Vancouver by Daniel Lobo

Eugen Klein, REBGV president, commented on the market situation: “Our sales-to-active-listing ratio sits at 16 per cent, which is indicative of balanced market conditions. As a result of this stability, home prices at the regional level have seen little fluctuation over the last six months.”

New listings for detached, attached, and apartment properties amounted to 6,927 — reaching a 14.4 per cent increase in growth compared to April, when new listings amounted to 6,056. This represents a 16.8 per cent increase compared to May 2011, when 5,931 homes were added to the MLS® in Greater Vancouver. Last month’s new listings total was 15.3 per cent above the ten-year average for listings in Greater Vancouver for May.

Residential property sales reached 2,853 on the Multiple Listing Service®, falling by 15.5 per cent compared to May 2011, with 3,377 recorded.

The total number of homes listed for sale on the region’s MLS® reached 17,835, increasing by 7.9 per cent when compared to April results. This also represents 21 per cent raise compared to the same time last year.

• Detached property sales on the MLS® (1,180 units) experienced a huge 24.8 per cent fall compared to May 2011 (1,570 units) and a 6.1 per cent decline compared to May 2010 (1,526 units). The benchmark price grew by 5.1 per cent from May 2011 to $967,500.

• Apartment property sales (1,156) declined 5.9 per cent compared to May 2011 (1,229) and 14.6 per cent compared to May 2010 (1,354). The benchmark price increased by 1.7 per cent from May 2011 to $379,700 .

• Town home property sales (517 units) experienced a 10.7 per cent decline compared to May 2011 (579 units) and a 5.3 per cent decrease compared to May 2010 (546 units). The benchmark price rose by 0.9 per cent since May 2011 to $470,000.

The MLS® HPI benchmark price for all residential properties in the Greater Vancouver Area has experienced a minor growth of 3.3 per cent over the last year, rising to $625,100 since May 2011, and a 2.4 per cent increase since March 2012. The benchmark price for all residential properties in the Lower Mainland is $ 558,300 — 2.3 per cent more than three months ago. It also represents a 3 per cent increased compared to the last year’s results.