Real estate prices

Vancouver house prices have hit bottom and should eke out a tiny increase by the end of the year, Royal LePage Real Estate Services says.

Vancouver area house prices, which have averaged $558,893 for the year so far, should crawl ahead to $560,000 by year's end, Royal LePage said yesterday.

That would leave the end-of-the-year price 5.7 per cent below last year's average price of $593,767.

Royal LePage Westside president Chris Simmons said houses generally sold below their owners' asking price during the second quarter. But the inventory of unsold homes in the region was down about 25 per cent in the second quarter from a year earlier, Simmons said.

Regional prices have finished their correction as they head towards a supply-demand balance, he said.

"House prices have bottomed out," Simmons said. "Prices may creep up in Metro Vancouver but increases will likely be in the low single digits."

Sales in the region so far this year have reached 11,146 and are expected to hit 27,000 by the end of the year, Royal LePage said.

In the second quarter, average year-over-year prices for standard two-storey detached homes, standard condos and detached bungalows fell nine per cent to $677,000.

"Homes priced at, or below, market value are generating multiple offers from buyers," Royal LePage said.

North Vancouver prices were "relatively steady" between the first and second quarters but have posted the region's largest year-over-year drop, Royal LePage said.

Average prices in North Vancouver have fallen 14.3 per cent to $522,000 from last year.

Nationally, Royal LePage said it expects the average price for home sales to be $297,000 by year's end, a two-per-cent drop from last year. It forecasts unit sales of 430,000, down one per cent from 2008.

("House prices forecast to creep up in '09" The Province; with files from Canwest News Service)