VANCOUVER, B.C. – May 2, 2008 – An influx of new listings entered the Greater Vancouver housing market in April 2008, while residential sales reduced slightly compared to the same period a year ago.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 3,218 in April 2008, a decline of five per cent from the 3,387 sales recorded in April 2007, and a 3.8 per cent drop from the 3,345 sales in April 2006.
New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties increased 25.6 per cent to 7,010 in April 2008 compared to April 2007, when 5,580 new units were listed.
“Residential sales continue to be strong, but there is a lot more choice on the market today. This is good news for a market that has been defined by record-breaking activity for most of this decade,” said REBGV president, Dave Watt.
“Despite this seeming re-balance between sales and listings, it took, on average, six fewer days to sell a home in Greater Vancouver compared to the previous year, with a days on market average of 33 in April this year,” said Watt.
Sales of detached properties declined 7.8 per cent to 1,293 from the 1,403 detached sales recorded during the same period in 2007. The benchmark price, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, for detached properties rose 11 per cent from April 2007 to $771,321.
Sales of apartment properties in April 2008 declined 2.4 per cent to 1,317, compared to 1,350 sales in April 2007. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 9.6 per cent from April 2007 to $389,070.
Attached property sales in April 2008 are down 4.1 per cent to 608, compared with the 634 sales in April 2007. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 10.5 per cent between April 2007 and 2008 to $477,900.
The Real Estate industry is a key economic driver in British Columbia. In 2007, 38,050 homes changed hands in the Board's area generating $1.065 billion in spin-offs. Total dollar volume of residential sales set a new record at $22.25 billion and total dollar volume of all sales set a record at $22.77 billion. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver is an association representing more than 9,500 REALTORS®. The Real Estate Board provides a variety of membership services, including the Multiple Listing Service®. For more information on real estate, statistics, and buying or selling a home, contact a local REALTOR® or visit www.realtylink.org.
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From Blair:
Statistics are useful, don't get me wrong. However, averages often miss the details or interpretation of the situation. There are micro-markets pertaining to specific neighborhoods, buildings, and sub-categories such as investment properties or luxury residences to name just 2.
I specialize in the downtown Vancouver market, predominantly condos. There are trends that are evident to me that are missed in mass statistics and media reports. These I share with my clients.
The recent increase in condo listings for example. There are 2 observations I would like to share with respect to April's statistics:
1) I see an large increase in tenanted properties being offered for sale. There are many reasons we could discuss as to why this is happening now. The result is that properties tied up with leases that come due in October, December or even 2009 are difficult to sell. Most buyers requiring a home, or pied-a-terre for their personal use will not consider these.
2) I see a sizable increase in Pre-sales and Assignments being listed on MLS(r). Partially due to the more balanced market, developers who would traditionally market through their own sales centres are turning to MLS(r) for increased exposure to Realtors(r)and their clients through the internet. This increase in listing statistics does not reflect the fact that there always was this supply avaiable, it just was not being counted in this manner.
Ultimately,people will use statistics to support their point of view. However, this latest release of information negates the thought that "the sky is falling" or that the "bubble is about to burst".
While real estate has proven overall to be a good investment over time, it is important to be aware. My clients deserve the very best advice possible to determine their decisions. Statistics are only a portion of that.
Don't wait for next months stats, call me anytime to discuss your downtown Vancouver real estate goals and concerns.
Best Regards,
Blair
604-313-8732
homes@blairsmith.ca