May 2012 Real Estate Market Update
Spring activity remains balanced in the Greater Vancouver housing market
VANCOUVER, B.C. – June 4, 2012
The number of properties listed for sale continued to increase in the
Greater Vancouver housing market in May. The number of sales decreased
year over year, but remained relatively constant compared to recent
months. Read the full 9 page stats by area package in pdf format by clicking here.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV)
reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached
2,853 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in May 2012. This
represents a 15.5 per cent decline compared to the 3,377 sales recorded
in May 2011.
May sales were the lowest total for the month in the
region since 2001 and 21.1 per cent below the 10-year May sales average
of 3,617. However, sales have been constant throughout the spring
months, with 2,874 sales in March and 2,799 sales in April.
“Home
sellers have outpaced buyers in recent months, however, there continues
to be an overall balance between supply and demand in our marketplace,”
Eugen Klein, REBGV president said.
New listings for detached,
attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 6,927 in
May 2012. This represents a 16.8 per cent increase compared to May 2011
when 5,931 homes were listed for sale and a 14.4 per cent increase
compared to April 2012 when 6,056 homes were listed for sale on the
region’s MLS®.
Last month’s new listing total was 15.3 per cent above the 10-year average for listings in Greater Vancouver for May.
At
17,835, the total number of homes listed for sale on the region’s MLS®
increased 7.9 per cent in May compared to last month and increased 21
per cent from this time last year.
“Our sales-to-active-listing
ratio sits at 16 per cent, which is indicative of balanced market
conditions,” Klein said. “As a result of this stability, home prices at
the regional level have seen little fluctuation over the last six
month.”
The MLS® HPI benchmark price* for all residential
properties in Greater Vancouver currently sits at $625,100, up 3.3 per
cent compared to May 2011 and up 2.4 per cent over the last three
months. The benchmark price for all residential properties in the Lower
Mainland** is $558,300, which is a 3 per cent increase compared to May
2011 and a 2.3 per cent increase compared to three months ago.
Sales
of detached properties on the MLS® in May 2012 reached 1,180, a decline
of 24.8 per cent from the 1,570 detached sales recorded in May 2011,
and a 6.1 per cent decrease from the 1,256 units sold in May 2010. The
benchmark price for detached properties increased 5.1 per cent from May
2011 to $967,500.
Sales of apartment properties reached 1,156 in
May 2012, a decline of 5.9 per cent compared to the 1,228 sales in May
2011, and a decrease of 14.6 per cent compared to the 1,354 sales in May
2010.The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 1.7 per
cent from May 2011 to $379,700.
Townhome property sales in May
2012 totalled 517, a decline of 10.7 per cent compared to the 579 sales
in May 2011, and a 5.3 per cent decrease from the 546 townhome
properties sold in May 2010. The benchmark price of a townhome unit
increased 0.9 per cent between May 2011 and 2012 to $470,000.
*Editor’s
Note: Benchmark prices underwent a re-calculation this month in order
to more accurately reflect trends measured by the MLS® Home Price Index.
There were no changes to the calculation of index values.
This
re-calculation involved aggregating benchmark prices using the sales
weighted approach for the reference period (i.e. January 2005) and
thereafter linking movements in aggregate benchmark prices to their
corresponding MLS® HPI.
The methodology, available at www.homepriceindex.ca, will be updated later this week.