Source:
Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver on Tuesday, March 2, 2010
The Greater
Vancouver housing market continued to experience strong demand from homebuyers
and an increase in total property listings in a month where the eyes of the
world were focused on the region.
The
Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential
property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 2,473 in February 2010, an
increase of 67.1 per cent compared to February 2009 when 1,480 sales were
recorded and a 28.6 per cent increase compared to the 1,923 sales recorded in
January 2010. More
broadly, last month’s sales totals marked a 7.6 per cent decline compared to
the 2,676 sales recorded in February 2008 and were 13.5 per cent behind
February 2007 when 2,859 residential sales were recorded on the Multiple
Listing Service (MLS®) in Greater Vancouver. Over the last 12 months, the MLSLink® Housing
Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater
Vancouver increased 19.7 per cent to $581,911 from $486,054 in February 2009.
This price is 2.4 per cent above the previous high point in the market in May 2008 when the
residential benchmark price sat at $568,411.
“We
don’t know at this point what long-term impact the Olympics will have on our
housing market, but we do know that activity in our market remained steady through
all of the excitement and distraction of the last few weeks,” Scott Russell,
REBGV president said. “In February,
for example, 110 sales were recorded on the MLS® in downtown Vancouver. That’s higher than 2009 and
slightly lower than the mid-2000s, which is consistent with data from the
overall market. It’s too soon to say whether that’s an Olympic effect,” Russell
said. New listings for detached, attached and
apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 4,606 in February 2010. This
represents a 17.6 per cent increase compared to February 2009 when 3,916 new
units were listed, and a 10.5 per cent decrease compared to January 2010 when
5,147 properties were listed on the MLS® in Greater Vancouver. At 11,346, the total number of property
listings on the MLS® increased 11 per cent in February compared to last month
and declined 21 per cent from this time last year.
“Two
months into 2010, we see the total number of homes listed for sale on the rise
and demand in the market strong, but less frenzied than we saw in the latter
part of 2009,” Russell said. Sales of
detached properties increased 67.5 per cent in February 2010 to 983 from the
587 detached sales recorded during the same period in 2009. The benchmark
price, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, for detached
properties increased 22.5 per cent from February 2009 to $800,796. Sales of apartment properties in February 2010
increased 65.2 per cent to 1,074 compared to 650 sales in February 2009. The
benchmark price of an apartment property increased 17.3 per cent from February
2009 to $390,899. Attached
property sales in February 2010 are up 71.2 per cent to 416, compared with the
243 sales in February 2009. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased
16.2 per cent between Februarys 2009 and 2010 to $495,496. Click here to download the complete stats
package.
<http://listserv.realtorlink.ca/t/23174/374038/2330/0/>
Click
here to listen to REBGV President Scott Russell's podcast. <http://listserv.realtorlink.ca/t/23174/374038/2331/0/>
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
<http://listserv.realtorlink.ca/t/23174/374038/1200/0/>
.