impact on the accuracy of the Information. The Information may change without notice and Engel & Volkers Whistler is not in any way liable for the accuracy of any information printed and stored or in any way interpreted or relied upon by a user. The WLS and Engel & Volkers Whistler assume no responsibility for its accuracy. 

With some much needed new snow, blue sky and sunshine, its going to be a busy day on the slopes! 

What a difference a year makes!  Total sales plummeted in January, with only 15 sales for the month, a decrease of 54% from December.  This represents a 75% decline from a year ago, with average Days on Market (DOM) up 60%, median sales price down 38% and active listings up 54%.  We’ve definitely seen a major change in the market from a strong Sellers market in early 2022 to a Buyer’s market. 

Sales were comprised of 3 chalets, 1 residential townhouse, 6 Phase 1 properties, 4 Phase 2 hotel units and 1 shared ownership.  

We’re seeing some more foreign buyers, with 30% of January sales coming from out of country.  Whistler is exempt from the recently implemented Foreign Buyer Ban.

With more listings coming on market, and prices trending downwards, this is a great buying opportunity!

Disclosure: Data from the Whistler Listing System (WLS) is believed reliable but should not be relied upon without verification. While the Information is considered to be true and correct at the date of publication, changes in circumstances after the time of publication may impact on the accuracy of the Information. The Information may change without notice and Engel & Volkers Whistler is not in any way liable for the accuracy of any information printed and stored or in any way interpreted or relied upon by a user. The WLS and Engel & Volkers Whistler assume no responsibility for its accuracy. 

We had 30 sales in December. Year to Date, we saw the market peak in February with a significant decline in sales after that, with varying median sale prices due to the small number of sales and wide range of sale prices. Chalets in December ranged from $1.7 to $11 million, and Phase 1 properties ranged from $480,000 to $4.18 million.

The market has definitely slowed, with the median number of days to sell going from 11 in January to 48 in December. This is allowing Buyers to take time to view properties and negotiate offers as we did prior to the “no subjects” frenzy we were seeing earlier in the year.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. Whistler was busy over the holidays, but severe winter conditions – particularly ice covered roads – prevented many travellers from reaching the resort and also limited accessible terrain. All is fine now, and the mountain is fully open with the new Red Chair and Creekside Gondola both up and running before the Christmas rush.

The Foreign Home Buyer ban, discussed in my last newsletter, is now in effect. Fortunately we have been able to confirm that Whistler – which is neither a “Cencus Metropolitan Area” nor a “Cencus Agglomertion” – is exempt from this ban so business will continue as usual! See full details here bit.ly/3Zbobyu

BC Property Assessments

The BC Property Assessments are now complete and you should be receiving your document shortly. Assessed values are as of July 1, 2022 and that value is used to determine your Property Tax amount for July 1, 2023. Assessments are up 5-15% due to the strong market in early 2022, however given the recent interest rate hikes and softening of the market, your actual market value may be lower than assessed.

The RMOW has also announced an 8.3% increase in taxes, so you will see an overall increase in your property tax bill come July 2023. Information on the increase is here bit.ly/3Cjr3iX.

If you feel your assessed value is under or over stated, you have until January 31, 2023 to appeal. Given the assessments are based on values of comparable property sales, you will need data to support your claim, and I am happy to provide sales data if you wish to appeal. For more information on assessments, and to see your assessed value now, you can enter your property address at https://www.bcassessment.ca/.

Home Buyer Rescission Period

New rules have just been implemented in BC, offering Buyers the right to rescind an offer within 3 days of acceptance. This rule was to address the previous market where we were seeing Buyers presenting offers with no subject conditions. The rule allows Buyers a “cooling off” period where they can rescind the offer should they have Buyers Remorse – however there is a charge of .25% of the purchase value which is paid to the Seller. Given the current market where we are now seeing offers with the usual subject conditions, we don’t expect to see Buyers choosing this option at this time, as they will have the subject removal period to do their due diligence and then choose to either remove subjects and continue with the purchase, or if the review of conditions is not satisfactory, they need not proceed and there is no penalty to do so. See more information here bit.ly/3jN5wbY

Please reach out if you have any questions on your assessment or the new rules.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2023!