Greater Vancouver home sales trend toward buyers’ market over summer

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Bob Sethi (RE/MAX Westcoast)

Posted in , BC, BC Real Estate, benchmark price, Bridgeport RI, Brighouse, Burnaby East Real Estate, buyers, buying selling investing mortgage home equity loan loan to value ratio, Greater Vancouver, Greater Vancover, Richmond Real Estate

September 2, 2011

Greater Vancouver home sales trend toward buyers’ market over summer

August marked the third consecutive month that home sale activity in Greater Vancouver was below the 10-year average for the month. In contrast, home listing activity in the region has exceeded the 10-year norm every month since the beginning of the year.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales of detached, attached and apartment properties on the region’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) reached 2,378 in August. This total represents an eight per cent increase compared to the 2,202 sales in August 2010, but also ranks as the third lowest total for August in the last 10 years.

“MLS® statistics continue to indicate that we’re in a balanced market,” Rosario Setticasi, REBGV president said. “However, with a sales-to-actives listings ratio of 15 per cent, Greater Vancouver is in the lower end of a balanced market and has been trending toward a buyers’ market over the past three months.”

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 4,685 in August. This represents a 24.9 per cent increase compared to August 2010 when 3,750 properties were listed for sale on the MLS® and an eight per cent decline compared to the 5,097 new listings reported in July 2011. Last month’s new listing total was the highest volume recorded for August in 16 years.

At 15,437, the total number of residential property listings on the MLS® increased 1.4 per cent in August compared to July 2011 and rose 0.1 per cent compared to this time last year.

The MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver over the last 12 months has increased 8.5 per cent to $625,578 in August 2011 from $576,597 in August 2010.

“Year over year, prices are up. However, in the detached home category, benchmark prices have come down slightly in each of the past two months,” Setticasi said. “It’s important for people entering the market to understand that activity can differ significantly depending on the area and property type.”

Sales of detached properties on the MLS® in August 2011 reached 1,020, an increase of 14.2 per cent from the 893 detached sales recorded in August 2010, and a 25.4 per cent decrease from the 1,367 units sold in August 2009. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 11.7 per cent from August 2010 to $888,243.

Sales of apartment properties reached 955 in August 2011, a 2.1 per cent increase compared to the 935 sales in August 2010, and a decrease of 34.8 per cent compared to the 1,464 sales in August 2009. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 5.6 per cent from August 2010 to $407,457.

Attached property sales in August 2011 totalled 403, a 7.8 per cent increase compared to the 374 sales in August 2010, and a 33.9 per cent decrease from the 610 attached properties sold in August 2009. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 4.5 per cent between August 2010 and 2011 to $511,433.

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Richmond stats - January 1st to June 30th, 2011 (Cumulative)

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Bob Sethi (RE/MAX Westcoast)

Posted in 2011, agricultural land reserve, ALR, apartments, April, attached, BC, bc hydro, BC Real Estate, benchmark price, Bridgeport RI, Brighouse, Brighouse South, Broadmoor, Burnaby East Real Estate, buyers, buying selling investing mortgage home equity loan loan to value ratio, change, cmhc, CMHC Goverment of Canada Line of Credit mortgage insurance amortization loan, detached, Downtown VW, East Burnaby, East Cambie, East Vancouver Burnaby, energy, families, first time homebuyer, fortis bc, Garden City, grants, Greater Vancouver, Greater Vancover, gst, gvhba vancouver real estate peter simpson cmhc bob rennie bob ransford u.s. mainland china tsawwassen nimby banana nope delta lo, Hamilton RI, harmonized tax, high density housing, home owner grant, house prices, Housing Price Index, HPI, hst, Immigration, investment, Ironwood, Kevin Falcon, Mainland China, McLennan, McLennan North, McNair, Metro Vancouver, Minister, MLS, mortgage rules 2011 cmhc goverment of canada mortgage insurance housing market bank of canada income borrowing, MV RGS, N. Delta Real Estate, New Westminster, New Westminster Real Estate, North Shore, North Surrey, North Surrey Real Estate, owners, problem solvers, property, Province, Provincial Government, PST, PTT, Queen Mary Park Surrey, Queensborough, RE/MAX, RE/MAX Housing Barometer Report 2010, Real Estate, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, Realtors, rebates, REBGV, reduce, Regional Growth Strategy, rental, Richmond, Richmond condo strata development project six storey wood frame, Richmond Real Estate, Riverdale RI, Saunders, Schools, solar, South Arm, Steveston North, Steveston South, Sunshine Hills Woods, Surrey, Surrey City Centre, Surrey Real Estate, tax deferment, taxes, terasen, towhomes, vancouver, vancouver real estate rebgv statistics buying selling average prices market conditions, Vancouver West, water meter, West Cambie, West Newton, Whalley, WHL hockey RE/MAX

