Conditions continue to favour buyers in
the Greater Vancouver housing market
The summer of 2012 drew
to a close in September with home sale activity well below historical
averages in the Greater Vancouver housing market.
The Real Estate Board
of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales of
detached, attached and apartment properties reached 1,516 in September, a
32.5 per cent decline compared to the 2,246 sales in September 2011 and an
8.1 per cent decline compared to the 1,649 sales in August 2012.
September sales were
41.6 per cent below the 10-year September sales average of 2,597.
“There’s been a clear
reduction in buyer demand in the three months since the federal government
eliminated the availability of a 30-year amortization on government-insured
mortgages,” Eugen Klein, REBGV president said. “This makes homes less
affordable for the people of the region.”
New listings for
detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled
5,321 in September. This represents a 6.3 per cent decline compared to
September 2011 when 5,680 properties were listed for sale on the MLS® and a
31.6 per cent increase compared to the 4,044 new listings in August 2012.
At 18,350, the total
number of residential property listings on the MLS® increased 14.1 per cent
from this time last year and increased 4.5 per cent compared to August
2012.
“Today, our
sales-to-active-listings ratio sits at 8 per cent, which puts us in a
buyer’s market. This ratio has been declining in our market since March
when it was 19 per cent,” Klein said.
The MLS HPI® composite
benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver is
$606,100. This represents a decline of 0.8 per cent compared to this time
last year and a decline of 2.3 per cent over last three months.
“Prices in the region
remain relatively stable overall, although we do see some reductions in the
areas that have had some of the largest price increases over the last year
or two,” Klein said.
Sales of detached
properties on the MLS® in September 2012 reached 594, a decrease of 37.9
per cent from the 957 detached sales recorded in September 2011, and a 31.4
per cent decrease from the 866 units sold in September 2010. The benchmark
price for detached properties decreased 0.5 per cent from September 2011 to
$935,600.
Sales of apartment
properties reached 676 in September 2012, a 26.7 per cent decrease compared
to the 922 sales in September 2011, and a decrease of 30.4 per cent
compared to the 971 sales in September 2010. The benchmark price of an
apartment property decreased 0.7 per cent from September 2011 to $368,600.
Attached property sales
in September 2012 totalled 246, a 33 per cent decrease compared to the 367
sales in September 2011, and a 35.8 per cent decrease from the 383 attached
properties sold in September 2010. The benchmark price of an attached unit
decreased 2.7 per cent between September 2011 and 2012 to $458,600.
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