Signs pointing towards busy spring housing market

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that total residential sales for detached, attached and apartment properties reached 2,859 units in February 2007, a decrease of 2.8 per cent when compared to the 2,941 units sold in February 2006 and a decrease of 6.8 per cent when compared to the 3,068 sales in February 2005.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties decreased by 4.0 per cent to 4,167 units compared to the 4,340 units listed in February 2006. The total number of active listings increased by 24 per cent to 9,670 units when compared to February 2006's 7,766 units.

"Despite an increase in active listings, we didn't see a corresponding surge in new listings last month," says REBGV president Rick Valouche. "Many agents are reporting multiple-offer situations, though not at the same fast pace as we experienced in 2005. Unsurprisingly, the average days a property spent on market jumped to 49 days in February 2007 versus 58 days in January 2007. All signs are pointing towards a busy spring housing market.

"We also saw a lot of activity in the condo market, particularly in Squamish, North Vancouver, South Delta and Vancouver West. This was due in part to resales from completed developments, but also due to more and more consumers realizing that apartment properties are great lifestyle alternatives to detached homes and also great real estate investments," says Valouche. "Your REALTOR® is highly trained and will provide you with information about the type of property choices available to you throughout Greater Vancouver."

According to Multiple Listings Service® (MLS®) data, sales of apartment properties increased by 4.7 per cent to 1,269 sales in February 2007 compared to 1,212 sales in February 2006. The benchmark price of an apartment property in Greater Vancouver, calculated by the MLSLink® Housing Price Index, is $342,705, up 15.3 per cent from one year ago.

Sales of attached properties decreased by 15.0 per cent in February 2007 to 469 sales, compared to 552 sales in February 2006. The benchmark price of an attached unit is $419,061, up 15.1 per cent from a year ago.

Sales of detached properties decreased by 4.8 per cent in February 2007 to 1,121 sales, compared to 1,177 sales in February 2006. The benchmark price of a detached unit is $666,983, up 11.4 per cent from last year.

Bright spots in Greater Vancouver in February 2007 compared to February 2006: