VANCOUVER, B.C. – March
02, 2010 – The Greater Vancouver housing market continued
to experience strong demand from homebuyers and an increase
in total property listings in a month where the eyes of
the world were focused on the region.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver
(REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater
Vancouver totalled 2,473 in February 2010, an increase of
67.1 per cent compared to February 2009 when 1,480 sales
were recorded and a 28.6 per cent increase compared to the
1,923 sales recorded in January 2010.
More broadly, last month’s sales
totals marked a 7.6 per cent decline compared to the 2,676
sales recorded in February 2008 and were 13.5 per cent behind
February 2007 when 2,859 residential sales were recorded
on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) in Greater Vancouver.
Over the last 12 months, the MLSLink®
Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential
properties in Greater Vancouver increased 19.7 per cent
to $581,911 from $486,054 in February 2009. This price is
2.4 per cent above the previous high point in the market
in May 2008 when the residential benchmark price sat at
$568,411.
“We don’t know at this
point what long-term impact the Olympics will have on our
housing market, but we do know that activity in our market
remained steady through all of the excitement and distraction
of the last few weeks,” Scott Russell, REBGV president
said.
“In February, for example, 110
sales were recorded on the MLS® in downtown Vancouver.
That’s higher than 2009 and slightly lower than the
mid-2000s, which is consistent with data from the overall
market. It’s too soon to say whether that’s
an Olympic effect,” Russell said.
New listings for detached, attached
and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 4,606
in February 2010. This represents a 17.6 per cent increase
compared to February 2009 when 3,916 new units were listed,
and a 10.5 per cent decrease compared to January 2010 when
5,147 properties were listed on the MLS® in Greater
Vancouver.
At 11,346, the total number of property
listings on the MLS® increased 11 per cent in February
compared to last month and declined 21 per cent from this
time last year.
“Two months into 2010, we see
the total number of homes listed for sale on the rise and
demand in the market strong, but less frenzied than we saw
in the latter part of 2009,” Russell said.
Sales of detached properties increased
67.5 per cent in February 2010 to 983 from the 587 detached
sales recorded during the same period in 2009. The benchmark
price, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®,
for detached properties increased 22.5 per cent from February
2009 to $800,796.
Sales of apartment properties in February
2010 increased 65.2 per cent to 1,074 compared to 650 sales
in February 2009. The benchmark price of an apartment property
increased 17.3 per cent from February 2009 to $390,899.
Attached property sales in February 2010 are up 71.2 per
cent to 416, compared with the 243 sales in February 2009.
The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 16.2 per
cent between Februarys 2009 and 2010 to $495,496.
