BC

Here’s some good news from the British Columbia Real Estate Association:

August Home Sales Continue at Brisk Pace

Vancouver, BC – September 11, 2009. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) residential sales in the province climbed 66 per cent to 8,565 units in August compared to the same month last year. The average MLS® residential sales price in the province climbed 12 per cent to $471,078 from $421,685 in August 2008.

“Homes sales continued at a rapid pace in August,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “Attractive home prices and low mortgage rates were key drivers in the market.”

The number of active residential listings declined 20 per cent over the past year, with August posting 26 per cent fewer active listings than the peak in December 2008 (seasonally adjusted). “Home prices edged higher in many markets over the summer months as declining inventories created competition among homebuyers for the best properties.”

Year-to-date, MLS® residential sales dollar volume declined 2 per cent to $25 billion over the same period last year. A total of 54,945 units were sold in the first eight months of 2009, up 1 per cent from 2008, while the average MLS® price declined 2 per cent to $454,769.

For the complete news release, including detailed statistics, follow this link: www.bcrea.bc.ca/news_room/2009-08.pdf.

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The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver has just released the August stats:

Market momentum carries into August

The number of home sales in Greater Vancouver increased significantly last month compared to August 2008 and moved closer in line with the active summer months experienced between 2003 and 2007.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver increased 119.5 per cent in August 2009 to 3,441 from the 1,568 sales recorded in August 2008 and increased 1.7 per cent compared to August 2007.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties increased 4.9 per cent to 4,544 in August 2009 compared to August 2008 when 4,331 new units were listed. Total active listings in Greater Vancouver currently sit at 11,937, down 33 per cent from August 2008.

“The return of confidence to our market has brought a high volume of home sales over the last few months and has also made determining home prices a little more challenging,” said Scott Russell, REBGV president. “The number of residential home sales this summer has been comparable to activity seen in the five years preceding 2008. While that’s great news, from the variations in activity we’re seeing across areas I’d say the market is still trying to find its own balance.”

Since the beginning of the year, the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver has increased 11.4 per cent to $539,600 from $484,211. However, home prices compared to August 2008 levels are down 1.1 per cent.

Sales of detached properties in August 2009 increased 155.5 per cent to 1,367 from the 535 units sold during the same period in 2008. The benchmark price, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, for detached properties declined 0.7 per cent from August 2008 to $732,656.

Sales of apartment properties increased 97.8 per cent last month to 1,464, compared to the 740 sales in August 2008. The benchmark price of an apartment property declined 1.4 per cent from August 2008 to $369,263.

Attached property sales in August 2009 increased 108.2 per cent to 610, compared with the 293 sales during the same month in 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit declined 0.9 per cent between August 2008 and 2009 to $459,159.

For more info on these and other statistics, visit www.rebgv.org.

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Nicholas Meyer recorded two recent videos outlining the current state of the Vancouver Rental Market at the end of August 09.

You can view the second video, End of August Update, in the sidebar to the right, or link to it here.

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Do you need a fair and experienced property valuation? Don’t rely only on the reports that are sent out by organizations specializing in general value profiles. If I were a consumer, I would prefer to have a personalized evaluation by one of the Downtown Suites sales team. I am a graduate in Appraisal from the UBC Urban Land Economics program and I also apply my years of experience in the Vancouver environment. I mentor the Downtown Suites team in this area and oversee any evaluations that we do for our clients. At Downtown Suites, we offer a complimentary evaluation service to all our clients and people who request it.

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Key Economists are saying the R word, according to yesterday’s Globe and Mail article. “BC In Recession Key Economists Say.”

I believe that markets are cyclical…what goes up must come at least part way down!

We have been having booms and busts since the beginning of time…nothing new.
What we have to do is keep positive and realize that this is a time to look for opportunities as the market will rebound and maybe sooner than anyone predicts!

Don’t run scared of the real estate market, we’re not. With over 30 years experience we’ve seen it all before! Call or email your local success story: www.downtownsuites.com.

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Nicholas Meyer discusses the current status of the real estate rental market in Vancouver BC.

Please contact us at Downtown Suites for more information, and if you have any comments, please add them below.

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