Vancouver Skyline by Sebastien Launay
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) report for May 2013 shows that housing property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 2,882 on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This represents a 1 per cent increase compared to the 2,853 sales recorded in May 2012, and a 9.7 per cent increase compared to the 2,627 sales in April 2013.
Despite their year-to-year increase, May 2013 sales were 19.4 per cent under the ten-year sales average for the month, while new listings for May stayed 7.4 per cent below the ten-year average.
“We have seen some steadying trends over the last three months,” said Sandra Wyant, REBGV president.
The number of homes listed for sale has been keeping pace with the number of property sales, leading to a balanced sales-to-listings ratio. This is having a stabilizing influence on home price activity.
New listings for detached, attached, and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver reached 5,656 in May 2013, representing an 18.3 per cent decrease compared with the 6,927 listings recorded in May 2012. Since last month, May 2013's new listings also dropped by 3.7 per cent from the 5,876 new listings seen in April 2013.
Vancouver by Kenny Louie
The total of all properties currently listed for sale on the MLS in Greater Vancouver is 17,222. This means a 3.4 per cent decrease compared with May 2012, but there are 2.9 per cent more listings than there were in April 2013.
The sales-to-active-listings ratio currently sits at 17.0 per cent in Greater Vancouver. May was the third month in a row that this ratio has remained above 15.0 per cent. May 2012 was the last time this ratio was above 15.0 per cent.
The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all private properties in Greater Vancouver is currently $598,400. This price is a 4.3 per cent decrease compared with May 2012. Since January 2013, the Home Price Index has grown by 1.8 per cent.
Detached property sales reached 1,212 units in May 2013. This was an increase of 2.7 per cent from the 1,180 units reported in May 2012, but last May's total fell 22.8 per cent lower than the 1,570 detached properties sold in May 2011. The benchmark price for detached properties decreased by 5.2 per cent from May 2012, to $917,200.
Sales of apartment properties reached 1,136 units in May 2013, representing a decline of 1.7 per cent in comparison with the 1,156 sales recorded in May 2012. In comparison with the 1,228 sales seen in May 2011, apartment sales in May 2013 were down 7.5 per cent. The benchmark price of an apartment property decreased by 3.7 per cent from May 2012 to $365,600.
Vancouver Houses by Joe Mabel
Attached property sales amounted to 534 units in May 2013. This was an increase of 3.3 per cent compared to the 517 sales recorded in May 2012. Compared to the 579 sales seen in May 2011, May 2012's sales declined by 7.8 per cent. The benchmark price of an attached housing property dropped by 3.2 per cent between May 2012 and May 2013, to $454,900.
Vancouver East, Vancouver West, and Richmond Stats
In the last month, Vancouver East maintained a positive balance in the sales of detached houses, apartments, and townhouses. The number of sales for all residential properties reached 332 units, maintaining an increase of 6.4 per cent compared with May 2012.
With 52 sold townhouses, Vancouver Eastmarket sales grew by 4.0 per cent in a year-to-year comparison with May 2012. In the last year, the average benchmark price slightly decreased, by 0.2 per cent, to $518,100.
Apartment properties sales reached 121 sales in Vancouver East. This is a 10 per cent increase from May 2012. The average benchmark price lowered by 0.6 per cent to $308,700 since May last year.
Vancouver West End by Stewart Butterfield
Detached houses sales reached 159 in East Vancouver in May 2013 — an increase of 4.6 per cent compared with May 2012. The average benchmark price dropped by 2.8 per cent, to $837,800.
Vancouver West, with a 14.0 per cent increase in sales in a year-to-year comparison, sold 653 units in May 2013. Buyers' decisions were probably influenced by the decline in housing prices.
With 70 townhouses sold in May 2013 in Vancouver West, the increase in year-to-year sales reached 70 per cent. However, the average benchmark price dropped by 1.9 per cent, to $696,300.
The only category to record a slight decrease in sales was apartment properties. With 396 units sold in May 2013, Vancouver West apartment sales underwent a decrease of 1.5 per cent compared with May 2012. The average benchmark price dropped by 4.3 per cent since the last May, to $467,500.
Detached houses sales reached 187 in May 2013. The current average benchmark price sits at $2,068,300, which is a decline of 8 per cent.
Vancouver House by Joe Mabel
Richmond sales in May 2013 reached 1,360 units, increasing by 17.7 per cent since May 2012.
In May 2013, the number of detached houses sold in Richmond amounted to 473. This total was 26.13 per cent higher than in May 2012, when 375 sales were recorded. The average benchmark price dropped by 8 per cent, to $937,600.
Townhouse sales in Richmond totalled 227 in May 2013. This was an increase of 29.0 per cent in a year-to-year comparison with May 2012, when only 176 townhouses were sold. The average bechmark price decreased by 3.3 per cent to $492,500 between May 2012 and May 2013.
Apartment properties with 660 sales in Richmond grew by 9.1 per cent since May 2012, while the average benchmark price dropped by 1.5 per cent, to $346,000.
Vancouver Real Estate Market Report May 2013 Infographic by Jay Banks
