VANCOUVER, B.C. – June 4, 2013 – While the number of home sales in Greater Vancouver continued to trend below the 10-year average in May, the balance of sales and listings meant continued market stability this spring.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 2,882 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in May 2013. This represents a one percent increase compared to the 2,853 sales recorded in May 2012, and a 9.7 percent increase compared to the 2,627 sales in April 2013.
 
Last month’s sales were 19.4 percent below the 10-year sales average for the month, while new listings for the month were 7.4 percent below the 10-year average.

“We’ve seen some steadying trends over the last three months,” Sandra Wyant, REBGV president said. “The number of homes listed for sale has been keeping pace with the number of property sales, leading to a balanced sales-to-listings ratio. This is having a stabilizing influence on home price activity.”

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 5,656 in May. This represents an 18.3 percent decline compared to the 6,927 new listings reported in May 2012 and a 3.7 percent decline from the 5,876 new listings in April of this year.The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the MLS® in Greater Vancouver is 17,222, a 3.4 percent decrease compared to May 2012 and a 2.9 percent increase compared to April 2013.

The sales-to-active-listings ratio currently sits at 17 percent in Greater Vancouver. This is the third straight month that this ratio has been above 15 percent. Previous to this, May 2012 was the last time this ratio was above 15 percent.

The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver is currently $598,400. This represents a decline of 4.3 percent compared to this time last year and an increase of 1.8 percent compared to January 2013.

Sales of detached properties reached 1,212 in May 2013, an increase of 2.7 percent from the 1,180 detached sales recorded in May 2012, and a 22.8 percent decrease from the 1,570 unitssold in May 2011. The benchmark price for detached properties decreased 5.2 percent from May 2012 to $917,200.

Sales of apartment properties reached 1,136 in May 2013, a decline of 1.7 percent compared to the 1,156 sales in May 2012, and a decrease of 7.5 percent compared to the 1,228 sales in May 2011. The benchmark price of an apartment property decreased 3.7 percent from May 2012 to $365,600.

Attached property sales in May 2013 totalled 534, an increase of 3.3 percent compared to the 517 sales in May 2012, and a 7.8 percent decrease from the 579 attached properties sold in May 2011. The benchmark price of an attached unit decreased 3.2 percent between May 2012 and 2013 to $454,900.