More than half of respondents in a survey believe that Metro Vancouver is in a “housing bubble”.

Despite this perception, a sizable portion told the poll that they plan to buy a home in six months.

Bottom line?

“Overall, respondents indicate that they plan to continue to participate in the regional housing market,” Vancouver real estate firm rennie said in a March 2022 briefing paper.

This comes “despite the expectation of rising interest rates and the challenges associated with affordability and availability”.

Rennie and the Mustel Group conducted the survey among 800 respondents across Metro Vancouver to gauge consumer sentiment.

The poll found that 54 percent “believe Metro Vancouver is in a housing bubble”.

A housing bubble means prices have increased so much that it is not sustainable.

A bubble bursts at some point, but this prospect is not deterring buyers.

The rennie and Mustel Group survey found that in the next six months, 31 percent of respondents are “either currently looking for, or plan to start looking for, a home”.

In particular, 24 percent said that they want a home to live in; 16 percent are buying for investment; and nine percent for both purposes.

Moreover, 17 percent are “either currently trying to sell, or plan to sell, a property (home or investment)”.

In the next 12 months, 68 percent “expect home values to be higher”.

Also, 73 percent “expect mortgage rates to be higher”.

Meanwhile, in the next 12 months, 48 percent of respondents believe that it would be a “worse time to buy real estate”.

“The most significant reported challenge in buying/selling a home is affordability (64%), followed by a lack of inventory (24%),” the rennie brief stated.

Overall, the survey “reveals an expectation of continued housing market opportunities despite challenges that include risings interest rates and high prices”.

In February 2022, the price of a typical detached home in the Greater Vancouver market rose to $2,044,800.

That's up 4.7 percent from January of this year, and a 25 percent mark up from the same month in 2021.

In the Fraser Valley market, the benchmark price of a single-family home increased in February 2022 to $1,670,800.

The new price represents a 6.5 percent increase over January this year, and 43.6 percent more than February 2021.