Greater Vancouver home sales trend
toward
buyers’ market over summer
August marked
the third consecutive month that home sale activity in Greater
Vancouver
was below the 10-year average for the month. In contrast, home
listing
activity in the region has exceeded the 10-year norm every month since
the beginning of the year.
The Real Estate Board
of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential
property sales of
detached, attached and apartment properties on the region’s
Multiple
Listing Service® (MLS®) reached 2,378 in August. This total represents
an
eight per cent increase compared to the 2,202 sales in August 2010, but
also ranks as the third lowest total for August in the last 10 years.
“MLS® statistics
continue to indicate that we’re in a balanced market,” Rosario
Setticasi,
REBGV president said. “However, with a sales-to-actives listings ratio
of
15 per cent, Greater Vancouver is in the lower end of a balanced market
and
has been trending toward a buyers’ market over the past three
months.”
New listings for
detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater
Vancouver totalled
4,685 in August. This represents a 24.9 per cent increase
compared to
August 2010 when 3,750 properties were listed for sale on the
MLS® and an
eight per cent decline compared to the 5,097 new listings
reported in
July 2011. Last month’s new listing total was the highest volume
recorded
for August in 16 years.
At 15,437, the total
number of residential property listings on the MLS®
increased 1.4 per
cent in August compared to July 2011 and rose 0.1 per cent
compared to this time last year.
The MLSLink® Housing
Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential
properties in
Greater Vancouver over the last 12 months has increased 8.5 per
cent to
$625,578 in August 2011 from $576,597 in August 2010.
“Year over year,
prices are up. However, in the detached home category,
benchmark prices
have come down slightly in each of the past two months,”
Setticasi said.
“It’s important for people entering the market to understand
that
activity can differ significantly depending on the area and property
type.”
Sales of detached
properties on the MLS® in August 2011 reached 1,020, an
increase of 14.2
per cent from the 893 detached sales recorded in August
2010, and a 25.4
per cent decrease from the 1,367 units sold in August 2009.
The benchmark
price for detached properties increased 11.7 per cent from
August 2010 to
$888,243.
Sales of apartment
properties reached 955 in August 2011, a 2.1 per cent
increase compared
to the 935 sales in August 2010, and a decrease of 34.8
per cent compared to the 1,464 sales in August 2009. The benchmark price
of an apartment
property increased 5.6 per cent from August 2010 to $407,457.
Attached property
sales in August 2011 totalled 403, a 7.8 per cent increase
compared to
the 374 sales in August 2010, and a 33.9 per cent decrease from
the 610
attached properties sold in August 2009. The benchmark price of an
attached unit increased 4.5 per cent between August 2010 and 2011 to
$511,433.
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