Market momentum carries into August
The number of home sales in Greater Vancouver increased significantly last month compared to August 2008 and moved closer in line with the active summer months experienced between 2003 and 2007.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver increased 119.5 per cent in August 2009 to 3,441 from the 1,568 sales recorded in August 2008 and increased 1.7 per cent compared to August 2007.
New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties increased 4.9 per cent to 4,544 in August 2009 compared to August 2008 when 4,331 new units were listed. Total active listings in Greater Vancouver currently sit at 11,937, down 33 per cent from August 2008.
“The return of confidence to our market has brought a high volume of home sales over the last few months and has also made determining home prices a little more challenging,” said Scott Russell, REBGV president. “The number of residential home sales this summer has been comparable to activity seen in the five years preceding 2008. While that’s great news, from the variations in activity we’re seeing across areas I’d say the market is still trying to find its own balance.”
Since the beginning of the year, the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver has increased 11.4 per cent to $539,600 from $484,211. However, home prices compared to August 2008 levels are down 1.1 per cent.
Sales of detached properties in August 2009 increased 155.5 per cent to 1,367 from the 535 units sold during the same period in 2008. The benchmark price, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, for detached properties declined 0.7 per cent from August 2008 to $732,656.
Sales of apartment properties increased 97.8 per cent last month to 1,464, compared to the 740 sales in August 2008. The benchmark price of an apartment property declined 1.4 per cent from August 2008 to $369,263.
Attached property sales in August 2009 increased 108.2 per cent to 610, compared with the 293 sales during the same month in 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit declined 0.9 per cent between August 2008 and 2009 to $459,159.
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The Real Estate industry is a key economic driver in British Columbia. In 2008, 24,626 homes changed hands in the Board's area generating $1.03 billion in spin-offs. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver is an association representing more than 9,400 REALTORS®. The Real Estate Board provides a variety of membership services, including the Multiple Listing Service®. For more information on real estate, statistics, and buying or selling a home, contact a local REALTOR® or visit www.rebgv.org.
Fraser Valley realtors saw the benchmark price (the average price of a typical property sold) for single-family homes creep up 3.8 per cent over the past three months to $483,839 in August.
Fraser Valley realtors saw the benchmark price (the average price of a typical property sold) for single-family homes creep up 3.8 per cent over the past three months to $483,839 in August.
Photograph by: CNS files, .
VANCOUVER — The Fraser Valley's real estate market remained hot through August with valley realtors recording their second highest level of sales for the month ever as a lot of move-up buyers cashing in on historically low mortgage rates.
The valley saw 1,786 sales recorded through the Multiple Listing Service in August, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board reported Wednesday, a dramatic 96 per cent above the 910 sales during August of 2008, the period when the market was in its serious slide.
For the period of June through August, the board said valley realtors saw 5,857 MLS sales, which outpaces the same period of 2007, but is still far from matching 2005's 6,866 sales for June, July and August.
Board president Paul Penner said the valley has been a more active market, but it is also "a discerning one."
"Not every house was flying off the shelf like they did four years ago," Penner said in a news release. "It's a more complex market now, with variations in activity depending on the area and price, and it requires knowledge, knowing what's selling, for how much and why."
Penner added that it is still a price-sensitive market. A poll of board members found that while over half of buyers were qualifying for conventional mortgages with 25-per-cent down payments, some 39 per cent of realtor respondents reported challenges in closing sales due to their clients' ability to secure financing.
Fraser Valley realtors saw the benchmark price (the average price of a typical property sold) for single-family homes creep up 3.8 per cent over the past three months to $483,839 in August, but did not quite erase the correction the valley experienced in its market decline.
That price is still 3.5 per cent below last August's $501,317 benchmark.
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