Spring delivers greater balance to
Greater Vancouver housing market
A closer relationship between home
buyer demand and the supply of homes for sale has been having a stabilizing
impact on home prices in the Greater Vancouver housing market over the last
three months.
The Real Estate Board of Greater
Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater
Vancouver reached 2,627 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in April
2013. This represents a 6.1 per cent decrease compared to the 2,799 sales
recorded in April 2012, and an 11.9 per cent increase compared to the 2,347
sales in March 2013.
Last month’s sales equate to the
lowest April total in the region since 2001 and 20.9 per cent below the
10-year sales average for the month.
“While the number of home sales
remains below average, properties that are priced right are selling and
we’re seeing greater balance between buyer demand and the number of homes
listed for sale. This is having a steadying influence on home prices in the
region,” says Sandra Wyant, REBGV president.
New listings for detached,
attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 5,876 in
April. This represents a three per cent decline compared to the 6,056 new listings
reported in April 2012 and a 21.4 per cent increase from the 4,839 new
listings in March of this year. Last month’s new listing count was 0.4 per
cent above the region’s 10-year new listing average for the month.
The total number of properties
listed for sale on the MLS® in Greater Vancouver is 16,730, a 1.2 per cent
increase compared to April 2012 and an 8.2 per cent increase compared to
March 2013.
The sales-to-active-listings ratio
currently sits at 15.7 per cent in Greater Vancouver. This is the second
consecutive month that this ratio has been above 15 per cent. Previous to
this, May 2012 was the last time this ratio was above 15 per cent.
“There have been modest increases
in home prices across the region over the last three months. This comes on
the heels of home price declines of approximately five to six per cent in
Greater Vancouver during the last half of 2012,” Wyant said.
The MLS® Home Price Index
composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater
Vancouver is currently $597,300. This represents a decline of 3.9 per cent
compared to this time last year and an increase of 1.6 per cent compared to
January 2013.
Sales of detached properties
reached 1,064 in April 2013, a decrease of 5.5 per cent from the 1,126
detached sales recorded in April 2012, and a 24.1 per cent decrease from
the 1,402 units sold in April 2011. The benchmark price for detached
properties decreased 5.2 per cent from April 2012 to $914,000. Since
January the benchmark price of a detached home has increased 1.4 per cent.
Sales of apartment properties
reached 1,052 in April 2013, a decline of 11.6 per cent compared to the
1,190 sales in April 2012, and a decrease of 12.4 per cent compared to the
1,201 sales in April 2011. The benchmark price of an apartment property
decreased 2.6 per cent from April 2012 to $365,900. Since January the
benchmark price of an apartment home has increased 2.1 per cent.
Attached property sales in April
2013 totalled 511, an increase of 5.8 per cent compared to the 483 sales in
April 2012, and a 17.8 per cent decrease from the 622 attached properties
sold in April 2011. The benchmark price of an attached unit decreased 3.5
per cent between April 2012 and 2013 to $455,200. Since January the
benchmark price of an attached home has increased 1.2 per cent.
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