Richmond

January 1st to June 30th, 2011 (Cumulative)

Company	No. of Sales	Volume per Associate	Sales per Associate	No. of Associates
RE/MAX - Westcoast Realty	1022	$3,264,688	8.9	115
MacDONALD REALTORS - Westmar & Willie S. Chan	1151	$2,005,084	4.8	242
SUTTON GROUP - Seafair -on Blundell	801	$1,791,398	4.3	186
ROYAL PACIFIC REALTY - Riverside Realty	390	$1,668,940	3.6	109
AMEX - Sunrich Realty	325	$1,513,444	3.2	101
MULTIPLE GROUP - 3 Richmond Offices	276	$1,191,818	2.5	110
REGENT PARK REALTY - Fairchild - on #3 Rd	252	$1,044,106	2.4	107
TEAM REALTY - TEAM Realty Ltd.	63	$720,408	2.2	29
MAGSEN - Magsen Realty Inc	121	$636,239	1.6	77
All Others ( 13 Offices )	227	$406,837	1.5	150
INTERLINK REALTY - Interlink Realty	49	$480,764	1.0	47
Total	4,614			1,244

NOTE: This representation is based in whole or in part on data generated by the Real Estate Boards of Greater Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Victoria and Vancouver Island, Okanagan Mainline, South Okanagan, and BC Northern, which assume no responsibility for its accuracy.

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Changes to Canadian Immigration Rules

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Bob Sethi (RE/MAX Westcoast)

Changes to Canadian Immigration Rules

On June 24, the federal government instituted rule changes related to new applications under the Federal Immigrant Investor Program (IIP), the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSW) and the Federal Entrepreneur Program. The changes are as follows:

Federal Entrepreneur Program: A temporary moratorium on new applications.
Federal Immigrant Investor Program (IIP): A cap of 700 new IIP applications will be considered for processing each year.
Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSW): A cap of 10,000 new FSW applications, without an offer of arranged employment, will be considered for processing each year. Within the 10,000 cap, a maximum of 500 new applications per occupation will be considered each year.

BC, and Vancouver in particular, has been one of the primary recipients of immigrants under the IIP, accounting for half of total Canadian investor class immigration. From 2005 to 2010, over 30,000 investor class immigrants have located in BC, an average of about 5,000 per year. This number relates to roughly 2,000 households per year.

Implications

The Government's stated reason for instituting the application cap is to reduce a backlog in applications and to shorten wait times. In 2010 there were 3,223 applications approved under the IIP and the government has indicated that it has received applications well in excess of that number in recent years, creating a large backlog of applications. It has not indicated that it wishes to lower the number of immigrants processed under the IIP, but simply to reduce the current backlog.

Therefore, as old applications are still being processed, the implementation of the new rules may not have an impact on the number of immigrants entering under the IIP and therefore may not have a material impact on BC housing markets.

To view Citizenship and Immigration Canada's (CIC) press release, visit:
www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/releases/2011/2011-06-24a.asp.

For more information about the Federal Immigrant Investor Program, visit:
www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/business/investors/index.asp.

For more information about the Federal Entrepreneur Program, visit:
www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/business/entrepreneurs/index.asp.

