Home sellers continue to outnumber
buyers in Greater Vancouver’s summer housing market
Home
sale activity remained below long-term averages in the Greater Vancouver
housing market in August.
The
Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential
property sales of detached, attached and apartment properties reached 1,649
in August, a 30.7 per cent decline compared to the 2,378 sales in August
2011 and a 21.4 per cent decline compared to the 2,098 sales in July 2012.
August
sales were the second lowest total for the month in the region since 1998
and 39.2 per cent below the 10-year August sales average of 2,711.
“Home
sales this summer have been lower than we’ve seen for most of the past ten
years, yet we continue to see relative stability when it comes to prices,”
Eugen Klein, REBGV president said.
New
listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater
Vancouver totalled 4,044 in August. This represents a 13.7 per cent decline
compared to August 2011 when 4,685 properties were listed for sale on the
MLS® and a 15.8 per cent decline compared to the 4,802 new listings in July
2012.
“For
sellers it’s critical to work with your REALTOR® to understand today’s
market and to develop the best strategy for selling your home,” Klein said.
“On average it’s taking about two months for a home to sell on the MLS® in
Greater Vancouver today.”
At
17,567, the total number of residential property listings on the MLS®
increased 13.8 per cent from this time last year and declined 2.8 per cent
compared to July 2012.
“Today,
our sales-to-active-listings ratio sits at 9 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
MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) composite benchmark price for all
residential properties in Greater Vancouver is $609,500. This represents a
decline of 0.5% compared to this time last year and a decline of 1.1%
compared to last month.
Sales
of detached properties on the MLS® in August 2012 reached 624, a decrease
of 38.8 per cent from the 1,020 detached sales recorded in August 2011, and
a 30.1 per cent decrease from the 893 units sold in August 2010. The
benchmark price for detached properties increased 0.2 per cent from August
2011 to $942,100.
Sales
of apartment properties reached 725 in August 2012, a 24.1 per cent
decrease compared to the 955 sales in August 2011, and a decrease of 22.5
per cent compared to the 935 sales in August 2010. The benchmark price of
an apartment property decreased 0.9 per cent from August 2011 to $370,100.
Attached
property sales in August 2012 totalled 300, a 25.6 per cent decrease
compared to the 403 sales in August 2011, and a 19.8 per cent decrease from
the 374 attached properties sold in August 2010. The benchmark price of an
attached unit decreased 1.9 per cent between August 2011 and 2012 to
$462,300.
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