Housing market holds steady in June

Metro Vancouver's housing market experienced steady activity in June despite sales that were 30 per cent lower than the same time last year, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

In the Fraser Valley, activity was stronger with June sales up 23 per cent from May and just eight per cent lower than June 2009.

"This is what we'd expect for this time of year," REBGV president Jake Moldowan said in an interview. "I'd call it a stable summer market."

Moldowan said that activity in June marked a "healthy balance" between the near-record setting pace of June 2009 and the much slower sales activity in June 2008 during the recession.

According to data released Monday, residential sales in Metro Vancouver totalled 2,972 in June, a decline of 30.2 per cent compared to the 4,259 sales in June 2009, the second highest selling June on record.

Compared to June 2008, last month's sales also represented a 22.6-per-cent increase over the 2,425 sales recorded that month, but are 30 per cent less than the 4,244 sales in June 2007. June 2010 sales were also 5.8 per cent lower than May's sales totals, according to the survey.

"If you look at the last seven or eight years, the average year is 36,000 to 40,000 sales," Moldowan said. "June sales are 2,972, so we're right within that realm."

He said the number of new listings coming on the market is not as dramatic as over the last three months, "and demand remains at a healthy level for this traditionally quieter time of year."

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties totalled 5,544 in June 2010 for Metro Vancouver, a 3.2-per-cent increase compared to June 2009 when 5,372 new units were listed, and a 21-percent decline compared to May 2010 when 7,014 properties were added to the MLS.

Over the last 12 months, the overall benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver increased 11.8 per cent to $580,237 from $518,855 in June 2009, the survey said.

Moldowan said hot spots in June included Richmond and the west side of Vancouver and that the strong number of listings bodes well for buyers.

Moldowan also said some developers are starting to absorb the harmonized sales tax (HST) to entice buyers.

Tsur Somerville, director, centre for urban economics and real estate, Sauder School of Business, the University of B.C., said in an interview that the Metro Vancouver numbers show sales are significantly down from the boom years of 2003 to 2007.

"These sales look a lot like sales in 2001 and 2002 for June," he said. "They're really down from the boom years, [which were] last year and the run-up we had between 2003 and 2007."

Somerville also said that fewer listings in June reflects a change in market conditions.

Meanwhile, sales on the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board's Multiple Listing Service increased by 23 per cent in one month going from 1,477 sales in May to 1,815 in June. However, June's numbers were down eight per cent compared to the 1,982 sales during the same month last year.

Board president Deanna Horn said it's not unusual for June sales to outperform May in the Fraser Valley, but that a 23-per-cent increase in one month is significant.

She said the sharp increase could be due to three factors: mortgage rates edging down, the HST coming into effect July 1, and a large inventory of homes for buyers to select from.

"Although we're seeing a decrease in the number of new properties coming on stream, June buyers have only had this volume of homes to choose from two other times in our history, in 1995 and 2008."

The total active inventory in the Fraser Valley at month's end was 11,110 -- 19 per cent more than June 2009. The board also received nine per cent fewer new listings in June compared to May, which Horn said will help stabilize the market.

In June, the benchmark price for Fraser Valley detached homes was $518,355, a 9.9-percent increase compared to $471,788 in June 2009, the survey said.

For townhouses, the price increased nine per cent over the same period to $328,080 and 6.6 per cent to $246,351 for apartments.

("Metro housing market holds steady in June, survey reports" prepared by Brian Morton/Vancouver Sun)