Mid-year overview shows a steady residential Market in Vancouver

 

Here's a closer look at our  residential market to date.

Since January, the residential housing market within the Board area has enjoyed broad stability. Home sale and listing activity have maintained a steady pace, aligning closely with typical activity from a historical perspective.

Within this period of overall stability, regional ‘hot spots’ have emerged in areas like Richmond, Vancouver Westside and West Vancouver. These areas have garnered significant local, national and international attention.

In the last few months, Board President Rosario Setticasi has conducted interviews with the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, MacLean’s Magazine and several news outlets from China and other parts of Asia.

“Our stats tell us that there’s been more activity at the high end of our market this year than we saw one year ago. This is causing today’s average prices in the region to be less reflective of the total activity occurring in the marketplace,” Setticasi said.

“Fortunately, our Board has the MLS®Link Housing Price Index and communicates benchmark prices, which are much more accurate than averages that can fluctuate depending on the impact of higher or lower end properties.”

Demand in the detached home market has increased compared to 2010. Between January and May of this year, 44 per cent of all residential sales were of detached homes. This is up 4 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Of all residential properties sold on the MLS® in Greater Vancouver in 2011 to date, 21 per cent sold for $1-million or higher. The number of $1 million property sales has increased 8 per cent as a proportion of total sales compared to this time last year.

A closer look at this year’s $1 million sales to date shows that 77 per cent of these homes were located in West Vancouver, the Westside of Vancouver or Richmond.

Board-wide, conditions continue to favour sellers. Today’s sales to active listings ratio of 23 per cent indicates seller’s market conditions, although activity has eased away from the near record-setting pace experienced in March.

“When you review Board-wide stats, it’s important to note that there’s considerable variation in activity across the region. This causes home sale and price trends to differ depending on the area,” Setticasi said.

 

Source: Real Estate Board

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