Vancouver Houses by Lance McCord

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) announced that sales of detached, attached, and apartment properties amounted to 1,649 in August. This number represents a 30.7 per cent fall in comparison to the 2,378 sales of August 2011 and a 21.4 per cent decline from the 2,098 sales of July 2012.

August sales in the region ranked the second lowest total for the month since 1998 and stayed 39.2 per cent below the ten-year August sales average of 2,711.

Eugen Klein, REBGV president, optimistically comments on the situation: “Home sales this summer have been lower than we’ve seen for most of the past ten years, yet we continue to see relative stability when it comes to prices.”

New listings for detached, attached, and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver reached 4,044 in August, which is a 13.7 per cent decline in comparison with the 4,685 properties listed in August 2011 and a 15.8 per cent decline compared to the 4,802 listings of July 2012.

Klein remains optimistic: “For sellers it’s critical to work with your REALTOR® to understand today’s market and to develop the best strategy for selling your home. On average it’s taking about two months for a home to sell on the MLS® in Greater Vancouver today.”

Remaining at 17,567, the total number of residential property listings on the MLS® increased 13.8 per cent from August 2011 and fel; 2.8 per cent from July 2012.

“Today, our sales-to-active-listings ratio sits at 9 per cent, which puts us in a buyer’s market. This ratio has been declining in our market since March when it was 19 per cent,” Klein said.

The MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver is $609,500. This means a fall of 0.5 per cent from August 2011 and a decline of 1.1 per cent from July 2012.

Detached properties sales in August 2012 reached 624, representing a decrease of 38.8 per cent from the 1,020 detached sales recorded in August 2011 and 30.1 per cent decrease from the 893 detached properties sold in August 2010. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 0.2 per cent from August 2011 to $942,100.

Apartment sales reached 725 in August 2012, a 24.1 per cent fall compared to the 955 sales of the same month last year and a fall of 22.5 per cent compared to the 935 sales of August 2010. The benchmark price of an apartment property decreased 0.9 per cent from August 2011 to $370,100.

Attached properties reached 300 sales this August, which was a 25.6 decrease compared to the 403 sales of August 2011 and a 19.8 per cent decrease from the 374 attached houses sold in August 2010. The benchmark price of an attached unit decreased 1.9 per cent between August 2011 and 2012 to $462,300.