Balanced
real estate market prevailed through much of 2011
The 2011 Greater
Vancouver housing market began with heightened demand in regional hot spots
and concluded with greater balance between seller supply and buyer demand.
The Real Estate Board
of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that total sales of detached, attached
and apartment properties in 2011 reached 32,390, a 5.9 per cent increase
from the 30,595 sales recorded in 2010, and a 9.2 per cent decrease from
the 35,669 residential sales in 2009. Last year’s home sale total was 6.3
per cent below the ten-year average for annual Multiple Listing Service®
(MLS®) sales in the region.
The number of
residential properties listed for sale on the MLS® in Greater Vancouver
increased 2.7 per cent in 2011 to 59,549 compared to the 58,009 properties
listed in 2010. Looking back further, last year’s total represents a 12.8
per cent increase compared to the 52,869 residential properties listed in
2009. Last year’s listing total was 11.1 per cent above the ten-year
average for annual Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) property listings in
the region.
“It was a relatively
balanced year for the real estate market in Greater Vancouver with listing
totals slightly above historical norms and sale numbers slightly below,”
Rosario Setticasi, REBGV president said.
Residential property
sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 1,658 in December 2011, a decrease of
12.7 per cent from the 1,899 sales recorded in December 2010 and a 29.7 per
cent decline compared to November 2011 when 2,360 home sales occurred.
More broadly, last
month’s residential sales represent a 34.1 per cent decrease over the 2,515
residential sales in December 2009, a 79.4 per cent increase compared to
December 2008’s 924 sales, and a 12.6 per cent decrease compared to the
1,897 sales in December 2007.
The overall residential
benchmark price, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, for
Greater Vancouver increased 7.6 per cent to $621,674 between Decembers 2010
and 2011. However, prices have decreased 1.5 per cent since hitting a peak
of $630,921 in June 2011.
“Our market remained in
a balanced state for most of the year, although higher levels of demand for
detached properties in the region’s largest communities caused prices in
certain areas to rise higher than others,” Setticasi said. “For example,
the benchmark price of a single-family detached home experienced
double-digit increases in nine areas within the region over the last 12
months.”
New listings for
detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled
1,629 in December 2011. This represents a 4.1 per cent decline compared to
the 1,699 units listed in December 2010 and a 49.4 per cent decline
compared to November 2011 when 3,222 properties were listed.
Sales of detached
properties in December 2011 reached 630, a decrease of 18.1 per cent from
the 769 detached sales recorded in December 2010, and a 30.2 per cent
decrease from the 902 units sold in December 2009. The benchmark price for
detached properties increased 11.2 per cent from December 2010 to $887,471.
Sales of apartment
properties reached 774 in December 2011, a decline of 4.6 per cent compared
to the 811 sales in December 2010, and a decrease of 32.9 per cent compared
to the 1,154 sales in December 2009.The benchmark price of an apartment
property increased 3.7 per cent from December 2010 to $401,396.
Attached property sales
in December 2011 totalled 254, a decline of 20.4 per cent compared to the
319 sales in December 2010, and a 44.7 per cent decrease from the 459
attached properties sold in December 2009. The benchmark price of an
attached unit increased 4.2 per cent between December 2010 and 2011 to
$511,499.
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