Vancouver House by Jake Donahue
Home buyer and seller activity in the Greater Vancouver housing market continues to far outpace 2012, yet it's in line with the region’s 10-year averages. According to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 2,483 on the Multiple Listings Service in September 2013. This represents a 63.8 per cent increase compared to the 1,516 sales recorded in September 2012, and a 1.2 per cent decline compared to the 2,514 sales seen in August 2013.
While sales are up considerably from last year, it’s important to note that September 2012 sales were among the lowest we’ve seen in nearly three decades. Home sale and listing activity this September were in line with the 10-year average for the month.
Sandra Wyant, REBGV president, said.
In September, new listings for detached, attached, and apartment properties totalled 5,030. This represents a 5.5 per cent decline from the 5,321 new listings reported in September 2012, and a 13.8 per cent increase from the 4,186 new listings seen in August this year. The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the MLS® in Greater Vancouver is 16,115, which is a 12.2 per cent decrease compared to September 2012 and a 0.5 per cent increase compared to August 2013.
The sales-to-active-listings ratio rose 15.4 percentage points between August and September in Greater Vancouver. This ratio remains consistent with balanced market conditions.
The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver is currently $601,900. This represents a 0.7 per cent decline compared to September 2012 and an increase of 2.3 per cent compared to January 2013.
It’s important to remember that stronger sales activity does not necessarily equate to rising home prices. In fact, home prices have not fluctuated much in our market this year,
Wyant said.
• Detached property sales (with 1,023 units) experienced a 72.2 per cent increase compared to September 2012 (with 594 units), and a 6.9 per cent increase compared to September 2011 (with 957 units). The benchmark price decreased by 1.4 per cent compared to last year’s benchmark price of $922,600.
• Apartment property sales (totalling 1,018 units) experienced an increase of 50.6 per cent compared to September 2012 (with 676 units) and an increase of 10.4 per cent compared to September 2011 (with 922 units). The benchmark price for an apartment property in Greater Vancouver declined 0.5 per cent from September 2012 to $366,600.
• Attached property sales (totalling 442 units) increased 79.7 per cent compared to September 2012 (with 246 units), and increased 20.4 per cent compared to September 2011 (with 367 units). The benchmark price of an attached unit is currently $458,300, which is unchanged from September 2012.
Vancouver by Matthew Grapengieser
Richmond, Vancouver East, and Vancouver West Sales Statistics Compared
In the second part of this month’s analysis, we’ll focus on the situation in the Vancouver East, Vancouver West, and Richmond real estate markets.
Vancouver East sales activity for detached properties in September increased by 3.5 per cent (from 142 to 147 units).The situation for attached properties remains the same (42 units) and sales decreased by 4.3 per cent in the apartments sector (from 94 to 90 units) compared to last month’s data.
Vancouver West sales activity for detached properties in September rose by 15.8 per cent (from 133 to 154 units) compared to last month. The sales for attached properties experienced a 17 per cent increase (from 47 to 55 units), and apartments experienced a 2.7 per cent increase compared to August 2013 (from 335 to 344 units).
Richmond experienced a 6.6 per cent decline in the detached properties market (from 136 to 127 units) compared to last month's data. The sales for attached properties experienced a 26.6 per cent drop (from 94 to 69 units), and there was a 33.9 per cent increase in the apartments sector (from 109 to 122 units) compared to the month before.
Year-over-year, Vancouver’s overall sales activity decreased 3.2 per cent in detached properties and 0.5 per cent in attached properties, and there was zero change in apartment properties.
New Listings in Vancouver East, Vancouver West, and Richmond
Vancouver East recorded an 11 per cent increase (from 209 to 232 units) for detached properties, and an overwhelming 130.2 per cent increase in attached properties (from 43 to 99 units), followed by a 66.7 per cent increase in apartments compared to the end of last month’s results (from 141 to 235 units).
Vancouver West experienced a 46.3 per cent increase in the listings activity of detached houses (from 229 to 225 units) compared to last month’s decimated listings. For apartment properties, there was an increase of 27 per cent (from 556 to 706 units), and listed attached properties rose by 27 per cent (from 73 to 120 units).
The Richmond real estate market experienced a 15.4 per cent increase (from 201 to 232 units) in the apartments sector compared to last month’s results. Listings of detached properties rose by 20.7 per cent (from 226 to 265 units), and there was a 4.9 per cent increase (from 142 to 149 units) in attached properties compared to August 2013.
Overall, the Vancouver listings of detached properties rose by 17.8 per cent, and there was a 18.9 per cent increase in attached properties and a 23.6 per cent increase in apartments.
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