Condos by tom stovall

When we look at the April 2013 monthly statistical report, we can see better market balance than we saw in recent months. We can hopefully expect this trend to continue through the remaining spring and summer period.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that housing property sales in Greater Vancouver totaled 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 are the lowest April sales since 2001 and are 20.1 per cent lower than 10-year sales average for April.

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.

Infographic Vancouver Richmond Real Estate Statistics April 2013 by Jay Banks

New listings for detached, attached, and apartment properties reached 5,876 in April. This is a 3 per cent fall compared to the 6,056 new listings from April 2012 and a 21.4 per cent increase from the 4,839 new listings in March 2013. April 2013's new listing count surpassed by 0.4 per cent the average 10-year new listing average for this month. The total number of properties listed for sale on the MLS® in Greater Vancouver at the end of April was 16,730. This means a 1.2 per cent increase compared to April 2012 and an 8.2 per cent increase compared to March 2013.

The number of sales of detached properties in the Greater Vancouver reached a total of 1,064 in April 2013, which represents a slight decrease of 5.5 per cent from the 1,126 detached sales recorded in April 2012, and a 24.1 per cent drop from the 1,402 units sold in April 2011. The benchmark price for detached properties decreased 5.2 per cent from April 2012 to its current price of $914,000. Since January, the benchmark price of a detached home has increased 1.4 per cent, which is a proof that offer and demand for detached houses is almost balanced.

Vancouver Condos by Mike Linksvayer

Apartment properties also reached a total of 1,052 sales 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 recorded 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. It seems that even the most criticized type of housing still has not lost its potential and continues to sell even though it's not performing as favourably as detached properties.

Attached property sales reached 511 in April 2013, representing an increase of 5.8 per cent compared to the 483 sales recorded 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.

Vancouver View by velkr0

Vancouver East, Vancouver West, and Richmond Stats

The major problems of the current housing market are associated with poor apartment property sales. There has been a lot of critique in recent months, ranging from constructive to more emotional criticism. One thing is clear: buyers still prefer to get themselves a nice townhouse than to invest their savings in an overpriced apartment. The apartment market is more controlled by bigger developer companies, so we will have to wait to see whether they lower their prices in order to become more competitive.

Last month was not very successful for Vancouver East. The number of sales for all residential properties reached 246 units, which was a drop of 27.43 per cent since April 2012.

The number of sold townhouses in Vancouver East totalled 37, a decrease of 28.85 per cent. The current benchmark price for detached properties is $522,600, which is a slight decrease of 0.5 per cent since April 2012.

Vancouver East by Carolyn Coles

Apartments in Vancouver East experienced a huge decrease of 49.34 per cent from last April, with only 77 units sold in April 2013. The effect on the benchmark price was moderate: it sank by 2.1 per cent and currently sits at $305,100.

Detached houses sales reached 132 units, a decrease of 2,22 per cent, and their price dropped 2.8 per cent to $828,300 since April 2012. It looks like Vancouver East still needs more market correction in order to attract more customers.

Vancouver West had a far more successful month, with 520 sales, representing a 5.45 per cent decrease from the previous April. With 62 townhouses sold in April 2013, the year-to-year comparison shows an increase of 1.67 per cent. The benchmark price for townhouses dropped 1.1 per cent, landing at $700,700.

The apartments sector sold 315 units, dropping 12.50 per cent since April 2012. The benchmark price for apartments dropped as well, even though the fall was just 0.5 per cent, landing at $472,700.

Detached houses sales totalled 144 units. This was a very positive result, which marked a 10.77 per cent increase from April 2012. The benchmark price dropped 8.5 per cent since last April, falling to $2,064,400.

Richmond sales totaled 1,116 units, which means that there was a small sales decline of 6.61 per cent.

For detached properties, Richmond sales reached 385 units sold, which was an increase of 1.58 per cent from April 2012. The benchmark price for detached properties decreased 9.1 per cent from the same month last year, landing at $932,700.

The townhouse market in Richmond proved to be balanced, with 191 units sold, representing a minor increase of 4.37 per cent. The benchmark price for this type of property dropped 3.3 per cent from April 2012, falling to $491,500.

Apartment properties marked the only decrease in the Richmond market, with 540 sales showing a 14.69 per cent decrease from April 2012. Inflexible prices partly contributed to this fall, with prices lowering only 1.8 per cent to $347,200, making the apartment market less attractive for prospective buyers.