Housing market factors indicate stability in recent months
September home sales in Greater Vancouver were consistent with activity experienced in the preceding two months across most categories.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that the number of residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 2,220 in September 2010. This represents a 0.8 percent increase compared to August 2010 and 37.6 percent decline from the 3,559 sales in September 2009.
In comparison, last month’s residential sales represent a 40.1 percent increase over the 1,585 residential sales in September 2008, a 20 percent decline compared to September 2007’s 2,776 sales, and an 11.9 percent decline compared to September 2006’s 2,519 sales.
“We’ve seen fewer properties coming on to the market over the last three months. This trend, combined with the continued attraction of low interest rates, is likely having the effect of less downward pressure on home prices,” Jake Moldowan, REBGV president said.
Since spring, housing prices in the region have trended slightly downward, with a decrease of 2.7 percent compared to the all-time high reached in April when the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) residential benchmark price was $593,419. The overall benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver over the last 12 months has increased 5.5 percent to $577,174 in September 2010 from $547,092 in September 2009. The current price remains consistent with last month, rising just 0.1 percent between August and September 2010.
Total active property listings posted on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Greater Vancouver currently sit at 15,401, basically unchanged compared to last month and a 22 percent increase from September 2009. Over the last three months, active listings in the region have declined 12.3 percent.
New residential property listings posted in September declined 17.6 percent to 4,731 compared to September 2009 when 5,746 new units were listed.
“We saw signs of more stability in our marketplace last month than we have seen since spring based on a variety of indicators that we look at each month,” Moldowan said. “At 56 days, it took, on average, three days less to sell a home in our region compared to August. This is the first month-over-month decline we’ve seen in this category since April.”
Sales of detached properties in September 2010 reached 866, a decrease of 39.1 percent from the 1,423 detached sales recorded in September 2009, and a 58.6 percent increase from the 546 units sold in September 2008. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 6.7 percent from September 2009 to $790,992.
Sales of apartment properties reached 971 in September 2010, a decline of 34.7 percent compared to the 1,489 sales in September 2009, and an increase of 27.1 percent compared to the 764 sales in September 2008.The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 3.7 percent from September 2009 to $388,373.