For more information about the Skilled Worker Program, visit:
www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/index.asp.

To view CIC's Frequently Asked Questions, visit:
www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/faq/immigrate/business/index.asp.

All information subject to verification by independent legal advice.

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July 2011 Stats

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Bob Sethi (RE/MAX Westcoast)

Active home sellers bring greater selection to the Greater Vancouver housing market

While the balance between home buyer and seller activity remains in an equilibrium range in the Greater Vancouver housing market, last month’s home sale total was below the 10-year average for July.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales of detached, attached and apartment properties on the region’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) reached 2,571 in July, a 14 per cent increase compared to the 2,255 sales in July 2010 and a 21.2 per cent decline compared to the 3,262 sales in June 2011.

“We’re seeing less multiple offer situations in the market today compared to the last few months, but our members tell us that homes priced competitively continue to sell at a relatively swift pace,” Rosario Setticasi, REBGV president said. “It’s taking, on average, 41 days to sell a property in the region, which is unchanged from June of this year.”

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 5,097 in July. This represents a 23.2 per cent increase compared to July 2010 when 4,138 properties were listed for sale on the MLS® and a 12 per cent decline compared to the 5,793 new listings reported in June 2011.

Last month’s new listing total was 8.6 per cent higher than the 10-year average for July, while residential sales were 17.3 per cent below the ten-year average for sales in July.

At 15,226, the total number of residential property listings on the MLS® increased 0.8 per cent in July compared to last month and declined 7.3 per cent from this time last year.

“The number of homes listed for sale in the region has increased each month since the start of the year, which is giving buyers more selection to choose from and more time to make decisions,” Rosario Setticasi, REBGV president said.

The MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver over the last 12 months has increased 9.2 per cent to $630,251 in July 2011 from $577,074 in July 2010.

Sales of detached properties on the MLS® in July 2011 reached 1,099, an increase of 21 per cent from the 908 detached sales recorded in July 2010, and an 31.9 per cent decrease from the 1,614 units sold in July 2009. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 13.3 per cent from July 2010 to $898,886.

Sales of apartment properties reached 1,040 in July 2011, a 6.2 per cent increase compared to the 979 sales in July 2010, and a decrease of 39.1 per cent compared to the 1,708 sales in July 2009. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 4.5 per cent from July 2010 to $405,306.

Attached property sales in July 2011 totalled 432, a 17.4 per cent increase compared to the 368 sales in July 2010, and a 45.5 per cent decrease from the 792 attached properties sold in July 2009. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 6.9 per cent between July 2010 and 2011 to $524,909.

Courtesy Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

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May 2011 Stats

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Bob Sethi (RE/MAX Westcoast)

May 2011 Stats

Greater Vancouver housing market holds steady and favours sellers in May

Home sales remained at typical springtime levels on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Greater Vancouver in May.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales of detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver reached 3,377 in May 2011, a 7 per cent increase compared to the 3,156 sales in May 2010 and a 4.7 per cent increase compared to the 3,225 sales in April 2011.

Looking back further, last month’s residential sales are 8.1 per cent below the ten-year average for sales in May. The three highest selling Mays ever recorded occurred in 2005, 2006 and 2007 when sales exceeded the 4,000 mark each year.

“With a sales to active listings ratio of 23 per cent, conditions continue to favour sellers in the Greater Vancouver housing market, but activity has eased away from the near record-setting pace we saw in March,” Rosario Setticasi, REBGV president said.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 5,931 in May 2011. This represents a 15.4 per cent decrease compared to May 2010 when 7,014 properties were listed for sale on the MLS®, which was the second highest total for May on record. Last month’s new listings increased 1.4 per cent compared to April 2011.

At 14,656, the total number of residential property listings on the MLS® increased 2 per cent in May compared to last month and declined 16 per cent from this time last year.

The MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver over the last 12 months increased 6.2 per cent to $627,568 in May 2011 from $590,662 in May 2010.

