|
Buyers fuel continued growth in Greater Vancouver housing market
Vancouver,
B.C. October 2, 2007 - The Real Estate Board of Greater
Vancouver (REBGV) reports that total residential sales of
detached, attached and apartment properties reached 2,776 units
in September 2007, an increase of 10.2 per cent compared to
2,519 sales in September 2006.
The inventory
of residential properties listed for sale remains stable, with
an overall year-to-date increase of 4.1 per cent to 45,054
residential units listed between January and September 2007,
from 43,264 for the same period in 2006. The number of new
listings increased 8.2 per cent to 4770 in September from 4408
in August of this year.
"There is no
single demographic of buyers. They include first-time buyers,
people choosing to take advantage of current home equity to
'move up' in the market, as well as people coming into Greater
Vancouver from other areas. Our data indicates that the majority
are purchasing a principal residence," says REBGV president
Brian Naphtali.
"There's a
great deal of choice in the market for a range of consumers
today," explains Naphtali. "While 45 per cent of homes for sale
are priced at below $500,000, there are also a significant
number - 37 per cent - listed in the $500,000 to $1-million
range. Of the active listing inventory of more than 11,000
residential properties, approximately18 per cent are priced
above $1-million."
According to
Multiple Listings Service® (MLS®) data, sales of apartment
properties increased by 7.7 per cent to 1,177 sales in September
2007 compared to 1,093 sales in September 2006. The benchmark
price of an apartment property in Greater Vancouver, calculated
by the MLSLink® Housing Price Index, is $371,718 up 11.1 per
cent from one year ago.
Sales of
attached properties increased by 27.6 per cent in September 2007
to 500 sales, compared to 392 sales in September 2006. The
benchmark price of an attached unit is $452,944, up 10 per cent
from a year ago.
Sales of
detached properties increased by 6.3 per cent in September 2007
to 1,099 sales, compared to 1,034 sales in September 2006. The
benchmark price of a detached unit is $737,927 up 11.9 per cent
from last year.
For more
information on the current real estate market, we encourage
consumers to talk with a local REALTOR®.
Bright spots
in Greater Vancouver in September 2007 compared to September
2006:
|
Detached: |
| Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows
|
up 11.8% (133 units sold,
up from 119) |
| Richmond |
up 29% (147 units sold,
up from 114) |
| Vancouver East
|
up 22.9% (172 units sold,
up from 140) |
| New Westminster
|
up 38.1% (29 units sold,
up from 21) |
|
Attached: |
| Burnaby |
up 38% (69 units sold, up
from 50) |
| Port Moody/Belcarra
|
up 142.9% (34 units sold,
up from 14) |
| Richmond |
up 38.6% (115 units sold,
up from 83) |
| Vancouver West
|
up 70.7% (70 units sold,
up from 41) |
|
Apartments: |
| New Westminster
|
up 17.4% (81 units sold,
up from 69) |
| Port Moody/Belcarra
|
up 39.1%. (32 units sold,
up from 23) |
| Whistler/Pemberton
|
up 188.9% (26 units sold,
up from 9) |
The Real Estate industry is a key economic driver in British
Columbia. In 2006, dollar volume sales of homes in Greater
Vancouver set a new record at more than $18.2 billion. Based on
this figure, Greater Vancouver home sales in 2006 generated over
$922 million in spin-offs. The Real Estate Board of Greater
Vancouver is an association representing more than 8,900
REALTORS® The Real Estate Board provides a variety of membership
services, including the Multiple Listing Service®. For more
information on real estate, statistics, and buying or selling a
home, contact a local REALTOR® or visit
www.realtylink.org.
*In August
2004, the Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley boards upgraded
our existing MLS systems to a common system called MLSLink.
MLSLink® HPI is the latest version of the Board’s Housing Price
Index (HPI) and is designed to accommodate the MLS upgrade and
improve the legacy HPI product. For more information on real
estate, statistics, and buying or selling a home, visit
www.realtylink.org.
For more information please contact:
Eileen Day, Manager of Communications
Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver
Phone: (604) 730-3028 Fax: (604) 730-3102
E-mail:
eday@rebgv.org
|
