Vancouver homes being flipped like “cheap penny stocks” according to realtor

A Vancouver real estate agent is putting the spotlight on how speculators can rapidly drive up prices for homes in the region.

Steve Saretsky, a realtor who also runs the website Vancity Condo Guide, penned a blog post earlier this week after digging into MLS sales data for homes sold on the west side during May 2016.

What he found sheds some light on just how quickly some homes are appreciating.

Looking at a detached home at 6712 Adera Street in the neighbourhood of South Granville, Saretsky found it had changed hands four times over the last two years and went up in price from $5 million in January 2014 to $7.6 million in May 2016, an increase of just under 50 per cent.

He also found that a total of 179 homes on the west side of Vancouver sold in May, 28 had already been sold at least once in the last 12 months.

The average profit made on each of the 28 homes? A cool $1.14 million.