“We’re seeing more activity at the high end of our market this year than we did one year ago. This is causing today’s average prices in the region to be less reflective of the total activity occurring in the marketplace,” Setticasi said. “The Housing Price Index benchmark prices are more accurate, reliable indicators of housing prices compared to averages.”

Of all residential properties sold on the MLS® in Greater Vancouver in 2011 to date 21 per cent sold for $1-million or higher and 20 per cent sold for $350,000 or lower. While 77 per cent of the properties that sold for over $1-million were located in West Vancouver, the Westside of Vancouver or Richmond, the properties that sold for $350,000 or lower were located throughout the entire Board area.

Sales of detached properties on the MLS® in May 2011 reached 1,570, an increase of 25 per cent from the 1,256 detached sales recorded in May 2010, and a 12 per cent increase from the 1,402 units sold in May 2009. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 10 per cent from May 2010 to $890,833.

Sales of apartment properties reached 1,228 in May 2011, a 9.3 per cent decrease compared to the 1,354 sales in May 2010, and a decrease of 15.8 per cent compared to the 1,458 sales in May 2009. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 2.2 per cent from May 2010 to $407,419.

Attached property sales in May 2011 totalled 579, a 6 per cent increase compared to the 546 sales in May 2010, and a 12.8 per cent decrease from the 664 attached properties sold in May 2009. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 3.5 per cent between May 2010 and 2011 to $517,787.

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June 2011 Stats

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Bob Sethi (RE/MAX Westcoast)

Summer housing market trends toward balance after an active spring season

Home sellers outpaced buyers on Greater Vancouver’s Multiple Listings Service® (MLS®) in June, drawing the market back toward balance this summer.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales of detached, attached and apartment properties reached 3,262 in June, a 9.8 per cent increase compared to the 2,972 sales in June 2010 and a 3.4 per cent decline compared to the 3,377 sales in May 2011.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 5,793 in June. This represents a 4.5 per cent increase compared to June 2010 when 5,544 properties were listed for sale on the MLS® and a 2.3 per cent decline compared to the 5,931 new listings reported in May 2011.

Last month’s new listing total was 9.8 per cent higher than the 10-year average for June, while residential sales were 7.3 per cent below the ten-year average for sales in June.

“With sales below the 10-year average and home listings above what’s typical for the month, activity in June brought closer alignment between supply and demand in our marketplace,” Rosario Setticasi, REBGV president said. “With a sales-to-active-listings ratio of nearly 22 per cent, it looks like we’re in the upper end of a balanced market.”

At 15,106, the total number of residential property listings on the MLS® increased 3.1 per cent in June compared to last month and declined 14 per cent from this time last year.

The MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver over the last 12 months has increased 8.7 per cent to $630,921 in June 2011 from $580,237 in June 2010.

“The largest price increases continue to be in the detached home market on the westside of Vancouver and in West Vancouver,” Setticasi said. “Since the end of May, the benchmark price of a detached home rose more than $147,000 on the westside of Vancouver and over $80,000 in West Vancouver. Detached home prices in Richmond, however, levelled off slightly, declining $25,000 in June.”

Sales of detached properties on the MLS® in June 2011 reached 1,471, an increase of 29.1 per cent from the 1,139 detached sales recorded in June 2010, and an 11.8 per cent decrease from the 1,667 units sold in June 2009. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 13.4 per cent from June 2010 to $901,680.

Sales of apartment properties reached 1,266 in June 2011, a 0.6 per cent increase compared to the 1,258 sales in June 2010, and a decrease of 29.3 per cent compared to the 1,790 sales in June 2009. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 3.5 per cent from June 2010 to $405,200.

Attached property sales in June 2011 totalled 525, an 8.7 per cent decrease compared to the 575 sales in June 2010, and a 34.5 per cent decrease from the 802 attached properties sold in June 2009. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 6 per cent between June 2010 and 2011 to $522,424.

Courtesy of Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

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Bob Sethi, B.Comm | 604.273.2828