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Home sales remain steady in Greater Vancouver

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Jeff Benna (RE/MAX Real Estate Services)

VANCOUVER, B.C. – November 2, 2010 – Greater Vancouver home sales have remained steady over the past four months, indicating stability in the residential housing market. With the MLS® sales to active listing inventory ratio indicating a buyers’ market, properties appropriately priced are selling.

According to the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI), the benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver over the last 12 months has increased 4.6 percent to $579,349 in October 2010 from $553,702 in October 2009. Since June, however, residential home prices in Greater Vancouver have remained relatively unchanged, declining 0.2 percent.

“We’ve seen a lot more consistency and less volatility in recent months when it comes to both number of sales and pricing, although it’s important to remember that conditions often vary between communities and neighbourhoods,” Jake Moldowan, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) president said.

Looking at transactions, the number of residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 2,337 in October 2010. This represents a 5.3 percent increase compared to September 2010 and a 36.9 percent decline from the 3,704 sales in October 2009.

More broadly, last month’s residential sales represent a 71.3 percent increase over the 1,364 residential sales in October 2008, a 22.8 percent decline compared to October 2007’s 3,028 sales, and a 14.1 percent decline compared to the 2,722 sales in October 2006.

“As we enter the final two months of the year, buyer demand is in closer alignment with supply than we’ve seen for most of 2010,” Moldowan said. “Those buying today recognize that they still have a chance to enter the market with near-record low interest rates, while gradual reductions in inventory have eased downward pressure on prices.” Total active listings on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Greater Vancouver currently sit at 14,075, an 8.6 percent decline from last month and a 16.4 percent increase from October 2009. New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties declined 25.7 percent to 3,698 in October 2010 compared to October 2009 when 4,977 new units were listed.

Sales of detached properties in October 2010 reached 976, a decrease of 34.4 percent from the 1,487 detached sales recorded in October 2009, and a 98 percent increase from the 493 units sold in October 2008. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 6.3 percent from October 2009 to $796,883.

Sales of apartment properties reached 984 in October 2010, a decline of 38.8 percent compared to the 1,607 sales in October 2009, and an increase of 52.1 percent compared to the 647 sales in October 2008.The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 2.4 percent from October 2009 to $390,074.

Attached property sales in October 2010 totalled 377, a decline of 38.2 percent compared to the 610 sales in October 2009, and a 68.3 percent increase from the 224 attached properties sold in October 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 4 percent between October 2009 and 2010 to $487,530.

November 2010 Market Report