Price reductions and low interest rates have created an improvement in affordability

The combination of low interest rates and more affordable pricing helped
propel Greater Vancouver home sale numbers to the second all-time highest total for the month of June. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that sales of detached, attached and apartment properties increased 75.6 per cent in June 2009 to 4,259, from the 2,425 sales recorded in June 2008. The figure is just short of the record-breaking 4,333 sales which occurred in June 2005.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties declined 17.9 per cent to 5,372 in June 2009 compared to June 2008, when 6,546 new units were listed. However, new listings increased 13.5 per cent from May to June of this year. Total active listings in Greater Vancouver currently sit at 13,252, down 27
per cent from June 2008 and 2.9 per cent below the active listings count at the end of May 2009.

“Price reductions and low interest rates have created an improvement in affordability, which is causing the number of sales to rise to levels comparable to 2003 to 2007,” Scott Russell, REBGV president said.

“Many people who were reluctant to purchase a home last fall and earlier this year are returning to the market because they see conditions that appeal to their personal and financial needs,” Russell said. “However, the current
marketplace is such that buyers are more inclined to walk if they don’t like the terms of an offer.”

Residential benchmark prices, as calculated by the MLSLink® Housing Price Index, declined 8.2 percent to $518,855 in June 2009 compared to June 2008.

The number of sales of detached properties increased 81.6 per cent to 1,667 from the 918 detached sales recorded during the same period in 2008. The benchmark price for detached properties declined 8.4 per cent to $701,384 in June 2009 compared to June 2008.

The number of sales of apartment properties in June 2009 increased 69.3 per cent to 1,790, compared to 1,057 sales in June 2008. The benchmark price of an apartment property declined 8.2 per cent from June 2008 to $356,880.

The number of attached property sales in June 2009 increased 78.2 per cent to 802, compared with the 450 sales in June 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit declined 7.3 per cent between June 2009 and 2008 to $441,620.


Bright spots in Greater Vancouver in June 2009 compared to June 2008:

DETACHED:
Burnaby...........................................................up 109.7 per cent (151 units sold from 72)
Coquitlam........................................................up 122.2 per cent (160 units sold from 72)
Delta - South...................................................up 107.4 per cent (56 units sold from 27)
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows.............................up 54.3 per cent (162 units sold from 105)
New Westminster............................................up 104.8 per cent (43 units sold from 21)
North Vancouver.............................................up 96.2 per cent (153 units sold from 78)
Port Moody/ Belcarra......................................up 120 per cent (33 units sold from 15)
Richmond........................................................up 77.4 per cent (204 units sold from 115)
Squamish.........................................................up 107.7 per cent (27 units sold from 13)
Sunshine Coast................................................up 33.9 per cent (75 units sold from 56)
Vancouver East................................................up 71.2 per cent (238 units sold from 139)
Vancouver West...............................................up 85.2 per cent (200 units sold from 108)
West Vancouver/Howe Sound.........................up 117.8 per cent (98 units sold from 45)

ATTACHED:
Burnaby...........................................................up 81.8 per cent (140 units sold from 77)
Coquitlam........................................................up 80 per cent (54 units sold from 30)
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows.............................up 48.6 per cent (55 units sold from 37)
North Vancouver.............................................up 121.2 per cent (73 units sold from 33)
Port Coquitlam................................................up 82.6 per cent (42 units sold from 23)
Port Moody/ Belcarra......................................up 77.3 per cent (39 units sold from 22)
Richmond........................................................up 84.5 per cent (155 units sold from 84)
Vancouver East................................................up 118.5 per cent (59 units sold from 27)
Vancouver West...............................................up 121.8 per cent (122 units sold from 55)

APARTMENTS:
Burnaby...........................................................up 60.4 per cent (239 units sold from 149)
Coquitlam........................................................up 93.9 per cent (95 units sold from 49)
New Westminster............................................up 57.1 per cent (121 units sold from 77)
North Vancouver.............................................up 71.4 per cent (120 units sold from 70)
Port Coquitlam................................................up 58.1 per cent (49 units sold from 31)
Port Moody/Belcarra.......................................up 128.6 per cent (48 units sold from 21)
Richmond........................................................up 54.1 per cent (225 units sold from 146)
Vancouver East................................................up 58.7 per cent (165 units sold from 104)
Vancouver West...............................................up 87.2 per cent (627 units sold from 335)
West Vancouver/Howe Sound.........................up 155.6 per cent (23 units sold from 9)

Note: The MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI), established in 1995, is modeled on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures the rate of price change for a basket of goods and services including food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. Instead of measuring goods and services, the HPI measures
the change in the price of housing features. Thus, the HPI measures typical, pure price change (inflationor deflation).

The HPI benchmarks represent the price of a typical property within each market. The HPI takes into consideration what averages and medians do not – items such as lot size, age, number of rooms, etc. These features become the composite of the ‘typical house’ in a given area. Each month’s sales determine
the current prices paid for bedrooms, bathrooms, fireplaces, etc. and apply those new values to the ‘typical’ house model.

(SOURCE: Real Estate of Greater Vancouver)