Friday, April 8, 2011 Vancouver Home Buyers and Sellers Enter the Real Estate Market at Near Record Pace in Marchby Jules Seaman on Fri, Apr, 8, 2011 12:14 PM
 Activity in the Greater Vancouver housing market continued to strengthen in March with both the number of homes sold and added to the region’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) reaching near record levels.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales of detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver reached 4,080 in March 2011. This represents a 31.7 per cent increase compared to the 3,097 sales recorded in February 2011, an increase of 30.1 per cent compared to the 3,137 sales in March 2010 and an 80.1 per cent increase from the 2,265 home sales in March 2009. The all-time sales record for March occurred in 2004 when 4,371 transactions were recorded.
“Our market has had a very strong start to the spring season,” Rosario Setticasi, REBGV president said. “With home sales above 4,000 and nearly 7,000 home listings added to the MLS® in March, it’s clear that home buyers and sellers view this as a good time to be active in their local housing market.”
New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 6,797 in March 2011. This represents a 3 per cent decline compared to March 2010 when 7,004 properties were listed for sale on the MLS®, an all-time record for March. Compared to February 2011, last month’s new listings total registered a 19.4 per cent increase.
At, 13,110, the total number of residential property listings on the MLS® increased 9.9 per cent in March compared to last month and declined 3 per cent from this time last year.
“Conditions favour sellers at the moment, but we’re seeing differences in home-price trends and overall activity depending on the region and property type,” Setticasi said.
The MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver over the last 12 months has increased 5.4 per cent to $615,810 in March 2011 from $584,435 in March 2010.
Sales of detached properties on the MLS® in March 2011 reached 1,795, an increase of 34.4 per cent from the 1,336 detached sales recorded in March 2010, and a 100.1 per cent increase from the 897 units sold in March 2009. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 8.3 per cent from March 2010 to $866,806.
Sales of apartment properties reached 1,622 in March 2011, a 29.6 per cent increase compared to the 1,252 sales in March 2010, and an increase of 66.2 per cent compared to the 976 sales in March 2009. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 2.1 per cent from March 2010 to $403,885.
Attached property sales in March 2011 totalled 663, a 20.8 per cent increase compared to the 549 sales in March 2010, and a 69.1 per cent increase from the 392 attached properties sold in March 2009. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 3.6 per cent between March 2010 and 2011 to $511,039.
Statistics courtesy of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. For more information, please visit http://www.rebgv.org/.
For information on Vancouver real estate and Vancouver listings, please contact experienced Vancouver Realtor Jules Seaman.
Sunday, November 14, 2010 Predictions of a more Stable Vancouver Real Estate Market Hold Trueby Jules Seaman on Sun, Nov, 14, 2010 10:13 AM Categories: Benchmark Prices, Jules Seaman, Vancouver Apartments, Vancouver Condos, Vancouver Home Buyers, Vancouver Home Sales, Vancouver Home Sellers, Vancouver Houses, Vancouver Housing Prices, Vancouver Properties, Vancouver real Estate, Vancouver RealtorThe most expensive real estate market in Canada levels out, benefitting Vancouver home buyers and sellers alike.
Vancouver Real Estate Market
The Vancouver real estate market has leveled off in the last four months, showing little change in sales and benchmark prices, which maintain a happy medium between the doldrums of 2008 and the skyrocketing numbers of 2009 and early 2010. After the Vancouver real estate market endured a significant slump in 2008 due to the recession, the lead-up to the 2010 Winter Olympics expedited the Vancouver real estate market’s recovery, leading to record-breaking highs in sales and benchmark prices in April 2010. Many predicted the market would level out, however, and the stability in the Vancouver real estate market the last four months demonstrates that these predictions are accurate. Although the Vancouver real estate market remains by far the most expensive in Canada, with an average listing price of $679,381, benchmark price increases have slowed considerably and sales have shown a substantial decline since October 2009.
Vancouver Housing Prices and Sales
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that the MLSLink® Housing Price Index residential benchmark price has dropped to $579,349 since its high of $593,419 this past April, and decreased by just 0.2 percent since June. Although across the board sales of detached, attached and apartment houses have declined dramatically since this time in 2009, they have also shown drastic increases since the fall of 2008. According to the most recent report by the REBGV, sales of residential properties in Vancouver have dropped by 36.9 percent (to 2,337) since October 2009, yet still show a 71.3 percent improvement from October 2008. October 2010 sales have only increased by 5.3 percent since September 2010 and sales in September only by 0.8 percent from the month before that, however, indicating a steadier Vancouver real estate market.
Vancouver Home Buyers and Sellers
For the Vancouver real estate market, this stabilization – which according to statistics from the Canadian Real Estate Association reflects the real estate market across Canada as a whole – could mean good news for both buyers and sellers. As REBGV president Jake Moldowan explains, buyer demand in the closing months of the year “is in closer alignment with supply than we’ve seen for most of 2010. 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.” Sellers benefit from stable housing prices and fewer listings, which coupled with buyers taking advantage of low interest rates, creates the alignment between supply and demand that Moldowan affirms. In September 2010 it took an average of three days less to sell a residential property than it did the month prior, which could reflect Vancouver home buyers and sellers taking advantage of this opportunity.
For more information on the Vancouver real estate market and new Vancouver listings, please contact experienced Vancouver realtor Jules Seaman.
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